October 30, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council wrapped up its four-day meeting in the Mariana Archipelago last week in Guam with the following recommendations regarding Guam and Hawaii nearshore fisheries and other matters.

For Guam fisheries, the Council recommended bottomfish annual catch limits (ACLs), and made recommendations about the Guam Ocean Fishery Management Council and marine reserve areas, among other items.

The Council recommended the National Marine Fisheries Service set an bottomfish ACL of 66,000 pounds for fishing year 2019. Currently, Guam harvests 29 percent of that recommended bottomfish ACL. The next benchmark assessment, scheduled for review in February 2019, will provide new information to set the ACLs for fishing year 2020 to 2022.

The Council also encouraged the Government of Guam to expedite the appointment of the members of the Guam Ocean Fishery Management Council and reduce the paperwork requirements for the community and the public to serve in it.

With respect to marine preserve areas in Guam, the Council directed staff to communicate with the federal Marine Protected Area Advisory Committee regarding the findings of the “Fishing Community Perceptions on Marine Preserve Siting Process” report, including procedural justice, transferred effects, safety, etc., and to provide the final report to the local federal agencies for use in their management objectives.

The Council also made recommendations regarding the ACLs for Hawaiian fisheries.

For main Hawaiian island (MHI) non-Deep 7 bottomfish, deep-water shrimp, Kona crab and precious corals, the Council recommended NMFS set the MHI non-Deep 7 bottomfish ACL at 127,205 pounds and MHI deep-water shrimp ACL at 250,773 pounds for fishing years 2019-2021 and the MHI Kona crab ACL at 3,500 pounds for fishing year 2019. For precious corals, the recommended ACLs for 2019-2021 are Auau Channel black coral 5,512 pounds; Makapuu Bed pink coral 2,205 pounds; Makapuu Bed bamboo coral 551 pounds; 180 Fathom Bank pink coral 489 pounds; 180 Fathom Bank bamboo coral 123 pounds; Brooks Bank pink coral 979 pounds; Brooks Bank bamboo coral 245 pounds; Kaena Point Bed pink coral 148 pounds; Kaena Point Bed bamboo coral 37 pounds; Keahole Bed pink coral 148 pounds; Keahole Bed bamboo coral 37 pounds; and precious coral in MHI exploratory area 2,205 pounds.

The Council also directed staff to evaluate options for improving conservation and management of the Hawaii bottomfish fishery, including an assessment of data collection, consistency of federal and state regulatory measures and harvest controls, and monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.

The Council also considered other matters, such as marine monuments, aquaculture and habitat.

The Council directed staff to communicate to the administration that the fishing prohibitions be removed for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and allow only Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-registered vessels to fish there. It also directed staff to write to the Okeanos-Foundations for the Sea in New Jersey and cc the governors of Guam and the CNMI, noting that the Council commends the development of the Okeanos Marianas vessel as a traditional method for addressing climate change impacts and encourages the Foundation to keep the vessel in the CNMI and transfer its ownership to the local Okeanos Marianas organization in Saipan.

Habitat issues also got attention, as the Council directed staff to convene a regional workshop of experts to discuss habitat-related issues, including non-fish impacts on essential fish habitat (EFH) and habitat areas of particular concern, prior to the convening of the national workshop on habitat to be convened by the Council Coordination Committee.

Staff was also directed to look at the current regulatory regime in place in federal waters to determine the needs for developing offshore aquaculture, determining the best sites for aquaculture and obtaining funding to assist local interests to develop aquaculture in the Western Pacific Region. Furthermore, staff will the Plan Team to include in its research priorities the impacts of climate and ecosystem changes to pelagic fisheries and coral reef ecosystems.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.