Saving Seafood

News for the Western Pacific Region

Western Pacific Council Moves EM Implementation Forward, Backs Satellite Connectivity for Safety and Data

December 18, 2025 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

On the second day of its 205th meeting, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council advanced key actions to strengthen monitoring, improve at-sea communications and support U.S. Pacific territories in international tuna negotiations. 

Electronic Monitoring: Moving From Planning to Implementation

The Council heard an update on electronic monitoring (EM) planning for Hawai‘i and American Samoa longline fisheries, including ongoing coordination among implementation and science partners, fisherman-focused EM forums that began November 25 and continued development of vessel monitoring plans (VMPs). Operational topics raised in VMP discussions included pre-trip system checks and uninterrupted power, camera clarity and lens cleaning, malfunction contingencies and hard drive logistics—especially for longer American Samoa trips.

To support reliable communication at sea, the Council endorsed a Regional Fishery Management Councils letter urging consideration of web-based satellite systems (such as Starlink) as FCC-approved communications options for commercial fishing vessels, noting EM systems could potentially use these mechanisms and that several vessels in the region are already using them successfully.  

Council member Edgar Feliciano from American Samoa urged that web-based satellite services like Starlink be authorized for EM in the longline fleet, emphasizing performance and operational benefits. “Starlink should be approved as a preferred communication platform for electronic monitoring—it’s fast, reliable and ideal for moving video and data from vessels in remote areas, improving efficiency, data quality and compliance as the program rolls out through 2027.” He added that real-time connectivity would allow quicker troubleshooting of malfunctions and faster resumption of data collection.

 Council member Roger Dang from Hawai‘i echoed that support. “Approving systems like Starlink helps address a major safety issue and is the path forward for reliable data transmission,” he said, adding that costs are likely to decrease as more providers enter the market.

 WCPFC22 Follow-up: South Pacific Albacore and Bigeye Tuna Priorities

Building on outcomes from Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC22), held in Manila Dec. 1–5, 2025, the Council outlined several near-term actions to support U.S. Pacific Islands interests in upcoming international negotiations:

  • Asked NMFS to work with American Samoa and provide updated South Pacific albacore catch and economic data to inform early 2026 allocation discussions.
  • Urged NMFS to coordinate with the territories on a plan to pursue a South Pacific albacore conservation and management measure that would:

……o set an American Samoa catch limit grounded in historical (or ……..aspirational) catch levels and longline capacity,

……o include transfer provisions that recognize American Samoa’s ……..relationship with the U.S. and its role in the Commission, and

……o allow flexible transfers to other WCPFC members, recognizing ……..American Samoa’s limited direct access to high seas fishing areas.

  • Sought support for an in-person bigeye tuna management procedure workshop in Honolulu to allow participation of local longline industry.

 False Killer Whales Population Trends

The Council also addressed concerns about new abundance estimates for the endangered main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whale population and emphasized the need for clear, transparent analysis before conclusions are drawn about what may be driving apparent decline. 

 The Council reiterated its request for the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) to present the abundance estimates to the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), a briefing previously delayed due to the government shutdown. The Council requested that PIFSC run additional analyses identified at the SSC’s 148th meeting in June 2023 to determine whether the estimated population decline is real or an artifact of the underlying data or the modeling approach. 

 During discussion, Council member Matt Ramsey emphasized that public reaction to the reported decline has been immediate and intense, and urged timely scientific clarity so the community is not “jumping to conclusions.” PIFSC’s TTodd Jones noted that multiple papers address the issue and that the observed patterns may stem from several factors, including population dynamics, environmental variability and fishery interactions, and indicated the science center can provide the requested briefing at the Council’s March 2026 meeting. 

 Election of Officers

The Council elected the following officers for terms beginning in 2026:

  • Chair: Nathan Ilaoa
  • Vice Chair (American Samoa): Will Sword
  • Vice Chair (CNMI): Sylvan Igisomar
  • Vice Chair (Guam): Chelsa Muña
  • Vice Chair (Hawai‘i): Roger Dang

Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore & seabirds

December 17, 2025 — Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.

The parties to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), a multilateral body that sets fishing rules for an area that covers nearly 20% of the planet, adopted a harvest strategy for South Pacific albacore at their annual meeting, held Dec. 1-5 in Manila, the Philippines. Harvest strategies set near-automatic scientifically advised catch limits or other control measures in response to fluctuating fish stock levels; they’re considered a best practice in fisheries management because they reduce commercial or political influence. South Pacific albacore is one of two albacore (Thunnus alalunga) stocks in the WCPFC; the other is North Pacific albacore, which isn’t fished as much.

“This is a great move for the WCPFC,” Dave Gershman, a senior officer for international fisheries at The Pew Charitable Trusts, a U.S.-based think tank, told Mongabay after attending the meeting. “This is a critical step to ensure the sustainability and stability of the top Pacific albacore fisheries.”

Gershman noted that the harvest strategy was a “long time in the making” and had been “discussed for many, many years.”

The parties discussed, but didn’t adopt, new rules on transshipment, or the ship-to-ship transfer of fish and other goods at sea, a practice that’s been linked to illegal and unsustainable fishing and other illicit activity.

Glen Joseph, director of the fishing ministry of the Marshall Islands, a WCPFC member state, said the meeting thus delivered both positives and negatives.

“We successfully pushed the Harvest Strategy,” Joseph told Mongabay in an email, noting the role of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), a bloc of 17 island nations including the Marshall Islands that tends to act in unison at the WCPFC, in pushing reforms. “We were not so successful with the transshipment issue,” he added.

A deal finally done

South Pacific albacore isn’t considered overfished and its stock is at about 48% of its historical levels, which is higher than many commercially fished stocks. Yet experts have argued that a harvest strategy is essential to the stock’s long-term health and that current management is “outdated.” WCPFC parties were spurred to action in part because the Marine Stewardship Council, a London-based ecolabel certification NGO, had signaled that from 2026 it wouldn’t certify South Pacific albacore fisheries that weren’t under a harvest strategy.

China and Taiwan harvest the most South Pacific albacore, but a number of smaller Pacific nations and territories also fish enough that it’s important to their economies. Longline vessels, which drop huge numbers of baited hooks into the sea, do most of the fishing. The economic value of albacore in the WCPFC area is about $1 billion per year, mostly from South Pacific albacore, according to Pew.

The new harvest strategy sets 56,096 metric tons per year as a sort of baseline harvest rate — lower than the roughly 65,000 metric tons that were harvested in 2024 in the part of the WCPFC area where the rules will apply, from 10-50° south. However, in coming years, the total allowable catch will remain above 56,096, because the rules stipulate that it can only be decreased by 5% per three-year period.

The exact figures for the first management period, 2027-29, will be determined next year. So will rules about how much of the catch can come from the high seas versus countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs).

The parties couldn’t reach an agreement on the harvest strategy at the 2024 annual meeting and so they discussed it at two intersessional meetings in 2025 — and then it dominated the meeting time in Manila in early December, with a deal being reached only in the final hours.

“It’s been looked at up and down, back and forth, sideways,” Gershman said.

Read the full article at Mongabay

Fishing Prohibitions Unfair: Council Pushes for Analysis of Fishing in Marine Monuments

December 17, 2025 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council today took another step toward restoring sustainable commercial fishing in waters within several Pacific marine national monuments, considered pristine when they were established. The Council directed its staff to continue analyzing existing regulations in the Pacific Islands Heritage, Rose Atoll, Marianas Trench and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monuments (MNMs), with a final recommendation planned for consideration at its March 2026 meeting.

 Recent presidential directives have instructed federal agencies to identify ways to reduce regulatory burdens and expand opportunities for commercial fishing in monument waters. In response, the Council is preparing a range of options aimed at returning commercial fishing to these areas under sustainable management.

 “Prior to the establishment of the monument in 2009, we stewarded our own waters. With the monument, only the feds are in charge and no one else has a say,” said Council member Nathan Ilaoa, director of American Samoa’s Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources. “This initiative before the Council provides an opportunity to talk about how the people want to manage their resources rather, than being told what to do by the feds,” he said. The Council also supported a recommendation to ask the president not to use the Antiquities Act to manage fisheries in federal waters.

 Ilaoa said monument fishing prohibitions undermine the people’s ability to fish and provide food for the community. “Pacific Island people are unfairly required to bear the burden of the country’s environmental guilt, and the monuments represent a large inequality in how our peoples are treated,” he said.

 Council members wrestled with potential enhanced management measures and stressed the need for additional data. Council Chair Will Sword said, “If you don’t go fishing, you can’t get the data.” Council member Gene Weaver added, “The Council’s existing regulations provide more than adequate protection, and we can learn from the fishing that occurs to determine if anything more is needed.” Members emphasized that if commercial fishing is restored, it must be done the right way: under existing federal fishery management authority, with strong monitoring and clear performance measures.

 An important part of the Council’s fishery management decision-making process is the opportunity for community members to provide their input on issues discussed. During the public comment period, commenters were split: several supported reopening monument waters, especially the Marianas Trench, if done cautiously under enhanced regulations (gear and catch limits, protected-species measures, strong monitoring) and paired with baseline studies and adaptive management to support local livelihoods and food security. Others urged no action and keeping existing protections, particularly for Rose Atoll and Papahānaumokuākea, citing the areas’ sacred cultural importance, concerns about inadequate consultation and legal authority, and potential ecological harm.

The Council acknowledged letters to NOAA from the governors of American Samoa and the CNMI supporting fishing. However, one member expressed disappointment with the governor of Hawaiʻi’s letter to NOAA to keep fishing prohibitions in the Papahānaumokuākea and Pacific Islands Heritage MNMs. He argued that locally based, well-managed fisheries are integral to Hawaiʻi’s food security and economic fabric, and noted that the state’s longline fisheries represent its largest agricultural product. He urged greater consideration of Hawaiʻi’s fishermen in any decisions affecting these waters. 

By the numbers:

  • Wild-caught pelagic fisheries in the Western Pacific generated around $108 million in revenue in 2024, including about $105 million from the Hawaiʻi longline fishery (2024 Council Stock Assessment and Fisheries Evaluation report). 
  • Hawaiʻi’s seafood consumption is among the highest in the United States, estimated at more than twice the national average. Once local catch is transformed into value-added products like poke, its economic contribution grows even further.
  • For context across primary production in Hawaiʻi, USDA reports 2024 values of ~$53 million for coffee and ~$42 million for macadamia nuts. 

The Council also recommended the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) provide funding to the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center to implement cooperative research that partners with commercial fishers to collect baseline information in monument waters.

The Council also endorsed Scientific and Statistical Committee research priorities, including:

  • Collecting catch/bycatch data suitable for model-based evaluation of policy impacts 
  • Assessing foreign fishing impacts versus domestic fishing near U.S. waters
  • Tagging/telemetry and other low-impact research to evaluate species movement
  • Assessing monument-related fishery impacts on markets
  • Co-designing research with fishing and indigenous communities, as appropriate

Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds said research funding is needed to keep fisheries sustainable and protected. “While it is NMFS’s job to do research, funds are not available because the administration has to deal with other pressing issues,” said Simonds. “Organizations that helped the government establish the monuments have an obligation to help make this happen.”

What’s next

Council staff will complete the requested analyses and draft Fishery Ecosystem Plan amendment alternatives for review ahead of the March meeting, where the Council is expected to take further action on restoring access and finalizing a durable management path forward.

NMFS is expected to share Executive Order 14276 public comments with the Council by early January 2026, followed by January discussions with NMFS on comment summaries and prioritizing next steps, consistent with NOAA guidance from Eugenio Piñeiro Soler.

2026–2029 CNMI Bottomfish Catch Limits

The Council recommended setting the annual catch limit (ACL) for the CNMI bottomfish fishery at 72,000 pounds and the annual catch target (ACT) at 66,000 pounds for 2026–2029. These specifications are based on the results of the NMFS 2025 stock assessment update, along with application of the Council’s P* and SEEM analyses to account for scientific and management uncertainty. The ACT was set below the ACL to provide a management buffer that helps prevent the fishery from exceeding the ACL, ensuring catches remain within sustainable limits.

How to Join the Council Meeting

The Council meeting continues virtually tomorrow, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hawai‘i time with an Endangered Species Act review for the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery, vessel electronic monitoring and more. The agenda includes scheduled public comment periods.  

 Online: https://tinyurl.com/205CouncilMtg, Event password: CM205mtg

 Get the full agenda & documents: www.wpcouncil.org/event/205th-council-meeting-virtual-2

Wespac Looks To Expand Commercial Access To Hawaiʻi’s Papahānaumokuākea

December 16, 2025 –Local fishery managers, moving in step with the Trump administration, want to eventually reopen large protected swaths of the Pacific to potentially all sorts of U.S. commercial fishing — not just the deep-sea tuna and swordfish sought by longline boats but nearshore lobsters and corals as well.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, commonly known as Wespac, will consider on Tuesday options drafted by its staff to lift the commercial bans in several marine national monuments, including Hawaiʻi’s Papahānaumokuākea.

Some of the options that the influential group will consider endorsing would allow commercial fishing to resume in Northwestern Hawaiian waters as close as 3 miles from shore.

The move comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s order last April asking fishery officials to explore reopening the monuments to commercial fishing.

Wespac has for years opposed commercial fishing bans in the Pacific. A brewing legal battle leaves it unclear whether Wespac, backed by the Honolulu-based longline industry and other seafood interests, will ultimately prevail.

Kitty Simonds, Wespac’s longtime executive director, told Civil Beat on Monday that the group considers it a priority to resume bottomfishing and trolling in Papahānaumokuākea’s waters that extend 50 miles out from shore, and to restart longline fishing in the waters 50 to 200 miles out from shore.

“We haven’t changed what we’d like to see from the time of (establishing) the monument, right?” Simonds said. “We made our arguments.”

Read the full article at Civil Beats

SSC Calls for Day One Monument Monitoring and Clearer False Killer Whale Analysis Ahead of Council Meeting

December 15, 2025 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Thursday the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council wrapped up a three-day virtual meeting, delivering scientific advice that will help shape decisions at the Council’s 205th meeting next week.

 Marine National Monuments: “Day One” Monitoring if Fishing is Restored

A major SSC focus was what it would take to evaluate real-world outcomes if commercial fishing restrictions change in the Rose Atoll, Marianas Trench and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monuments (MNM). The SSC stressed any restoration should be paired with immediate monitoring and research. Members said managers should not be forced to make future choices without the data needed to measure impacts. 

Among the recommended priorities, the SSC cited the need for “tagging/telemetry and low-impact research approaches” to better understand how fish move in and around monument waters, and “co-designing research with fishing and indigenous communities, as appropriate.”

 The Council will take up monument issues in multiple agenda items, including discussion on commercial fishing recommendations for the Pacific Islands Heritage MNM expansion area and potential options for Rose Atoll, the Marianas Trench and Papahānaumokuākea. The Council will also hear an SSC report on marine protected area science as part of that discussion.

 More Information and Analysis Needed on False Killer Whale Trends

The SSC cautioned that more information and analysis are needed to diagnose what is driving the estimated population trends for the endangered main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whale population in an August 2025 paper. The estimated decline could reflect limits in the underlying data or the modeling approach and may not reflect the true population trend.

 SSC members reiterated recommendations they made in 2023, when they reviewed a preliminary version of the analysis. They said a step-by-step sensitivity analysis is needed to show how methodological changes affected results, and that key demographic data are missing. The SSC noted those recommendations were not addressed in the published paper, and their concerns about the validity of the estimated abundance trends remain.

 The August 2025 paper used new analytical methods that account for animal movement in the photo-identification data. The analysis estimated abundance increased in the first half of the time series (1999-2022) but also estimated a 3.5% annual decline over the last 10 years. Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) researchers and collaborators who published the study cited possible drivers, including evidence of fishery interactions, based on dorsal fin and mouthline injuries. They also point to other threats like pollution and reduced genetic diversity.

The island-associated insular false killer whale was listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2012. It is separate from the pelagic population, which is known to have incidental interactions with the Hawai‘i longline fishery.

 Territorial Coral Reef Species Life History

The SSC reviewed results from a Council-supported project that used archived samples from PIFSC’s Life History Program to look at 12 coral reef species, about 2,200 samples, from Guam, the CNMI and American Samoa. Researchers used the samples to estimate age, growth and reproduction. 

Members supported expanding life history work to more species and improving how samples are collected so scientists capture a wider range of sizes and seasons. The SSC noted market-based sampling can miss smaller and immature fish that can limit maturity estimates.

The SSC also recommended continued coordination with PIFSC and territorial agencies, along with training and quality-control steps to strengthen fishery-dependent life history datasets used in local management. Those steps include improved species and sex identification, and data-entry checks.

 The SSC is the Council’s main scientific advisory group. Its recommendations will be presented during the Council meeting, alongside agency reports and public testimony. Council members consider that science as they debate and vote on initial and final actions and set future work priorities.

How to Join Council Meeting

The Council meeting will be held virtually Dec. 16–17, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hawai‘i time. Major agenda items include commercial fishing actions tied to MNMs, 2026–2029 CNMI bottomfish catch limits, an ESA review for the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery, vessel electronic monitoring and more. The agenda includes scheduled public comment periods, including a block for non-agenda items at the end of the first day. A summary of action items is available at: https://tinyurl.com/205CouncilMtgActions.

  Online: https://tinyurl.com/205CouncilMtg, Event password: CM205mtg

  Get the full agenda & documents: www.wpcouncil.org/event/205th-council-meeting-virtual-2

U.S. Fights for American Fishing in the Pacific, Leads Electronic Monitoring of International Fleets

December 12, 2025 — Tuna and technology took top priority—and top wins—for the United States at the 22nd Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting. It was held December 1–5, 2025, in the Philippines.

Led by Andrew Lawler, NOAA’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Fisheries, the U.S. delegation:

  • Protected American Samoa and U.S. troll interests in the South Pacific albacore fishery
  • Fought for the economic viability of Hawaiʻi’s long line fleet targeting bigeye tuna
  • Secured the lead to develop an electronic monitoring measure for adoption at next year’s meeting

“The U.S. delegation worked very hard together to achieve these wins and, quite frankly, knocked it out of the park,” Lawler said. “We ensured a robust opportunity for our commercial fishing interests while enhancing conservation of our shared fishing resources.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Pacific halibut catch declines as spawning biomass reaches lowest point in 40 years

December 12, 2025 — The most recent Pacific halibut fishing season ended on 7 December, and preliminary data shows that commercial landings across the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada are down.

By early December, coastwide commercial landings of halibut totaled 16.7 million pounds, down 16 percent from the same time last year and reaching just 80 percent of the allowable catch limit for the season.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Deep-sea mining interests raise alarms among Mariana Trench communities

December 11, 2025 — U.S.-led plans to mine the deep seabed have gained momentum since President Donald Trump signed an executive order that called for the industry’s rapid formation to bolster U.S. national security. One recent development emerged in November, when U.S. agency Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) signaled its intent to open offshore areas of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) — an area known to harbor mineral-rich seamounts, hydrothermal vents and abyssal plains — to deep-sea mineral exploration and development.

On Nov. 12, BOEM issued a request for information, or RFI, which indicated its interest in offering mineral rights to companies through lease agreements along the CNMI’s outer continental shelf, a process that could eventually allow commercial mining to proceed on CNMI’s deep seabed. The publication of the RFI included the opening of a 30-day public comment period.

Yet several government officials in both the CNMI and the neighboring island nation of Guam — both of which are U.S. territories that could be directly affected by deep-sea mining in the region — have raised concerns about the brief window they’ve been given to respond to BOEM’s proposal. Some local residents are also pushing back against the proposal, arguing that deep-sea mining would irreversibly damage the marine environment, while disregarding the community’s deep cultural connection to the ocean. If seabed mining does go ahead in the region, critics say it would become another form of colonial exploitation in a region already heavily used by the United States for commercial and military purposes, at the expense of local communities.

Read the full article at Mongabay

Scientists Deliberate Impacts of Monument Pelagic Fishing Prohibitions

December 9, 2025 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

On the first day of its 158th meeting, the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council reviewed the best available science on the potential benefits and costs of restoring commercial fishing in U.S. Pacific marine national monuments.

A presentation by SSC member Ray Hilborn, University of Washington professor, examined the limited data available from within existing monument closures, new information from recent re-openings and economic performance of U.S. longline vessels before and after closures. The analysis compared widely promoted claims that large marine protected areas (MPAs) increase biodiversity, create healthier ecosystems and support sustainable fisheries with empirical evidence from the Pacific.

The presentation highlighted that:

  • There is very little direct fishery or ecosystem data from inside the closed areas, with most insights coming from catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) near monument boundaries, acoustic data from drifting fish aggregating devices and economic studies.
  • For the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, modeled increases in tuna abundance through spillover were modest (on the order of a few percent), and may not translate into large fishery gains.
  • In U.S. monument waters, where historical fishing pressure was relatively low, large ecological responses to closure are not expected, and recent studies have found no measurable increase in tuna biomass density inside open-ocean MPAs and, in some cases, substantial reductions in bigeye CPUE linked to the loss of historically productive grounds.
  • Closures of marine national monuments create an illusion of “protection” while leaving non-fishing threats ignored.

Hilborn’s talk also outlined potential SSC platforms for discussion, including that well-regulated U.S. fisheries under the Magnuson–Stevens Act (MSA) are unlikely to pose an abatable threat to pelagic stocks that can be solved through large open-ocean MPAs alone, and that management frameworks such as the MSA and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission already provide tools to achieve conservation goals while considering human and community impacts.

Eric Kingma, executive director of the Hawaii Longline Association, provided public comment following the SSC discussion. He noted that existing monument area closures “exclude U.S. vessels from U.S. waters and leave us very constrained in where we can fish.” Citing declining bigeye catch rates, Kingma emphasized that “we need to be able to find and follow the fish – that’s the most important part.”

“We’re not looking for more fish, but to have the opportunity to fish more efficiently away from competitors,” Kingma said.

Samoa PM renews support for StarKist Samoa’s guest worker program

December 9, 2025 — StarKist Samoa canneries’ initiative to build two new housing facilities to provide accommodations for Samoa’s guests workers working at the cannery is applauded and highly commended by Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt.

StarKist Samoa, is the single largest private employer in the territory with 2,400 workers on the payroll. And 70% are Samoa citizens hired as Guest Workers for the canneries in a government initiative to accommodate the cannery’s high manpower demands.

The guest worker program is exclusive for Samoa citizens only.

As guest of honor attending the dedication of the new Legislative Building recently, StarKist President Injoo Ha and senior executives paid a courtesy call on Samoa’s leader and his delegation.

Read the full article at Samoa News