Saving Seafood

Pacific monuments reopening push fights over fishing, culture

April 16, 2026 — A renewed push to reopen the U.S. Pacific Marine National Monuments to commercial fishing is setting up another round of tension among fishing access, conservation priorities, and cultural protections in some of the most remote waters in the world.

Earlier this month, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac) recommended allowing commercial fishing across all four Pacific monuments– Papahānaumokuākea, Pacific Islands Heritage, Marianas Trench, and Rose Atoll– areas that together span roughly 3.1 million square kilometers of protected ocean, according to Mongabay.

Wespac framed the move as a return to balance. The recommendation, the council said, is “about restoring sustainable fishing.” But the proposal has drawn criticism from conservation groups and Native Hawaiian advocates, who argue the monuments were established to safeguard ecosystems and cultural connections that extend far beyond commercial interests.

“I am sad that with all these restrictions in our areas, we are slowly losing some of our culture,” Wespac council member Pedro Itibus said in a press release.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Federal Fishery Managers Weigh-In on Marine National Monument draft plans, COVID-19 Impacts to Fisheries and More

June 25, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council concluded the first day of its three-day virtual meeting yesterday with discussions and recommendations regarding the work of partner agencies and program planning. Topics ranged from marine national monuments, COVID-19 impacts, stock assessments, fisheries performance and more. The Council manages federal fisheries operating in waters offshore of the State of Hawai’i, the Territories of American Samoa and Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the US Pacific Remote Islands Areas.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) reported that development of draft management plans for two marine national monuments are ongoing. The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) and Marianas Trench Marine National Monument were established on Jan. 6, 2009, by presidential proclamation. Together with monument expansion of PRIMNM by President Obama on Sept. 29, 2014, the monuments prohibit US commercial fishing vessels from operating in nearly 600,000 square miles of US exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters. PIRO Regional Administrator Michael Tosatto said NMFS and the US Fish and Wildlife Service are working to identify new and emerging issues to inform the PRIMNM management plan planning process and are evaluating the timeline for the public release of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument draft management plan. The Council recommended that NMFS PIRO include the CNMI Monument Advisory Committee and the Territory of Guam in the review of the draft management plan for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. According to the presidential proclamations, the management plans were to have been developed within two years of establishment of the monuments.

NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) reported on the impacts of COVID-19 on the Hawai’i commercial fisheries and markets. The report shows that revenue dropped by 80% due to restaurant closures and travel/visitor restrictions. PIFSC Director Mike Seki also shared a tool PIFSC researchers built that provides a visualized market demand curve based on historical data. The tool allows industry to explore tradeoffs in market supply and price to meet objectives. The Council recommended that PIFSCcoordinate with agencies and industry representatives in the Territories to provide market monitoring analyses and demand tracking app for each area.

PIFSC Director Mike Seki als reported that three cruises on the NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette and another on the NOAA ship Rainer have been cancelled due to COVID-19 impacts. Monk seal and turtle field camps have been delayed. Fisheries data collection training, surveys, biosampling, lab work, etc. have been reduced or suspended. The Council recommended that PIFSC coordinate with the Council and the Territory of American Samoa’s Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources to determine viable logistic solutions to continue the American Samoa research cruise. American Samoa bottomfish has been determined recently by NMFS to be overfished and subject to overfishing. The Council has two years to develop and implement a rebuilding plan for the stock in federal waters. Most of the fishery occurs in waters 0 to 3 miles offshore under jurisdiction of the Territory. Many fishery advisors, fishermen and scientists point to the lack of complete and accurate data as the reason for the pessimistic stock status determination.

The Council also agreed that the impacts of COVID-19 to the region’s fisheries should be noted in the Council’s 2020 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) reports. The Council reviewed and approved the 2019 SAFE reports, which can be found on the Council’s website.

The Council meeting continues through June 25, 2020, by web conference (Webex) with host sites at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa, Chuchuko Room, 202 Hilton Rd., Tumon Bay, Guam; Hyatt Regency Saipan, Royal Palm Ave., Micro Beach Rd., Saipan, CNMI; and Department of Port Administration, Airport Conference Room, Pago Pago International Airport, Tafuna Village, American Samoa. Instructions on connecting to Webex, agendas and briefing documents will be posted at www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars.

Federal Managers Make Recommendations for Guam, Hawaii Fisheries

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.