Saving Seafood

Fishery Management Council to Consider Area-Based Management Issues and Draft Fishing Regulations for Proposed NWHI Sanctuary

June 20, 2022 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will meet June 21 to 23, 2022, to discuss President Biden’s “30×30” initiative and a proposed marine national monument expansion, draft fishing regulations for the proposed Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) sanctuary and 2023 U.S. territory bigeye longline catch limits, among other topics. The meeting will be held in a hybrid format, with in-person and remote participation options available for members, and public attendance limited to web conference. The full agenda, background documents and instructions for connecting to the meeting and providing oral public comments are available at www.wpcouncil.org/event/191st-council-meeting-virtual.

Area-Based Management

The Council will review a Council Coordination Committee area-based management subcommittee report addressing the Biden Administration’s “30×30” initiative to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. The initiative has the potential to greatly impact fisheries and their management in the United States. Protections in the Western Pacific Region alone collectively correspond to 29.1% of all U.S. marine waters under fishery council purview, which is 97% of the national goal.

The Council will also discuss a proposal to expand the no-take areas of the Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monument, making it the largest marine protected area in the world. This would close waters 50 to 200 nautical miles from Howard and Baker Islands, and Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll. The Council will deliberate on potential dire consequences of the expansion, such as jeopardizing American Samoa’s economy by reducing supply of U.S.-caught fish to its cannery.

Proposed NWHI Fishing Regulations

The Council will consider action on a regulatory amendment looking at various alternatives for commercial and non-commercial, Native Hawaiian practices, and research fishing in the proposed NWHI sanctuary. At its March 2022 meeting, the Council agreed to develop fishing regulations for the proposed sanctuary, which were provided to the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries as part of the designation process.

The Council will also develop an amendment to its Hawai‘i Archipelago and Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs) to analyze fishing alternatives in parallel to the sanctuary fishing regulations. The Council may need to consider the impact of proposed regulations on the current regulatory landscape in the NWHI, including the Council’s current Magnuson-Stevens Act regulations in the area.

2023 Territory Bigeye Specifications

The Council will consider taking final action on the specification of the 2023 U.S. territorial bigeye longline limits for American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

Bigeye tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) is internationally managed and assessed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which develops catch and effort limits for member nations. A 2020 stock assessment concluded the bigeye tuna stock in the WCPO is not overfished or experiencing overfishing. Small Island Developing States and Participating Territories (including American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI) are not subject to catch limits for bigeye tuna in consideration of their fishery development aspirations.

Through its Pacific Pelagic FEP, the Council recommends a catch limit for each U.S. territory and allows transfer of part of its catch limit through speci­fied fishing agreements to U.S.-flagged longline vessels that operate out of Hawai‘i.

The Council will also hear from its advisory bodies on the draft National Marine Fisheries Service bottomfish fisheries biological opinion. The assessment concluded bottomfish fisheries in Hawai‘i, American Samoa and the CNMI are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence or recovery of Endangered Species Act-listed species such as the oceanic whitetip shark because interactions affect less than 0.0001% of its population.

 

Council director laments marine monuments’ effects on fishing in western Pacific

May 6, 2019 — The executive director of the US Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council believes that marine monuments in US federal waters are needlessly restricting harvesters from fishing.

In recent testimony before the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, Kitty Simmonds asserted that fishing prohibitions in marine monuments amount to a “major impediment” for US fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

“These prohibitions have forced our fishermen out of more than half of the US [exclusive economic zone] EEZ in the WCPO and onto the high seas, where they are forced to compete with foreign fleets on the fishing grounds,” she said. “Because of limited data, the full impact of the expansion of the marine monuments in 2016 is yet to be fully understood. We do know that US fishermen have been displaced from US waters, where they have to travel farther to fishing grounds and compete with foreign fleets.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Fishing treaty fee dispute is keeping vessels out of Pacific

January 17, 2016 — Two San Diego-based fishing concerns say they are no longer able to uphold their intention to provide the market with sustainable, free-school tuna harvested in the Western and Central Pacific Oceans (WCPO). South Pacific Tuna Corporation (SoPac) and its affiliate, The Global Companies (Ocean Global, LLC, Sea Global, LLC, and Pacific Global LLC), made the announcement on Sunday.

According to their press release, this is a result of halted U.S. Tuna Fleet operations as directed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which advised last month that all U.S. vessels are prohibited from fishing in the Western Pacific Ocean (WPO) until licenses from the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) are issued for 2016.

The companies committed to establishing a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified tuna program in January 2015, and spent the following nine months establishing chain of custody programs to meet and exceed the requirements. MSC standards are considered the most stringent of the current managed sustainability programs.

Read the full story Samoa News

 

NMFS Reopens Bigeye Fishing for Hawaii’s Longliners Through Quota Agreement With Mariana Islands

SEAFOODNEWS.COM — October 13, 2015 — NMFS will allows Hawaii’s longline tuna vessels to resume bigeye fishing efforts in Western and Central Pacific Ocean through an agreement with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

According to NMFS the Islands have a 2,000 metric ton catch limit of longline-caught bigeye tuna and can allocate up to 1,000 mt each year to US longline fishing vessels in a specified fishing agreement that is consistent with established regulations.

Agreement was welcomed for approximately three dozen Hawaii longline vessels that are larger than 24 meters in length. These larger vessels have been banned from fishing not only in the WCPO but also in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since Aug. 12, 2015. According to another international agreement, the US longline fleet has a quota of 500 mt in EPO after which US longline vessels less than 24 meters in length only can operate in those waters.

NMFS determined that the fleet had reached its 2015 US bigeye tuna limit of 3,502 mt. The limited supply during the closure, saw prices for bigeye tuna (`ahi) skyrockety at the Honolulu fish auction to as high as $13.70 per pound.

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

Hawaii’s $100 Million Fishery Reopens In The Western And Central Pacific Ocean

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — October 13, 2015 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council: 

After a closure that lasted more than two months, Hawaii’s longline vessels can fish again for bigeye tuna in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. Since Aug. 5th, the 145 active vessels in the Hawaii longline fleet have been prohibited from catching bigeye tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), i.e., waters east of 150 degrees West longitude. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determined that the fleet had reached its 2015 US bigeye tuna limit of 3,502 mt, developed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, to which the United States is a party.

Today, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced through the Federal Register that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has a 2,000 metric ton (mt) catch limit of longline-caught bigeye tuna and can allocate up to 1,000 mt each year to US longline fishing vessels in a specified fishing agreement that is consistent with established regulations. Additionally, NMFS notified CNMI Governor Eloy Enos that an agreement between the CNMI and Quota Management, Inc., of Honolulu is consistent with the regulatory requirements.

The news was especially welcomed for approximately three dozen Hawaii longline vessels that are larger than 24 meters in length. These larger vessels have been banned from fishing not only in the WCPO but also in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since Aug. 12, 2015. According to another international agreement to which the United States is a party, the US longline fleet has a quota of 500 mt in EPO after which US longline vessels less than 24 meters in length only can operate in those waters.

In a few weeks, after vessels provision and return from fishing, consumers of locally caught sashimi-grade tuna should see a relief from the high prices (reaching nearly $40 per pound for chu-toro, or “ahi with fat”) at retail outlets. Filets comprise about half the weight of a whole fish.

“The US longline fleet had not increased its effort,” noted Kitty Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, “but it experienced a bumper crop of bigeye, apparently as a result of the El Nino weather.” Simonds also noted that the majority of the bigeye tuna is caught in the equatorial Pacific, far from the Hawaii fishing grounds, and no other country has reached its quota.

“Arbitrary quotas not linked to conservation objectives kept our boats tied at the docks,” Simonds said. “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.”

“The Hawaii fishery lands only 1 and a half percent of the bigeye tuna caught in the Pacific Ocean,” Simonds added. “Our fishery was being unfairly penalized for a problem it did not create.”

The Hawaii longline fishery is unique. The fish are packed in ice and brought fresh to the dock for mostly Hawaii consumption. Only 3 percent is exported. The value of the fish landed by the Hawaii fleet is about $100 million, resulting in the port of Honolulu consistently ranking among the nation’s top 10 ports in landed value, according to the NMFS Fisheries of the United States annual reports.

With limited supply during the closure, prices for bigeye tuna (`ahi) skyrocketed at the Honolulu fish auction. At $13.70 a pound, this 214-pounder was worth nearly $3,000 off the boat.

The five Commissioners who represent the United States on the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission will meet in Honolulu tomorrow and Thursday with its advisors, known collectively as the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC). Among other items, the PAC will provide the Commissioners with input and advice on issues that may arise at the Commission’s next meeting to be held Dec. 3 to 8, 2015, in Bali, Indonesia.

“The US government must commit to protect the Hawaii longline fishery,” Simonds said. “The alternative is US dependence on foreign imports and the irrevocable loss of Hawaii’s iconic fishery.”

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 Federal Register notice for the Oct. 14 Permanent Advisory Committee meeting online