Saving Seafood

US Pacific Scientists Discuss Next Generation Data Collection, New Pacific Strategy to Advocate for Fisheries

March 18, 2022 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

At the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) meeting this week, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) Director Michael Seki presented the NOAA Next Generation Data Acquisition Plan (NG-DAP) that will guide data acquisition for the next 10 to 15 years. The fisheries and technologies to gather data have evolved and regional data needs have changed since the last plan was released in 1998. The NG-DAP will use innovative technologies, modern fishery information collection systems, artificial and machine learning and advanced modeling tools to account for climate change, emerging ocean uses and ecosystem-based fisheries management.

While the NG-DAP is a nationwide effort, the plan will point out regional needs and highlight opportunities for potential partners and collaborators. NOAA plans to hold public workshops in spring 2022 to gather input from stakeholders. The SSC noted that meetings should include fishing communities in the territories.

The Western Pacific Region is still challenged by data limitations due to little federal investment in collecting basic fishery-dependent data and life history information for the benefit of local underserved communities. Over the years, to sustainably manage the fisheries the Council and its SSC have continuously identified research needs to the National Marine Fisheries Service focusing on island and pelagic fisheries, ecosystems, protected species and human communities.

The Council has been on the forefront of improving data collection in the region through creation of an electronic reporting app and piloting numerous data collection projects. The Council recently partnered with PIFSC and the American Samoa Dept. of Marine and Wildlife Resources to convene a series of data workshops in the territory that highlighted deficiencies in data collection and could be addressed in the NG-DAP.

The SSC discussed a new strategy for addressing Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) issues through a holistic approach engaging multiple federal departments to advocate for fisheries. Council staff and the U.S. tuna industries developed a paper that emphasizes the importance of fisheries to Pacific Island communities and strategic importance to U.S. interests.

The SSC recommended that U.S. delegations to WCPFC subcommittees coordinate to address objectives of the Pacific strategy and ensure that U.S. Pacific Island Territories and the Commonwealth take an active role in developing and implementing them. “The voices of smaller island nations, including American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands should not be ignored in these discussions,” said Debra Cabrera.

Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds said the East-West Center in Honolulu and the U.S. House Pacific Islands Caucus have launched a “Pacific Islands Matter for America/America Matters for the Pacific Islands” initiative exploring similar issues. 

The Biden Administration is seeking public comment on development of an Indo-Pacific strategy. In December, the Council recommended any such Pacific strategy incorporate fishery interests into achieving national objectives. The Council noted that a lack of a favorable tropical tuna management measure for U.S. fisheries within the WCPFC indicates a loss of stature for the United States in the Pacific.

SSC member Ray Hilborn and Dan Ovando, both of the University of Washington, presented two studies* on the utility of area-based management strategies, including marine protected areas (MPAs), to achieve conservation objectives. The studies reinforce a need for monitoring and adapting MPAs to ensure they are achieving stated objectives, and that dynamic fishery closures are superior to static MPAs in meeting objectives with minimal costs to fisheries. 

“When closing 30% of fishing areas using a dynamic approach, bycatch can be reduced by 57% without sacrificing loss to optimal yield, compared to 16% reductions in bycatch using a static approach,” said Ray Hilborn speaking on a study he coauthored earlier this year.

Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets virtually March 22-24, 2022. Due to the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public host site in American Samoa has been cancelled. Host sites in Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam remain open: BRI Building, Suite 205, Kopa Di Oru St., Garapan, Saipan, CNMI; and Cliff Pointe, 304 W. O’Brien Dr., Hagatña, Guam. Council meeting agenda and briefing documents are posted at https://www.wpcouncil.org/event/190th-council-meeting-virtual. To connect to the web conference, go to https://tinyurl.com/CM190mtg. 

*https://tinyurl.com/AreaBasedManagement,

https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/cobi.13782

 

Scientists Support Combined Management Measures for Uku, Review Mitigation Tactics for False Killer Whales

June 16, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council supported the combined management of the commercial and noncommercial sectors of the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) uku fishery. Commercial fishery data is submitted mandatorily through monthly reports. However, variabilities in the noncommercial data from the voluntary Hawai‘i Marine Recreational Fisheries Survey (estimated bi-monthly) raise uncertainties about the reliability of this system as a tool for in-season tracking against the annual catch limit. Improvements in data collection systems and establishing a proper management framework for sector allocation are required if the uku fishery is to be managed separately.

In September 2020, the SSC set the acceptable biological catch for uku at 297,624 pounds for fishing years 2022 to 2025. The MHI stock is not overfished or subject to overfishing.

The Committee noted that the decision whether to use sector allocation of the total annual catch target is purely a management action. A 2020 stock assessment from the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center indicates that noncommercial fishers harvest smaller fish compared to commercial fishers due to fishing location and gear type differences. From a scientific standpoint, this justifies managing the uku fishery separately. The SSC chair suggested that the group conduct a risk analysis to determine if management measures should be different for the two sectors in the future.

A working group of the SSC highlighted their preliminary findings on alternative approaches to reduce impacts to false killer whales (FKWs) in the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery. The draft issues paper reviews the history of the Pacific Islands Region FKW Take Reduction Team and their recommendations, past SSC recommendations, cetacean avoidance research and interaction reduction measures, among other topics.

The group suggested, for example, that mitigation strategies should focus on removing the trailing gear from an accidentally hooked FKW instead of using weak circle hooks, which to date have proved ineffective. Also, they noted there is not enough demographic information, such as survival rates at different ages and reproductive rates, to do a population assessment or diagnose trends for FKWs. The working group will work with the full Committee to review the findings and associated recommendations.

The meeting continues through Thursday, June 17, 2021. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agenda and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/140th-scientific-and-statistical-committee-virtual-meeting.

American Samoan fish vendors honored for 100% compliance with data collection

October 26, 2015 — Over two dozen local fish vendors were honored with plaques and certificates last week, from the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC), the National Marine Fisheries Service – Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center, and the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR).

According to the inscription on the certificates, the vendors are honored for their commitment in supporting the fishery data collection in American Samoa, by submitting their monthly Commercial Receipt Books at 100% compliance from July 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015. “We appreciate your contribution to the fishery data that supports fishery management decision on the territory of American Samoa. We ask for your continued support as we strive to improve the fishery information through the Territory Science Initiative.”

The certificates are signed by the WPRFMC Executive Director Kitty Simonds, DMWR Director Dr. Ruth Matagi-Tofiga, and Director of the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center, Michael Seki, Ph.D.

Local vendors who were presented plaques include: Milovale’s, Super K Supermarket, T.S.M., F.J. &P. Kruse, Pelene Supermarket, Sadie’s by the Sea, Sunny’s Restaurant, and Toa’s Bar and Grill.

Those who received certificates were: Jeli’s Store, Toa’s Bar and Grill, DDW Beach Café, Pelene Supermarket, P&F Mart, U.S. Mart, Hong Kong House Restaurant, Super K Supermarket, Tausala Fa’a-Tutuila Restaurant, Lucky 7, KS Mart, PJK Fish Market, Tisa’s Barefoot Bar, Happy Mart, Sook’s Sushi, The Equator Restaurant, KM Fast Food, Jade Restaurant, Louise Store, Kristopher’s Store, Manuia Restaurant, Shalhout Inc., L.Y.C. Inc., F.J. &P. Kruse, Shan J’s Park Restaurant, Josie’s Restaurant, Sadie’s Hotel, Sunny’s Restaurant, Milovale’s Inc., Figota O le Sami Seafood Market, Jin Mart (Alofau), Double Z’s Burger, and T.S.M. Mart.

Read the full story at Samoa News