  Regional tuna fishery management organizations cannot provide specific advice
to local fishery managers in small island jurisdictions. The State of Hawaii
maintains time series of yellowfin tuna catches dating back to 1949, but these
data have never been formally applied to evaluating the effects of the
yellowfin fishery in the Main Hawaiian Islands on the local stock. I develop a
new approach utilizing these data that links the local stock dynamics to the
dynamics of the larger Pacific stock. This approach uses a state-space logistic
production model linked to the larger Pacific stock using an index of
abundance. The conclusion is that such a model is feasible, that the local
stock is not overfished and that local fisheries are fishing at acceptable
levels.
