When Fishers Guide Scientific Exploration: Case Study With ’Ōpelu in Hawai’i
April 22, 2025
To understand the environmental factors influencing ‘ōpelu catchability, we combined fisher knowledge and fishery-dependent data to create a model of ‘ōpelu catch.
We interviewed ‘ōpelu fishers in 2021 about environmental factors that influence ‘ōpelu aggregation behavior and catchability. We then applied the observations shared among the fishers to the ‘ōpelu commercial catch records (1997–2022) to test which factors predicted ‘ōpelu CPUE.
Mukai GNM, Iwane MA, Suca JJ, Tanaka KR, Moran AL, Kobayashi DR 2025. When fishers guide scientific exploration: Case study with 'opelu in Hawai'i Marine and Coastal Fisheries, Volume 17, Issue 2.
https://doi.org/10.1093/mcfafs/vtae002