Saving Seafood

StarKist: Fishing Restrictions Hurting American Samoa Cannery

October 26, 2015 — PAGO PAGO, American Samoa – StarKist Co. says fishing restrictions on the high seas and in the US EEZ have further eroded American Samoa’s competitiveness and call on the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to recognize the territory’s unique nature as a small and developing economy.

The statement from the US based company, owned by South Korea based Dongwon industries comes as NMFS officially released last Friday its decision not to approve an emergency rule to exempt U.S. purse seine vessels that deliver at least half of their catch to tuna processing facilities in American Samoa from the closure of the area known as the Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine (ELAPS) — which is fishing on high seas and US EEZ.

Tri Marine International had petitioned the NMFS arguing among other things the reduction of fishing days in waters of Kiribati, traditional fishing grounds for the US purse seine fleet, and that the loss of a reliable supply of tuna from these vessels will jeopardize the ability of the canneries in American Samoa to compete in world markets.

STARKIST RESPONSE

In a statement issued last Friday, StarKist says, “Our cannery has been directly impacted by the closure of access to the high seas and NMFS needs to recognize the unique nature of American Samoa’s small and developing economy.

The company says these “unnecessary restrictions” have driven the purse seine fleet into distant waters where they are now catching fish under a U.S. flag to benefit competitors to American industry.

“As a result, we are forced to buy our fish at a premium with reefer vessels coming in from distant fishing grounds,” it says. “The competitive position of American Samoa continues to be eroded day by day, and the decision by NMFS to forgo an emergency rulemaking for our purse seine fleet is another example of a lack of urgency for how difficult it truly is to operate a business here.”

“American Samoa has had three things in its favor – duty free access to the US market which is now nearly irrelevant, a wage system reflective of the local economy rather than the mainland economy, and a reliable supply of direct-delivered fish,” StarKist said. “All of these factors have been negatively impacted in the last six months.”

Read the full story from the Samoa News at the Pacific Islands Report

 

Former Dutch Harbor Fisheries Observer Keith Davis Missing At Sea Off Peru

October 26, 2015 — With crab season under way in the Bering Sea, some 70 crab boats are bobbing around Alaska’s Bristol Bay and the Aleutian Islands. About a dozen of those boats have a fisheries observer on board. The observers keep tabs on what the boats haul up from the deep.

Keith Davis was supposed to be one of those observers, but he went missing in September while working on a boat off the coast of South America. KUCB’s John Ryan reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Davis has been a fisheries observer for more than 15 years. His employer says he was planning to return to Dutch Harbor this winter to do more observing work.

But Davis vanished while working on a transshipment vessel about 500 miles off the coast of Peru. He disappeared one afternoon while a boat was offloading tuna to the Taiwanese ship that he was working on. The ship sailed under the flag of Panama.

The Panamanian government, the U.S. Coast Guard and the FBI are investigating his disappearance. Davis’s friends suspect foul play.

Goodman: “Absolutely do.  For a number of reasons.”

Lynn Goodman is a fisheries observer and a friend of Keith Davis.

Goodman: “I met Keith in our Dutch Harbor bunkhouse while we were both observing on crab boats.”

She says Davis was exceptionally safety conscious and there’s no way he would have been on board a ship without a life jacket, let alone just fall off unnoticed.

Read the full story and listen to the audio at KUCB

 

Fishery Managers Agree on Catch Limits for US Pacific Territories Bottomfish, Bigeye Tuna

October 23, 2015 — UTULEI, American Samoa — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The bottomfish annual catch limits (ACLs) in American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) should be equal to their acceptable biological catch (ABC), the Council deemed yesterday as it concluded its two-day meeting in Utulei, American Samoa. The ABCs are set by the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee and refer to the amount of fish that can be harvested without causing overfishing. The amounts are 106,000 pounds for American Samoa; 66,000 pounds for Guam; and 228,000 pounds for CNMI. In making its decision, the Council determined that the difference between recent harvest levels and ACLs in all three island areas were sufficient to ensure the ACLs will not be exceeded.

The Council yesterday also approved the proposed management policy, goals and objectives for the American Samoa, Hawaii, Mariana, Pelagic and Pacific Remote Islands Area Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs), which are undergoing a five-year review. The proposed policy is to apply responsible and proactive management practices, based on sound scientific data and analysis and inclusive of fishing community members, to conserve and manage fisheries and their associated ecosystems. The proposed goals are to 1) Conserve and manage target and non- target stocks; 2) Protect species and habitats of special concern; 3) Understand and account for important ecosystem parameters and their linkages; and 4) Meet the needs of fishermen, their families and communities. The National Marine Fisheries Service will review the draft plans to provide comprehensive agency feedback, input and guidance by mid December.

Certificates and plaques of recognition were awarded to 40 seafood vendors who are helping local and federal fishery managers better understand American Samoa’s commercial fishery. Pictured (from left) are Council Chair Ed Ebisui Jr., American Samoa DMWR Director Ruth Matagi-Tofiga, Aukuso Gabriel of Josie’s Restaurant, Charles Nelson of Equator Restaurant, Hana of P n F Mart, Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds, Tom Drabble of Sadie’s Hotels, and Michelle Shaosxia Ma and Tua Agalelei of Sunny’s Restaurant

During its two-day meeting in America Samoa, the Council also maintained its recommendation made in June to specify the 2016 US longline bigeye tuna limits for the three US Pacific Territories at 2,000 metric tons (mt) each. Up to 1,000 mt per territory would be authorized to be allocated to US fishermen through specified fishing agreements authorized under Amendment 7 of the Pelagic FEP. The Council recognized that these limits are consistent with the conservation and management framework of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and are not impeding international conservation objectives to eliminate bigeye overfishing.

Recommendations by the Council that are regulatory are transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce for final approval.

The Council also directed staff to request that the Department of Justice consider directing funds received from fines and penalties from marine pollution violations that occur in waters of the Territory of American Samoa or in the US exclusive economic zone waters around American Samoa be provided to the American Samoa government. The funds would be used to support conservation and management activities identified in the America Samoa’s Marine Conservation Plan.

The Council officers for 2016 were selected and will remain the same as this year, with Edwin Ebisui Jr. of Hawaii as chair and Michael Duenas (Guam), John Gourley (CNMI), McGrew Rice (Hawaii) and William Sword (American Samoa) as vice chairs.

The Council also appointed Mike Tenorio to the Scientific and Statistic Committee; Peter Crispin to the Pelagic Fisheries Sub-Panel and Nonu Tuisamoa to the Ecosystem and Habitat Sub-Panel of the American Samoa Advisory Panel; Daniel Roudebush to the Ecosystem and Habitat Sub-Panel and Geoff Walker to the Pelagic Fisheries Sub Panel of the Hawaii Advisory Panel; and Archie Taotasi Soliai, StarKist manager, to the Fishing Industry Advisory Committee.

The Council provided certificates of recognition to 40 seafood vendors who provided their monthly receipts of fish sales to help improve understanding of American Samoa’s commercial fishery. Vendors who submitted 100 percent of their receipts each month for the past year received special plaques of recognition. The project is a partnership involving the Council, NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources.

For more on the meeting, go to www.wpcouncil.org, email info@wpcouncil.org or phone (808) 522-8220. The Council was established by Congress under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1976 to manage domestic fisheries operating seaward of State waters around Hawai`i, American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI and the US Pacific Island Remote Island Areas.

Fishery Advisors Focus on Mounting Tuna Management Concerns

October 21 2015 — UTULEI, American Samoa — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Meetings leading up to the convening of the 164th Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council continued yesterday in Utulei, American Samoa. The Pelagic and International Standing Committee began the day supporting recommendations of the Council’s advisory bodies that met in Utulei on Monday as well as those of the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and the US Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC) to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which met earlier in the month in Honolulu. Also meeting yesterday were the Program Planning Standing Committee and Executive and Budget Standing Committee. The Council will consider the recommendations of these advisory groups when it meets today and tomorrow at the Lee Auditorium in Utulei.

American Samoa longline vessels docked at Pago Pago harbor.

One topic of concern to multiple advisory bodies is the American Samoa tuna fleet, which consists of longline vessels targeting South Pacific albacore and purse-seine vessels targeting skipjack. The local longline vessels have suffered from reduced catches, possibly due to an unchecked, four-fold increase in the Chinese fleet in the region, while the local purse-seine vessels have suffered from a reduction in their traditional fishing grounds in the Kiribati exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from 4,313 fishing days in 2014 to 300 days this year. Established by the United States for its purse seine vessels, the Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine (ELAPS) includes all areas of high seas and US EEZ between 20 degrees N and 20 degrees S in the WCPFC Convention area, i.e., the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). US purse seine vessels have been shut out of the high seas and US EEZ since June 15 when the US purse seiners reached the US limit of 1,828 fishing days.

“American Samoa’s economy is tuna dependent, and it has a tuna fishery that includes the purse seine, longline and alias that are based there,” states the PAC recommendation. “The US needs to advocate for its tuna fishery based in American Samoa.” According to the PAC, current conservation and management measures of the WCPFC that limit high seas days is damaging to the US purse seine fleet and the canneries in American Samoa.One topic of concern to multiple advisory bodies is the American Samoa tuna fleet, which consists of longline vessels targeting South Pacific albacore and purse-seine vessels targeting skipjack. The local longline vessels have suffered from reduced catches, possibly due to an unchecked, four-fold increase in the Chinese fleet in the region, while the local purse-seine vessels have suffered from a reduction in their traditional fishing grounds in the Kiribati exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from 4,313 fishing days in 2014 to 300 days this year. Established by the United States for its purse seine vessels, the Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine (ELAPS) includes all areas of high seas and US EEZ between 20 degrees N and 20 degrees S in the WCPFC Convention area, i.e., the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). US purse seine vessels have been shut out of the high seas and US EEZ since June 15 when the US purse seiners reached the US limit of 1,828 fishing days.

Additionally, Council advisory bodies recommend that NMFS expedite its economic analysis of the impacts of the US purse-seineeffort limit rules. A petition filed on May 12 by Tri Marine Management Company to open the ELAPS to US purse seiners delivering at least of half of their catch to tuna processing facilities in American Samoa is being denied by NMFS due to lack of this information. The petition had unsuccessfully invoked the special requirements the WCPFC affords to Small Islands Developing State (SIDS) and Participating Territories, including American Samoa, in recognition of their aspirations to develop their fisheries.

The second issue addressed by multiple advisors concerns bigeye tuna, which has been experiencing Pacific-wide overfishing for decades. The species is targeted by the Hawaii longline fishery, which reached the 2015 US quota of 3,554 metric tons (mt) in the WCPFC Convention area on Aug. 5. The fishery was closed in the WCPO for two months until NMFS on Oct. 9 approved a fishing agreement that allows the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to transfer 1,000 mt of its 2,000 mt quota to the Hawaii fishery.

The Council is tasked annually with recommending the bigeye quota for CNMI, American Samoa and Guam. Some advisers say the Council should specify the 2016 US Territory longline bigeyetuna limits at 2,000 mt per Territory or higher based upon scientific assessment that it doesn’t impede international bigeye conservation objectives, whereby 1,000 mt per Territory or more would be authorized to be allocated to US fishermen through fishing agreements approved by NMFS. Other advisors and a majority of the PAC recommend that the United States work to restore the bigeye catch limit applicable to the Hawaii longline fishery. The fishery’s 2009 level established by the WCPFC was 3,763 mt, i.e., the fishery’s 2004 catch of 4,181 mt minus 10 percent. It was noted that the Hawaii fishery is highly monitored, fishes in an area of low impact to the bigeye stock and supplies a local domestic market. It has also recognized the Hawaii longline fishery has been the only longline fishery to close down due to reaching its limit.

The SSC and the PAC propose that the United States at the 12th regular meeting of the WCPFC introduce and strongly advocate for spatial management of the longline fisheries to conserve bigeye. The meeting will be held Dec. 3 to 8 in Bali, Indonesia. The SSC also suggests that work plans be developed to register fish aggregation devices as fishing gear, to research the Eastern Pacific Ocean as a bigeye tuna spawning area and to address observer coverage and monitoring. The PAC agrees that there are serious concerns of an uneven playing field with regards to compliance and monitoring within the WCPFC and recommends that the United States significantly increase its efforts to gain improvements in enforcement and monitoring of fisheries of other WCPFC member countries to a level that is comparable to the United States.

Another common concern of the Council’s advisory bodies is the development of the American Samoa alia (small-scale catamaran) fleet. They recommend that the American Samoa Government allocate money it received for disaster relief to fix the alia in the Manu`a Islands to be seaworthy for fishing. They also suggest the Council work with the local alia fleet and the American Samoa government on training opportunities to improve seafood handling and quality, identification of export markets and reduced freight costs.

Multiple advisory bodies also recommend that the Council select annual catch limits for bottomfish in the US Territories for 2016 and 2017 equal to the acceptable biological catch set by the SSC. This would equate to 106,000 pounds for American Samoa; 66,000 pounds for Guam; and 228,000 pounds for CNMI.

For more on the Council meeting, go to www.wpcouncil.org, email info@wpcouncil.org or phone (808) 522-8220. The Council was established by Congress under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1976 to manage domestic fisheries operating seaward of State waters around Hawai`i, American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI and the US Pacific Island Remote Island Areas. Recommendations by the Council are transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce for final approval.

NMFS to Deny Tri Marine Petition, Fishery Council Asked to Expedite Analysis of the Cost to American Samoa

October 20, 2015 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Management Council:

UTULEI, American Samoa — The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will not undertake an emergency rulemaking to exempt U.S. purse seine vessels that deliver at least half of their catch to tuna processing facilities in American Samoa from the closure of the area known as the Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine (ELAPS). Michael Tosatto, Regional Administrator of the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office, made the announcement to the Fishing Industry Advisory Committee (FIAC), during its meeting yesterday at the Rex Lee Auditorium in Utulei, American Samoa. The FIAC advises the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which will convene at the Lee Auditorium on Wednesday and Thursday.

NMFS closed the ELAPS on June 15. The ELAPS is comprised of all areas of high seas and U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between 20 degrees N and 20 degrees S in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Convention area. The closure remains in effect until Dec. 31, 2015. “NMFS finds it is not appropriate to grant the petition as it was requested,” Tosatto said. The ELAPs closure may have economic impacts, he added, but whether these impacts warrant action would take more information and more time to analyze the information.

Tri-Marine Management Company had submitted the petition for the emergency rule to NMFS on May 12. The company owns 10 purse seine vessels home ported in American Samoa as well as a tuna cannery in the U.S. territory.

Public view an American Samoa purse seiner during the Fishers Forum on American Samoa Fisheries, hosted on Oct. 17 by the Council and the American Samoa Department of Marine & Wildlife Resources at the Port Administration main dock at Fagatogo.

The Tri Marine petition argued that the ability of American Samoa-based tuna vessels to operate profitably is in serious question due to the loss of access to traditional fishing grounds among other reasons. The traditional grounds have been the EEZ of Kiribati. This year Kiribati provided U.S. vessels with only 300 fishing days for the entire U.S. purse seine fleet, after allowing 4,313 fishing days (60 percent of all US flag fishing days in the region) in 2014.

The lack of fishing grounds causes a lack of reliable supply of tuna from these vessels, which will jeopardize the ability of the canneries in American Samoa to compete in world markets, according to Tri Marine. The petition invokes the WCPFC Convention, which supports full recognition to the special requirements of developing Small Island Developing State (SIDS) or participating territories, including American Samoa.

Joe Hamby, Tri Marine Group’s chief operating officer, expressed disappointment of the decision “considering the dire straits the vessels are going through.” He said Tri Marine looks forward to working with NOAA on providing information and asked “What is the timeline?” He noted that the original petition was six months ago.

Tosatto said it is hard to put a timeline on what it will take. “WCPFC has a lot of clauses and we are exploring those. … It will be several months.” He said a Federal Register notice on the decision will be published in the next few days.

In regards to the potential impacts to America Samoa from reduced access for US purse seine vessels based in America Samoa, the FIAC recommended that the Council request that NMFS expedite its economic analysis on impacts to America Samoa of the US rules on purse seine effort limits.

The FIAC also recommended that the Council undertake the following actions:

  • Continue to advocate for more effective international management of the South Pacific albacore longline fishery and notes that the economic conditions for longline fisheries across the region remain well below historic levels.
  • Initiate further discussions with America Samoa longline participants, America Samoa canneries and other interested parties on the costs and benefits of obtaining Marine Stewardship Certification.
  • Request that the US government work to restore US bigeye tuna limits applicable to the Hawaii fishery and recognizes that it is highly monitored, fishes in an area of low impact to the bigeye stock and supplies a local domestic market.
  • Request that NMFS work with the fishing industry on the development of the national traceability program and to limit impacts on US fishermen and US seafood products.
  • Work with the local alia fleet and American Samoa government on training opportunities to improve seafood handling and quality, identification of export markets and reduced freight costs.
  • Respond to the proposed rule on Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) import provision by supporting the general intent of the provision, which is to level the playing field for U.S. fisheries by requiring similar marine mammal bycatch mitigation provisions for foreign fisheries exporting fish and fish products to U.S., and expressing concern that the process and requirements outlined in the proposed rule are extremely complex and burdensome and have the potential to divert resources necessary to implement MMPA provisions for domestic fisheries, may impact the U.S. seafood import industry and result in other unintended consequences to the domestic fishing and seafood industries.

The American Samoa Regional Ecosystem Advisory Committee (REAC) and the American Samoa Advisory Panel, two other committees that advise the Council, also met yesterday at the Lee Auditorium. The REAC reviewed ongoing expansion of the Council archipelagic and pelagic fishery ecosystem annual reports to further incorporate ecosystem components and provided recommendations to Council staff regarding data availability. The REAC recommended that it should participate in reviewing the draft reports for completeness and accuracy. 

American Samoa Regional Ecosystem Advisory Committee met yesterday at the Lee Auditorium in Utulei, American Samoa, to discuss enhancements to the Fishery Ecosystem Plans for the Western Pacific Region among other topics.

The Advisory Panel recommended that the Council undertake the following:  

  • Support fisheries development in American Samoa as a SIDS in international commissions and organizations
  • Specify the 2016 US Territory longline bigeye tuna limits at 2,000 metric tons (mt) per Territory or higher based upon scientific assessment that it doesn’t impede international bigeye conservation objectives, whereby 1,000 mt per Territory or more would be authorized to be allocated to US fishermen through Amendment 7 specified fishing agreements.
  • Support and advocate for the participation of the local tuna fleet, as well as all of the various fishing sectors, in discussions and local, national, regional and international meetings that may affect the American Samoa fishing industry.
  • Request that the US Coast Guard maintain consistent inspection and enforcement actions for both land-based and at sea operations for the American Samoa fishing industry and report on the potential for improving the response time to distress and emergency calls initiated from vessels within American Samoa’s fishing fleet.
  • Support the resolution of local laws supporting the prohibition of shark finning to mirror federal regulations that allow the capture and landing of the whole shark.
  • Select the annual catch limit equal to the acceptable biological catch at 106,000 pounds for the territory bottomfish fishery in the 2016 and 2017 fishing years with a corresponding probability of overfishing of 22.9 percent and 37 percent, respectively. 
  • Recommend that the American Samoa Government allocate the money necessary to fix the alia vessels preferably in Manu`a to be seaworthy for fishing from the disaster relief fund.
  • Request NMFS expedite its economic analysis on impacts of the US rules on purse seine effort limits.
  • Support the evaluation of the effectiveness of marine managed areas in American Samoa.

The Council will consider the recommendations of its advisory committees and standing committees, which meet today in Utulei, when it convenes Oct. 21 and 22 at the Lee Auditorium. For more on these Council meetings, go to www.wpcouncil.org, email info@wpcouncil.org or phone (808) 522-8220. The Council was established by Congress under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1976 to manage domestic fisheries operating seaward of State waters around Hawai`i, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Pacific Island Remote Island Areas. Recommendations by the Council are transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce for final approval.

John Kerry at Milan Expo: ‘There is too much money chasing too few fish’

October 19, 2015 — MILAN — Secretary Kerry travelled to Milan, Italy, on 16 October, to deliver remarks in commemoration of World Food Day and visit the US Pavilion at Milan EXPO 2015. While in Milan, the Secretary also met with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni to discuss the bilateral relationship, as well as global and regional issues.

Remarks at the Expo Milan 2015

“…And now consider that the global population is growing – and growing unbelievably fast. In the next 35 years, we will go from about 7 billion people to 9 billion people walking the Earth. And all of them will need healthy food to thrive and survive. So given the hunger and the poverty on the Earth today, the challenge of making sure that future generations have enough to eat is not a small challenge.”

“Now, obviously, it starts with making sure that we’re producing more food. By some estimates, the world will have to increase food production by 60 percent between now and 2050 in order to keep pace with the rising number of mouths to feed. But growing and raising more food is only part of the challenge. We also have to be better stewards of the food that we have.”

Read the full story at FIS World News

 

Aramark To Source All Canned Tuna From MSC Certified Sources By April 2016

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] — October 16, 2015 — Major foodservice distributor Aramark plans to source all of its canned skipjack and albacore tuna products certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) by April 2016.

The $15 billion global supplier of food, facilities management, and uniforms, developed the plan in consultations with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program and the MSC. When the transition is complete in April 2016, Aramark will have converted an estimated 2.5 million pounds of tuna to sustainably sourced product.

“The Marine Stewardship Council congratulates Aramark on its commitment to source from MSC certified tuna fisheries. In making certified sustainable seafood available to its customers, Aramark is helping to raise consumer awareness about the importance of ensuring wild fish supplies for generations to come,” said Brian Perkins, MSC Regional Director, Americas.

All contracted canned tuna products Aramark purchases in the U.S. will meet green “Best Choice” or yellow “Good Alternative” by Seafood Watch recommendations: all skipjack canned tuna products will come from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fisheries; and all albacore canned tuna products will be pole-and-line caught or from MSC certified fisheries, whenever available.

“Aramark is committed to providing our consumers with safe, high-quality, nutritious food that is sourced responsibly,” said Scott Barnhart, Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain and Procurement, Aramark. “By transitioning to 100% sustainable canned tuna, we are strengthening our responsible sourcing practices, while delivering on our mission to enrich and nourish lives.”

This transition is the next significant step in Aramark’s sustainable seafood commitment. The company has already transitioned half of its total seafood purchases to sustainable sources. As of October 2014, 99% of frozen fin fish purchases met the Seafood Watch® “Best Choice” and “Good Alternative” recommendations.

“Aramark’s commitment is helping to transform the marketplace,” said Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly, Director of Seafood Watch®. “By creating more demand for seafood from ocean-friendly sources that protect sea life and habitats.”

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.

Hawaii Longline Fishermen Allowed to Resume Catching Tuna

October 15, 2015 — Hawaii fishermen are once again being allowed to catch a prized tuna species in the fleet’s most productive fishing grounds west of the islands, sparking criticism that they are adding to overfishing.

The National Marine Fisheries Service closed the fishery in early August because Hawaii-based longline fishermen hit an annual bigeye tuna catch limit of about 3,500 metric tons set by international regulators.

But the agency on Friday created a rule allowing the fishermen to report up to 1,000 metric tons of bigeye as being caught by the Northern Mariana Islands, which is a U.S. territory. The change allows Hawaii fisherman to catch more bigeye tuna than the maximum set by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

The commission, which is an international body that regulates fishing by the U.S., Japan, China and other nations fishing the area, doesn’t set limits on the catch of territories.

The two-month closure of fishing grounds affected 145 active vessels in the Hawaii longline fleet, said the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which develops management plans for U.S. fisheries in Hawaii and other Pacific islands.

“Arbitrary quotas not linked to conservation objectives kept our boats tied at the docks,” Kitty Simonds, the council’s executive director, said in a statement. “The struggling vessels and small businesses they support accumulated millions of dollars in debt each month, causing untold anxiety for our local fishing community and consumers.”

Read the full story at the New York Times

WPRFMC: Hawaii Bigeye Tuna Industry Reels Two Months After Reaching Its Quotas

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — October 9, 2015 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council: 

TELEVISION AND OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS SEEKING BROADCAST QUALITY VIDEO PLEASE CONTACT SYLVIA SPALDING: Sylvia.Spalding@wpcouncil.org.

For the past two months, since early August, about a quarter of the 145 active vessels in the Hawaii longline fleet have been prohibited from catching their target species, bigeye tuna. Arbitrary quotas not linked to conservation objectives are keeping them tied at the docks. These struggling vessels and small businesses they support are accumulating millions of dollars in debt each month, causing untold anxiety for the local fishing community and consumers.

The rest of the Hawaii fleet has been forced out of its primary fishing grounds in the Western and Central Pacific and must travel more than a thousand miles into the Eastern Pacific to set hooks to catch bigeye tuna.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fOiq6HCzZw

This travesty has happened because of two international quota systems-one in the Eastern Pacific for larger longline vessels and another in the Western and Central Pacific for all longline vessels. Both allocate the United States a minuscule amount of bigeye tuna.

As a result, industrial foreign fleets, with much higher bigeye tuna quotas, freely operate on the high seas around the Hawaiian Islands where Hawaii longline fishermen can no longer fish for bigeye tuna.

Overfishing of bigeye tuna in the Pacific started when the purse-seine fleets began using fish aggregation devices. While fishing on FADs targeting skipjack tuna for canneries, the purse-seiners unintentionally catch more bigeye than the longline fishery.

The Hawaii fishery lands only 1 and a half percent of the bigeye tuna caught in the Pacific Ocean. Its fishing grounds are thousands of miles away from the equatorial Pacific, the epi-center of overfishing.

The Hawaii longline fishery is unique. The fish are packed in ice and brought fresh to the dock for mostly Hawaii consumption.

Imported tuna, on the other hand, are mostly frozen. They are transshipped at sea with little monitoring and little traceability. These tuna are often treated with carbon monoxide, giving them an artificially fresh appearance.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council played a key role in establishing the international Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in 2000. The Council supported the Commission’s goals to prevent overcapacity and to eliminate bigeye overfishing in the Western and Central Pacific. However, the Commission has conspicuously failed to address these critical issues.

Instead of being penalized for a problem it did not create, the Hawaii longline fleet should be rewarded for being an exemplary fishery. The Western Pacific Council under the Magnuson-Stevens Act has responsibly managed this fishery for decades.  The fishery has maintained high levels of observer coverage, provided quality fisheries data for stock assessments, pioneered the vessel monitoring system and mitigated protected species interactions.

The five Commissioners who will be representing the United States at the next Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission will be meeting next week Wednesday and Thursday to strategize for the Commission’s next meeting to be held Dec. 3 to 8, 2015, in Bali. The US government must commit to protect the Hawaii longline fishery. The alternative is US dependence on foreign imports and the irrevocable loss of Hawaii’s iconic fishery.

Hawaii fleet

EPO Bigeye

wcpo catch limits

Bigeye Catch

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council: Appointees by the Secretary of Commerce from nominees selected by American Samoa, CNMI, Guam and Hawai`i governors: Michael Duenas, Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association (Guam) (vice chair); Edwin Ebisui (Hawai`i) (chair); Michael Goto, United Fishing Agency Ltd. (Hawai`i); John Gourley, Micronesian Environmental Services (CNMI) (vice chair); Julie Leialoha, biologist (Hawai`i); Dr. Claire Tuia Poumele, Port Administration (American Samoa); McGrew Rice, commercial and charter fisherman (Hawai`i) (vice chair); and William Sword, recreational fisherman (American Samoa) (vice chair). Designated state officials: Suzanne Case, Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources; Dr. Ruth Matagi-Tofiga, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources; Richard Seman, CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources; and Matt Sablan, Guam Department of Agriculture. Designated federal officials: Matthew Brown, USFWS Pacific Islands Refuges and Monuments Office; William Gibbons-Fly, US Department of State; RAdm Vincent B. Atkins, US Coast Guard 14th District; and Michael Tosatto, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office.

View a PDF of the release from the WPRFMC

View a PDF copy of the initial notice Federal Register announcing the August longline closures

View a PDF copy of the second Federal Register notice announcing the August longline closures

NORTH CAROLINA: Motion filed to overturn new regulations on longline fishing

September 14, 2015 (Saving Seafood) — Several fishing companies operating in the pelagic longline fishery have filed a motion in the Eastern District of North Carolina to overturn recent federal regulations aimed at reducing bycatch of Atlantic bluefin tuna.

The motion describes the regulations, part of Amendment 7 to the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan, as posing “a distinct threat to the American fishing industry and coastal communities, while depriving American consumers of healthy fish stocks.” According to the filing, the government’s method of controlling bluefin bycatch–creating an individual bluefin quota for the pelagic longline fleet–will result in additional expenses, the inability to catch full allocations of other, abundant species like swordfish, and the possibility of reallocating of tuna quotas to foreign fleets if U.S. quotas are not met.

The motion concludes that, because NOAA failed “to properly consider the negative impact of the final Amendment 7 measures,” as well as those measures being in violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Amendment 7 should be rejected as “arbitrary and capricious” by the court.

Read the full motion here