Saving Seafood

$980K aid available to fishermen

December 1, 2020 — Gov. Ralph DLG Torres announced yesterday the allocation of $980,000 in CARES Act funds to assist commercial and subsistence fishermen in the CNMI—estimated to be in the thousands—who’ve been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Torres said at a press conference that the money is available after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration approved the CNMI’s “spending plan” for the money it got from the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security Act.

Torres said all resident fishermen and qualified fishing businesses who sustained losses are eligible.

Qualifying businesses refer to commercial fishing businesses, charter-for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquaculture businesses, fish processors, and dealers.

All eligible applicants will receive assistance based on an approved formula that will determine the amounts of help for businesses and individual fishermen.

Application distribution will begin tomorrow, Wednesday, and the deadline to submit applications is March 1, 2021.

The distribution of assistance checks will be made directly via mail from the NOAA Hawaii Office to approved businesses and fishermen between May 3 and June 16, 2021.

Read the full story at the Saipan Tribune

WPRFMC: Community Stakeholders Discuss Issues Key to Sustainable Fisheries

November 5, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council recently convened three virtual meetings in its continued efforts to support regional and local fishing and seafood communities. The meetings highlight the Council’s emphasis on collaboration among agencies and promoting stakeholder involvement in the fishery management process.

The Fishing Industry Advisory Committee (FIAC) is one of three advisory bodies to the Council required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act that provides input and recommendations on management and conservation actions from an industry perspective. Members include representatives from Hawaiʻi, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam in industry-related sectors such as fishing, seafood processing, distribution and marketing industries, fishing tackle and marine service and supply providers.

The Non-Commercial Fisheries Advisory Committee (NCFAC) has existed in a simpler form since 1999, but its purpose has now expanded from gathering recreational fishing data in Hawaiʻi to providing advice to the Council on non-commercial fishery issues, data collection and research. The Council also met with the State of Hawaiʻi and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to discuss improving state and federal fishery management coordination and filling regulatory and monitoring gaps.

FIAC members emphasized the tremendous impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on fishing and marketing. They put forward several recommendations to the Council, including supporting a Pacific Island-wide seafood promotion program, improving harbor safety and management, redesigning fish aggregating devices to be more environmentally responsible and ensuring industry representation on the national NMFS Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee.

The NCFAC meeting focused on the Council’s current data collection efforts and needs and research priorities. Committee members noted that smart device applications and electronic monitoring could be incorporated into existing data collection systems. The voluntary Hawaii Marine Recreational Fishing Survey collects non-commercial catch data, but garnering participation continues to be an issue. Members suggested increasing outreach efforts to fishermen regarding data usage to demystify the fishery management process, encourage participation and instill a sense of pride that they are part of the solution.

At the Council meeting with the State of Hawaii and NMFS representatives, participants acknowledged continuing data gaps and identified several areas where federal and state rules could be better aligned, especially in the non-commercial small-boat fisheries. While accurate, timely catch and effort data from fishermen is important for improving stock assessments and to minimize management uncertainty, some discrepancies still exist. For example, the Hawaiʻi longline and bottomfish fishermen report their fishing trip information within 72 hours of landing; and fishermen with state commercial marine licenses catching pelagics, uku, Kona crab and other species continue to report on a monthly basis.

All three groups plan to regularly meet and continue to address fishing community needs.

3 students earn fisheries scholarships

May 4, 2020 — Three college students have been named recipients of the 2020-2021 U.S. Pacific Territories Fishery Capacity-Building Scholarship.

The recipients are:

  • Aveipepa Fua, of American Samoa, who will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marine science at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo;
  • Jude Lizama, of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, who will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in oceanography with a concentration in fisheries science at Hawai’i Pacific University; and
  • Leilani Sablan, of Guam, who will be pursuing a master’s degree in biology at the University of Guam.

Read the full story at The Guam Daily Post

Council Announces Three Winners for 2020-2021 US Pacific Territories Fishery Capacity-Building Scholarship

May 1, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020-2021 US Pacific Territories Fishery Capacity-Building Scholarship. The scholarships are offered annually to college students with close connections to American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) who are pursuing degrees that will bolster the Territories’ capacity to manage their fishery ecosystems. Students who accept a scholarship agree to work with their local fishery agency upon graduation for an equivalent amount of time that they receive the scholarship.

The 2020-2021 recipients include Aveipepa Fua (American Samoa) who will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marine science at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo; Jude Lizama (CNMI) who will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in oceanography with a concentration in fisheries science at Hawai’i Pacific University; and Leilani Sablan (Guam) who will be pursuing a master’s degree in biology at the University of Guam.

Since the scholarship program began in 2016, five recipients have graduated, with three having fulfilled their work requirements in American Samoa and the CNMI and two beginning their work commitment in 2019; and six recipients are poised to graduate in 2020 (two students) and 2021 (four students).

The scholarship program was established through a memorandum of understanding involving several federal agencies, the local fishery agencies in the Territories and several colleges and universities in Hawai’i and the Territories. It is funded by the Council, NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office.

Researchers and Feds to Address Quality of Science Used to Manage US Pacific Island Fisheries

October 10, 2019 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Scientists from throughout the Pacific region will meet Oct. 15 to 17, 2019, in Honolulu to address the quality of the data used to manage federal fisheries and other topics. The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will convene 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400. The meeting is open to the public.

The lack of sufficient data to manage fisheries has been a continued concern, especially in the US Territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Federal law requires that annual catch limits (ACLs) be set for each federally managed fish species. Typically, limits are based on stock assessments, but these are lacking for most of the hundreds of coral reef species caught in the islands.

In 2018, based on the Council’s recommendation, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reduced the number of species requiring ACLs from 205 species or families to 11 in American Samoa, from 227 species or families to 13 in the Mariana Archipelago (Guam and the CNMI) and from 173 species or families to 20 in the Hawai’i Archipelago. The species no longer requiring ACLs are now considered “ecosystem components.” They are being monitored until additional information is available to assess their stock status. By reducing the current need for ACLs to dozens of species, scientists and managers are able to allocate more resources to improving the datasets for those species without stock assessments.

One such effort is a recent review organized by the Council and NMFS on the quality, relevance and performance of the data collection systems in the US Pacific Territories. At the SSC meeting, the co-chairs of the review will report on the recommendations from that week-long effort by a panel of experts in the field. Key among these is the need to collect total catch and effort from fisheries targeting the key species by requiring mandatory reporting from fishers and vendors rather than relying on creel surveys. This recommendation is in line with actions taken by the three governments of the three US Territories to improve available information by instituting or considering mandatory permit and reporting requirements.

Another effort is the ongoing Council-sponsored biosampling studies on O’ahu and Maui by Poseidon Fisheries Research (PFR). From July 2018 to July 2019, PFR measured and weighed 10,256 fish on O’ahu, comprising 69 different “ecosystem component” species and 14 families. On Maui, as of August 2019, PFR measured 407 fish and worked with the marine biology class at Kamehameha Schools on that island to sample 91 fish from five species for life history information, e.g., sex, reproduction, size and age. Due to these efforts, the first life history article on palani (ringtail surgeonfish) and pualu (eyestripe surgeonfish) will be published in a journal.

Other items on the SSC agenda

  • The NMFS Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center’s new stock assessment for the federally managed bottomfish species in American Samoa, Guam and CNMI shows a pessimistic stock status for American Samoa and Guam. The SSC will review the assessment and the Western Pacific Stock Assessment Review panel’s report on it and decide whether this new assessment constitutes the best scientific information available for fishery management decisions.
  • The SSC will review and consider the implications of a new model for loggerhead and leatherback turtle interactions in the Hawai’i shallow-set longline fishery for swordfish.
  • The SSC will review and may make recommendations regarding the stock status ofoceanic whitetip sharks (a species listed under the Endangered Species Act) and blue marlin.

Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets Oct. 22 to 24, 2019, at the Tauese P. F. Sunia Ocean Center in Utulei, American Samoa. For agendas and briefing documents for the SSC, Council and related advisory body meetings, go to http://www.wpcouncil.org/public-meetings/ or contact the Council at info@wpcouncil.org or call (808) 522-8220.

Hawaii Tuna Fishermen Want Higher Quotas

December 4, 2018 — Hawaii’s longliners caught their quota for bigeye tuna early again this year. But that may not be an issue going forward if U.S. officials can negotiate a higher limit next week with an international fisheries commission.

Meanwhile, consumers can expect stable tuna prices for the holidays as the longline fleet continues to haul in a steady stream of fresh ahi to Honolulu’s fish auction.

The season for bigeye tuna, one of two types of fish known as ahi in Hawaii, was uninterrupted thanks in part to a quota-sharing agreement that lets the longliners fish beyond the internationally agreed upon limit for the U.S. in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

The Hawaii longline fleet of roughly 145 vessels, based in Honolulu, had a 2018 limit of 3,554 metric tons, which it hit Nov. 1.

But under an agreement with the Northern Mariana Islands, the longliners, as they have for the last few years, paid $250,000 into a fishery development fund and continued fishing for another 1,000 tons. The longliners were about 57 percent of the way through that extra allotment as of last week.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

Blown Deadlines Weaken Hawaii’s Voice On Federal Fishery Council

June 28, 2017 — Hawaii will soon have less influence in setting national policies that affect everything from commercial fishing to endangered species in nearly 1.5 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean.

Gov. David Ige’s administration twice missed deadlines to submit to federal officials a list of names to fill two at-large terms that expire in August on the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.

The seats have historically been held by Hawaii residents. Instead, they will be filled from the lists provided by the governors of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Guam, the other U.S. territory represented on the council, did not nominate anyone.

Environmentalists see it as a missed opportunity for Ige to rebalance the council, which has long weighed heavier on the side of the commercial fishing industry than conservation. Others view it as a blown chance for Hawaii’s longline tuna fishermen to maintain their grip on the council’s direction.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

Pre-Proposals for SK Grants Program FY 2017

July 25, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today is the start of the fiscal year 2017 Saltonstall-Kennedy (SK) Grant Program application solicitation; now with a new, early “pre-proposal” process that will reduce the burden of preparing full proposals on projects that do not meet program criteria. Pre-proposals will be accepted for 60 days, July 22 through September 20, 2016.  To maximize time and familiarity, NOAA Fisheries will conduct at least two public webinars for interested stakeholders to walk through the process and answer any questions.

Briefly, the “pre-proposal” process is a required step that will provide applicants with early clarification from NOAA as to the technical merits and relevancy of their project. This new step provides applicants an early indication of their project’s eligibility before going through the more intensive process of developing a full project proposal.

In addition to the new “pre-proposal” process, NOAA Fisheries made a number of modifications to the proposal review process in 2016 to improve transparency and participation by external expertise. Starting in 2016, the eight fishery management councils and three state marine fishery commissions selected external parties to assist in identifying priority focus areas for funding, as well as serve on the review panel process. Also in 2016, NOAA gave broader consideration to projects focused on sustainable economies, business innovations and opportunities as well as science and research.

The 2017 priority focus areas remain the same as 2016 with the additional focus area aimed at improving the quality and quantity of fishery information from the U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealths of Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.

‘Shark Infestation’ Affecting Fishers?

June 7, 2016 — Sharks are eating onaga and other fish faster than fishermen can reel them in, compromising the quality and amount of fish that can be harvested in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, according to the territory’s acting governor, Victor Hocog.

He asked the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council on Monday to work with CNMI on regulations affecting his people.

“The greatest predator is the sharks … not the human,” Hocog said in a news release that Wespac issued Monday.

He delivered the opening remarks on the council’s first day of meetings in CNMI and Guam this week.

“If you put 12 hooks down to catch onaga, ehu, whatever it is, you are very lucky when you pick up three out of the 12 on the hook because of the shark infestation around our islands,” Hocog said.

CNMI is on the verge of developing infrastructure for its expanding tourism industry and the hotels would need high-grade fish, according to the release. The quality of the fish is seriously compromised when sharks remove the head or body of the fish, the release said.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat 

CNMI Gov: No To Expansion Of Hawaii Marine Monument

May 11, 2016 — SAIPAN, CNMI — Governor Ralph Torres does not support the expansion of the marine national monument in Hawaii, citing the CNMI’s disappointing experience with the Marianas Trench monument.

The governor in an interview on Tuesday said he wrote to President Obama to raise some concerns regarding the proposed expansion of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii also known as the Northwestern Hawaiian monument.

“I don’t think I’m supporting it,” he said. “What we were offered here [for the Marianas monument] was not the one given to us. The proponents mentioned hundreds of millions of dollars and many jobs, but none of those have occurred.”

Read the full story at the Pacific Islands Report