Saving Seafood

American Samoa Demand Answers From Fisheries Management Council Conference

October 16, 2017 — PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — Due to the many concerns from members of the House Agriculture, Marine & Wildlife and Forestry Committee, on the issues of Federal regulations that affect fisheries in American Samoa, the director of the Department of Marine Wildlife Resource, Va’amua Henry Sesepasara, asked House members to make sure they voice all questions and frustrations to members of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) when their annual conference convenes next week.

Va’amua and Christine Lutu-Sanchez, who is president of the Tautai Longline Fishing Association and also one of the two American Samoa representatives on the WPFMC, appeared before the Committee last Friday, to discuss issues pertaining to fishing in American Samoa, and how federal regulations affect fishing in the territory.

However, one of the main issues discussed during the hearing, had to do with money that American Samoa fishing boats are paying for fishing licenses, and money that fishing boats pay in fines if they are caught fishing illegally inside the territory’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Rep. Vesi Talalelei Fautanu Jr. believes all these monies should come straight to American Samoa, instead of going to federal agencies that work together to enforce regulations on the seas; and other reps reminded Va’amua that all new revenues must be sent to the Fono for appropriation before DMWR can use them.

Va’amua confirmed that all monies from fishing vessel fines and licenses go straight to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — and American Samoa through DMWR must send them a proposal to notify them what project they want to use the funds on, before the territory can access the funds.

Read the full story at the Pacific Islands Report

Marine Reserve Expansion Shuts Out Commercial Fisheries

September 29, 2016 — With the stroke of a pen on a proclamation backed by the authority of the 110-year-old Antiquities Act, President Barack Obama on August 26 created the world’s largest marine reserve off the coast of Hawaii’s northwestern islands.

The process leading to the controversial designation drew pods of politicians, colonies of conservationists and preservationists, schools of commercial fishermen, a siege of lobbyists, and runs of followers on both sides into a territorial showdown. It was hailed as a United States ocean policy triumph, but Hawaii’s commercial fishermen – the longline tuna fishery in particular – lost a sizeable chunk of their traditional fishing grounds.

“This is a hallowed site and it deserves to be treated that way from now on,” Obama said in announcing the expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. “It will be preserved for future generations.”

While the strand of tiny islands and atolls within Papahānaumokuākea are uninhabited, the sweep of ocean surrounding them teems with life, and is vital to native Hawaiian culture.

Originally created in 2006 by President George W. Bush and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 – the only such US site and one of only 35 worldwide – the expansion boosts the protected area from 139,797 to 582,578 square miles by extending most of the boundary to the 200-mile limit of the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). It provides what supporters deem “critical protections” for pristine coral reefs, deep sea marine habitats, and important ecological resources. Researchers say the site is home to more than 7,000 species of flora and fauna, with 25 percent of its creatures found nowhere else in the world’s oceans. The area is also a center of significant traditional and cultural resources for native Hawaiians, and historically contains shipwrecks and downed aircraft from the Battle of Midway, which marked a major shift in the war in favor of the Allies.

Read the full story at Fishermen’s News

Senator Brian Schatz Releases Marine Reserve Plan

June 17, 2016 — U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz made the proposal to expand the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument official Thursday in a letter to President Barack Obama. Schatz called for the monument to grow to 582,578 square miles, which would make it the world’s largest marine protected area.

Parts of the monument would extend from shore by 200 miles to the limit of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, while other parts would have their boundaries maintained to provide “access for local fishermen on Kauai and Niihau” according to a press release from the senator’s office.

Schatz said he and his staff met with Gov. David Ige, state Senate President Ron Kouchi, Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to discuss their concerns.

“With their feedback, Schatz developed the proposal sent to the president,” the release said.

A large group of state lawmakers, including Kouchi, recently wrote a letter to Obama opposing the possible expansion.

Read the full story at Civil Beat

SEA TO TABLE: Fixing a Broken System

June 9, 2016 — The US exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the ocean is the world’s largest, and American fishery management is the world’s best. Yet more than 90% of all seafood consumed in the US is imported, and more than 75% is one of only four species: shrimp (mostly farmed in Asia), salmon (mostly farmed in Chile), tuna (almost all canned), and whitefish (mostly tilapia farmed under the most dubious conditions).

Wild fishing is the last true hunting on earth. Seafood is universally considered the healthiest protein. With the waters surrounding America’s traditional wild fishing communities blessed with dozens of abundant, sustainable, healthy and delicious species, why don’t Americans accept the incredible gifts bestowed on them?.

Americans are accustomed to cheap protein. Corn, soy and wheat are government subsidized and provide artificially low cost feed to industrial meat production. That means cheap meat for consumers, but at a frightening cost to the environment, small farmers, animal welfare, and human health.

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a worldwide scourge, and last year’s AP investigative report shone a light on rampant seafood slavery. Harvesting fish illegally without any labor cost is an excellent business model for cheap imported seafood.

Meanwhile traditional American fishing communities have struggled under the stringent but essential US fisheries management policies that have brought our fisheries back from the brink to the rebuilt status of today. We owe it ourselves to reward domestic fishermen for their gallant efforts.

Read the full opinion piece at the Huffington Post

Feds hear truth about fisheries and American Samoa

February 27, 2016 — Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council executive director Kitty Simonds this week stressed to delegates at the federal Interagency Group on Insular Areas (IGIA) meeting the importance of the fishing industry in American Samoa where two canneries are located and the canneries are the territory’s economic backbone.

Simonds was one of the representatives from federal agencies during Monday’s IGIA three-hour meeting at the White House. She explained that American Samoa is “totally, [and] practically dependent on fisheries” and for 50 years fish processing and canning has been the backbone of American Samoa’s economy.

She noted that one of the recent issues affecting cannery and fisheries in American Samoa is the banning of US purse seiner fleet from fishing on high seas and the US EEZ. She told the IGIA meeting that one of the reasons “why we have these kinds of problems is because of our US negotiators from the US Commerce and US State departments” at some of the international fishery commission meetings (referring to the Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commissions).

“We have tried to work together to ensure that when the negotiators go to these meetings they support US fisheries. And frankly over the last two years, that has been the big problem, in terms of American Samoa’s cannery problems,” she said, adding that she is not dismissing the minimum wage issue impacting the canneries. “I’m talking about policy.”

Read the full story at Samoa News

 

Connecticut fighting move to give Long Island Sound waters to New York, Rhode Island

February 2, 2016 — WASHINGTON – Connecticut’s lawmakers and state officials are trying to derail a bill would take about 150 square miles of Long Island Sound waters from federal government control and give that authority to New York and Rhode Island, a move that could hurt the state’s fishing industry.

The bill would require Connecticut fishermen to obtain permission from the neighboring states to continue to fish those waters, known as an “exclusive economic zone,” or EEZ. Members of the state’s congressional delegation say that would be a costly and burdensome process.

“We believe that this misguided legislation was crafted strategically to benefit certain states while disproportionately harming the Connecticut fishing industry,” delegation members said in a letter to the leaders of the House Natural Resources Committee.

At issue is the “EEZ Clarification Act,” sponsored by New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, that would re-designate 150 square miles of federal EEZ waters in the vicinity of Block Island, between Montauk, N.Y., and Point Judith, R.I., as  New York and Rhode Island state waters.

At a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Zeldin said the strip of water known as the EEZ poses a threat to fishermen “who can go from fishing legally to breaking the law” by inadvertently straying into federal waters and facing fines.

“Law-abiding, responsible fishermen should not be punished for doing their job,” Zeldin said.

But a representative from the Fish and Wildlife Service and conservationist John McMurray, owner of One More Cast Charters, testified that stripping federal protections from the waters would hurt the Long Island Sound striped bass population.

Read the full story at The Connecticut Mirror

 

NEW JERSEY: Fish cops issue striped bass warning

December 2, 2015 — Federal fishing officials are warning anglers and commercial fishermen it is illegal to catch striped bass in waters outside three miles.

The ban on catching stripers is in an area called the “Exclusive Economic Zone,” or EEZ, which runs from 3 to 200 miles offshore and is under federal jurisdiction. The ban, which dates back to 1990, is not in place in state waters that are inside three miles.

In recent years the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement has teamed up with the U.S. Coast Guard and state agencies to enforce the ban. NOAA Fisheries Special Agent Jeffrey Ray said in New Jersey the agency will be working with the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife to enforce the ban.

The effort runs from November through February and could include dockside or at-sea inspections as well as aerial reconnaissance.

“There’s a lot of striped bass activity and we want to make sure the information is out there that people cannot catch striped bass in the EEZ. There will be patrols in the EEZ,” said Ray.

In the past the efforts have included putting undercover agents posing as patrons on party and charter boats to make sure they stay within three miles. There have been dozens of cases brought against captains that fished in the EEZ, including one against a charter boat operator based in Avalon several years ago.

Read the full story at Press of Atlantic City

 

Marine Protected Areas: are they conservation measures?

October 28, 2015 — Billionaire philanthropist Richard Branson recently composed a brief article on his website to applaud recent efforts to expand marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world and to call for widespread no-take MPAs (marine reserves) on the high seas and in the exclusive economic zones of the developed world.

Of the efforts Branson highlights as positive steps forward, he cites The Bahamas efforts to protect at least 20% of its marine environment by 2020, the recent and controversial Ross Sea MPA proposal, and recent efforts by Pacific Island nations like Palau to fully protect upwards of 80% of its waters. Branson explains that, “science suggests we need to fully protect very large areas of ocean from destructive and extractive activities, so that at least 30% of the global ocean is fully protected,” but only 3% is currently marine reserve.

Branson believes the, “combination of overfishing, pollution and warming and acidifying seas,” can be alleviated by widespread, internationally agreed upon marine reserves:

“Now is the time for a massive groundswell that reflects the realities of the 21st century. So instead of destroying life in the sea, we must regenerate and rebuild it. Marine Protected Areas across the globe are the key to making sure this happens. From small to large, from the tropics to the icy frontiers, we need protection and we need to get moving on all fronts.”

Comment by James H. Cowen, Louisiana State University

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have become, in the eyes of many scientists, NGOs and lay people (most recently Richard Branson, CEO and owner of the Virgin empire), a solution for the overexploitation of fish populations and other marine aquatic animals (corals, sponges, gastropods, etc.) that are contained within their boundaries (Protect Planet Ocean) Many supporters of MPAs rightly acknowledge the many threats to the ocean, including climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, land based runoff, plastics, and overfishing. Then as a solution to these problems MPAs are proposed when, in fact, they impact none of these except legally regulated fishing, especially in the developed world where most fisheries are well managed. It is also important to note that most MPAs exclude commercial fishing, while recreational fishing is permitted. A Sciences paper published in 2004 indicated that recreational fishers account for 23% of the total US landings of the most relevant species (snappers, grouper, sea basses, several species of drums, etc.). Given the likelihood that recreational fishing mortality has increased since 2004, and is higher in MPAs the relevant species groups listed above are again indicative of poor planning.

Read the full story at CFOOD

Atlantic Striped Bass Fishing in the EEZ: Restrictions Support Sustainability of Species

November 12, 2015 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement:

In an effort to ensure the healthy population of the striped bass in the Mid-Atlantic region, NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) is raising awareness of the federal regulations governing striped bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and increasing targeted enforcement efforts to protect the species from illegal poaching activities.

“Right now, the striped bass are beginning to migrate south from the northern states,” said Lt. Wynn Carney, OLE supervisory enforcement officer. “The striped bass will follow the bait south near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and in spring they will begin making their way up our streams and rivers to lay eggs.” 

According to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, overfishing and poor environmental conditions lead to the collapse of the Atlantic striped bass fishery in the 1980s.

In order to ensure the sustainability of the species, the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, found in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 697.7, was promulgated. Thus, during the months of November through February, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement is joining state and federal marine law enforcement organizations in supporting a focused enforcement effort, targeting vessels retaining and fishing for striped bass in the EEZ. Marine law enforcement officers, including OLE and the U.S. Coast Guard, in the Mid-Atlantic will be ticketing fishermen who violate these regulations and who target striped bass within the EEZ.

“I am excited about the Mid-Atlantic States conducting a focused enforcement effort,” said Carney. “It’s significant that we’re working together toward a common goal.”

For maximum enforcement, officers will be conducting at-sea, aerial, and dock-side inspections.

For more information, call your local OLE field office or visit http://www.asmfc.org/species/atlantic-striped-bass.

StarKist: Fishing Restrictions Hurting American Samoa Cannery

October 26, 2015 — PAGO PAGO, American Samoa – StarKist Co. says fishing restrictions on the high seas and in the US EEZ have further eroded American Samoa’s competitiveness and call on the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to recognize the territory’s unique nature as a small and developing economy.

The statement from the US based company, owned by South Korea based Dongwon industries comes as NMFS officially released last Friday its decision not to approve an emergency rule to exempt U.S. purse seine vessels that deliver at least half of their catch to tuna processing facilities in American Samoa from the closure of the area known as the Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine (ELAPS) — which is fishing on high seas and US EEZ.

Tri Marine International had petitioned the NMFS arguing among other things the reduction of fishing days in waters of Kiribati, traditional fishing grounds for the US purse seine fleet, and that the loss of a reliable supply of tuna from these vessels will jeopardize the ability of the canneries in American Samoa to compete in world markets.

STARKIST RESPONSE

In a statement issued last Friday, StarKist says, “Our cannery has been directly impacted by the closure of access to the high seas and NMFS needs to recognize the unique nature of American Samoa’s small and developing economy.

The company says these “unnecessary restrictions” have driven the purse seine fleet into distant waters where they are now catching fish under a U.S. flag to benefit competitors to American industry.

“As a result, we are forced to buy our fish at a premium with reefer vessels coming in from distant fishing grounds,” it says. “The competitive position of American Samoa continues to be eroded day by day, and the decision by NMFS to forgo an emergency rulemaking for our purse seine fleet is another example of a lack of urgency for how difficult it truly is to operate a business here.”

“American Samoa has had three things in its favor – duty free access to the US market which is now nearly irrelevant, a wage system reflective of the local economy rather than the mainland economy, and a reliable supply of direct-delivered fish,” StarKist said. “All of these factors have been negatively impacted in the last six months.”

Read the full story from the Samoa News at the Pacific Islands Report