Lined Bristletooth

Ctenochaetus striatus is heavily fished in American Samoa, an overfished, collapsed fishery. There was no relationship found between fishing pressure and longevity, growth or adult size across sampling sites, among which fishing pressure on this species varied from intense to zero (Trip et al. 2008).

The status of reef fisheries in American Samoa has commonly been reported as over-exploited, however, comparing patterns and trends from fishery independent surveys with fishery-dependent data showed a significant decline in shoreline fishing effort and a non-significant decrease in boat-based effort, resulting in constant catch landings and catch-per-unit effort. Concurrent with the decline in fishing effort and constant catch landing was an increase in fish abundance and biomass for the targeted families. The decrease in fishing pressure occurred during a period of rapid population growth, indicating non-dependence of the general population on fishing, reflecting the change in the social and economic dynamics within the territory (Sabater and Carroll 2009).

Craig et al. (2008) showed that the current harvests of the subsistence fishery in outer islands of American Samoa is similar to those in historic and prehistoric periods, indicating that the fishery is harvested at a sustainable level.

Surgeonfishes show varying degrees of habitat preference and utilization of coral reef habitats, with some species spending the majority of their life stages on coral reef while others primarily utilize seagrass beds, mangroves, algal beds, and /or rocky reefs. The majority of surgeonfishes are exclusively found on coral reef habitat, and of these, approximately 80% are experiencing a greater than 30% loss of coral reef area and degradation of coral reef habitat quality across their distributions. However, more research is needed to understand the long-term effects of coral reef habitat loss and degradation on these species' populations. Widespread coral reef loss and declining habitat conditions are particularly worrying for species that recruit into areas with live coral cover, especially as studies have shown that protection of pristine habitats facilitate the persistence of adult populations in species that have spatially separated adult and juvenile habitats (Comeros-Raynal et al. 2012).