Pelagic fish are ocean-ranging species that usually do not venture close to shore.  They are handsome, streamlined swimmers, but few of us get to see them in their prime. 

Shortly after being caught, their colors fade and the fish are deep-chilled or frozen for delivery to the canneries, at which point the fish look rather like grey blocks of ice.  Many of us know these fish only from their pictures stamped on little cans purchased at the store.

In American Samoa's deep, offshore waters, most commercially caught pelagic fish are taken by longline fishing.  The longline is a strong monofilament line that extends 30-60 miles in length and contains 3000-4000 baited hooks. 
The line is usually set about 350-550 feet deep but some may be set much shallower or deeper.  It takes about 6 hours to set the line and 10 hours to retrieve it. 

In 2007, the longline catch in our waters was 7,000 tons (mostly albacore), worth $14 million.  This amounted to 98% of the value of fish in all local commercial fisheries, including those taken by trolling, bottom fishing, and reef fishing. 

The canneries in American Samoa process far greater quantities of fish than this, but most of their fish are caught beyond local waters.