Fishery Statistics of the Western Pacific. Volume 20. Territory of American Samoa (2003), Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (2003), Territory of Guam (2003), State of Hawaii (2003); Administrative rept

摘要

Over the years, the demand for data and information concerning marine fisheries has greatly increased. To help meet these increased needs in the central and western Pacific areas, the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) initiated the Western Pacific Fishery Information Network (WPacFIN) to assist Pacific island fisheries agencies in upgrading their data collecting, processing, and reporting capabilities. In 1982, these agencies formed a Fisheries Data Coordinating Committee (FDCC) and a FDCC Technical Subcommittee to help guide, coordinate, and monitor all of their fisheries data-related activities. Significant progress has been made by all participating agencies, particularly in the areas of upgrading data collecting and processing systems. In April 2003, NMFS created a new Pacific Islands Region comprised of the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC, formerly SWFSC's Honolulu Laboratory) and the Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO, formerly SWRO's Pacific Islands Area Office). As such, this report is now affiliated with PIFSC rather than SWFSC. This is the twentieth volume in the series 'Fishery Statistics of the Western Pacific' and contains year 2003 summaries of commercial landings for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and Hawaii.