Saving Seafood

Federal regulators vote in favor of President Trump’s push for commercial fishing in marine monuments

September 17, 2025 — On Tuesday, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council voted to advance President Donald Trump’s executive order to allow commercial fishing inside the Papahanaumokuakea and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monuments.

The decision came after dozens of Native Hawaiians, fishers, and scientists voiced opposition, including former Department of Hawaiian Home Lands director William Aila Jr.

“Great disappointment. It just means that extractive, industrial fishing takes precedent over the sacredness of Papahanaumokuakea,” Aila said. “This area has been pristine for many, many years, and the fisheries have regained their vitality. So, we would prefer to keep those areas closed off to fishing because that is our insurance policy for future generations.”

The council also voted to set limits on fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, which encompasses 490,000 square miles southwest of Hawaii.

Read the full article at Hawaii News Now

University of Hawaiʻi launches sustainable fisheries initiative

August 22, 2025 — The University of Hawaiʻi (UH) has launched a new sustainable fisheries initiative to conduct research and train up a new generation of leaders who can steward fisheries around the islands and in the surrounding Pacific Ocean.

As part of the initiative, the university has brought on 8 new faculty members with expertise in oceanography, economic, Indigenous coastal management, and other fisheries-related specialties. The faculty will be spread out across six schools and colleges, but they’ll work together to develop a graduate program focused on sustainable fisheries management and advancing research on island-ocean systems, UH said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

With Wild Fish Stocks Dwindling, Congress Considers Backing Aquaculture

August 22, 2025 — Advocates for increasing Hawaiʻi’s aquaculture production are buoyed by the introduction of federal legislation that could supercharge the almost $2 billion national fish farming industry, a sector many believe has been neglected by state authorities for too long.

The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaiʻi, intends to streamline permitting, build the aquaculture workforce, facilitate research and development, and eventually pave the way for offshore, commercial-level demonstration facilities across federal waters.

The draft Marine Aquaculture Research for America Act, or MARA Act, aims to boost production throughout the country to lessen the nation’s reliance on imported products, which account for 75% to 90% of its seafood — and 63% in Hawaiʻi. The legislation is a streamlined revival of a previously failed bill, although aquaculture industry leaders say it may now be primed for success.

Read the full article at Civil Beat

HAWAII: UH launches initiative to boost sustainable fisheries in Hawaiʻi, Pacific

August 21, 2025 — The University of Hawaiʻi is launching a major initiative to advance fisheries research, education and training, ensuring sustainable management for Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. The new program leverages the expertise of eight new faculty members to develop a graduate program that focuses on both Western science and Indigenous knowledge, training the next generation of leaders for sustainable Pacific fisheries.

Fisheries in Hawaiʻi are distinct in that they include a variety of sectors ranging from the open ocean longline fishery, which is the sixth largest fishery in monetary value in the U.S., to community managed fishponds or loko iʻa. Importantly, the majority of nearshore fisheries in Hawaiʻi are non-commercial, which requires unique considerations for management. This program seeks to build on existing work by faculty and practitioners across the UH System to understand the unique contributions of these diverse commercial and non-commercial fisheries to the economic, social, and cultural well-being of Hawaiʻi to ensure their longevity.

Management strategies from the U.S. continent often fail in the Pacific Islands because they were designed for cold-water, industrial fisheries. Pacific fisheries are different—they operate in warm tropical waters with diverse species and fishing gear, and with Indigenous Pacific Island communities. The Pacific Island region is multinational and has comparatively less scientific data, requiring a locally developed approach to ensure they can be sustained for generations.

Read the full article at the University of Hawaii

Future Of Commercial Fishing In Protected Pacific Waters In Courts’ Hands

August 20, 2025 — Hawaiʻi-based longliners have logged more than 900 hours pursuing tuna in previously protected parts of the Pacific Ocean, online tracking data shows, since President Donald Trump lifted a commercial fishing ban in late April.

That new fishing opportunity disappeared recently when a district court judge ruled that U.S. fishery officials didn’t follow proper procedures before opening up the vast waters that form the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.

The remote area has become the latest flashpoint between conservationists who want more of the Pacific placed off-limits to better protect tuna stocks and sensitive marine environments and regional fishing leaders who say they need access to more fishing grounds — who now have Trump’s ear.

Those leaders have already stated they’d like to see the waters around the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary opened up as well.

For the monument, Judge Micah Smith found that officials should have sought public input before enacting Trump’s order, which ultimately aims to reopen more than 400,000 square miles of deep ocean. Smith said they also need to publish new, proposed fishing rules in the Federal Register.

Read the full article at Civil Beats

Hawaii false killer whales could go extinct by midcentury

August 18, 2025 — A unique species of endangered Pacific dolphin off Hawaii are declining at a faster rate than once thought, with the largest distinct population segment expected to drop below 100 individuals by the mid-2030s, according to new NOAA research.

Scientists from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and other institutions found that between 1999 and 2022, the population of protected dolphins — known as “false killer whales” — shrunk by 3.5 percent annually. That trajectory places the species on a likely path to extinction by midcentury.

Roughly 132 individuals are believed to have lived in the population segment closest to Hawaii’s main islands in 2022, compared to as many as 190 in 2015.

Read the full article at E&E News

The Endangered Population of False Killer Whales in the Main Hawaiian Islands is Declining

August 15, 2025 — Three false killer whale populations occur in the waters of Hawaiʻi. There are two island-associated populations—one around the main Hawaiian islands and another around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands—and a broadly ranging pelagic population. The small main Hawaiian Islands insular distinct population segment of false killer whales was listed as endangered in 2012 and faces multiple ongoing threats. Evidence suggests—based on high rates of dorsal fin and mouthline injuries—that fisheries interactions represent one of the most significant threats to this population. This threat may also act synergistically with other threats, such as exposure to pollutants and reduced genetic diversity, on the insular population. Scientists at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center led the development of a new method to more accurately estimate the size of the main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whale population by incorporating animal movement.

We analyzed photos of dorsal fins of 202 main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whales encountered over 20 years (1999–2022) and movements from 53 satellite tags deployed from 2007–2022. We found that the population numbered 139 whales in 2022 and declined by 3.5 percent per year during the last 10 years of the study. Our findings provide the first reliable trend estimate for the population since it was listed as endangered and suggest the population will number fewer than 100 individuals within 10 years.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Hawai‘i Island Community Consultation – Round 2 Navigating Change

August 14, 2025 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Continuing to build on conversations from the March 2025 meetings, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and partners will host the 2nd in a series of community consultation meetings on Hawai‘i Island.

EVERYONE WELCOME!

We invite fishing families and the public to participate in these vital discussions. Your voice matters as we work together to navigate changes and enhance the fishing community’s future.

The meetings will start with an Open House of agency representatives and light refreshments, followed by an overview of the Council’s community consultation effort, presentation on fishery challenges, and discussion and feedback.

 

Meeting Schedule:

East Hawai‘i

  • Date: August 22, 2025 (Friday)
  • Time: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (HST)
  • Location: Ka Waihona, Island Nation – Ma Uka, Ma Kai, 196 Kamehameha Ave, Hilo, HI
  • Main Discussion Topics: Improving Fishing Infrastructure & Access to Fisheries

West Hawai‘i

  • Date: August 23, 2025 (Saturday)
  • Time: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (HST)
  • Location: West Hawai‘i Civic Center, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy, Kailua-Kona, HI
  • Main Discussion Topics: Impacts of Shark Depredation, Ahi Size, Markets, and Competing Activities

Community meetings across the remainder of the Hawaiian Islands will be scheduled throughout the second half of the year.

For more information, please contact Zach Yamada (zach.yamada@wpcouncil.org, www.wpcouncil.org) or Alex Min (alex.cannon.min@gmail.com, www.fishtoday.org/pacific-islands-voices). See flyers below and please help to spread the word!

About the Council

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to manage fisheries in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council is responsible for developing and implementing fishery management plans for waters surrounding Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI and U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas. The Council works to promote sustainable fisheries, protect marine ecosystems and support the livelihoods of fishing communities through science-based decision-making and stakeholder engagement.

Report: Hawaiʻi’s False Killer Whales Trending Toward Extinction

August 14, 2025 — Thirteen years ago, the Main Hawaiian Islands’ dwindling population of false killer whales was officially declared endangered, a move intended to help their numbers recover after years of getting hooked and tangled in nets, mostly set by nearshore commercial fishers.

But instead of rebounding, a new report finds, the vulnerable group has only continued to shrink at a troubling pace.

The report, published Thursday in the journal Endangered Species Research, estimates that the unique population of false killer whales inhabiting the waters around the main islands has shrunk from about 184 individuals in 2012, when it was listed under the Endangered Species Act, to 139 members in 2022.

That’s an average population loss of 3.5% a year at a time when federal and state fisheries managers were supposed to be taking meaningful steps to better protect the mammals and boost their numbers.

Read the full article at Civil Beats

Judge blocks Trump bid to allow fishing at marine monument

August 12, 2025 — A federal judge in Honolulu blocked a NOAA guidance Friday that permitted commercial fishing around protected Pacific islands and atolls.

The ruling from Judge Micah Smith of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii said the Trump administration’s unilateral decision to open a large swath of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument violated the Administrative Procedure Act by forgoing public comments or hearings.

That notice to fishermen came one week after President Donald Trump’s proclamation declaring 400,000 square miles of the monument would no longer be subject to commercial fishing prohibitions that had been in place between 50 and 200 nautical miles of Wake and Jarvis islands and the Johnston Atoll. The areas, which have ecological, cultural and historical value, became subject to fishing bans when President Barack Obama expanded the monument in 2014 under the Antiquities Act of 1906.

Read the full article at E&E News