March 16, 2023 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) yesterday reviewed a 2023 study that found the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) and other large oceanic no-take marine protected areas (MPAs) do not have discernible conservation benefits for Pacific skipjack and bigeye tuna. 

 The paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science was led by world-renowned tuna expert Dr. John Hampton of the Pacific Community (SPC) and a team of tuna scientists and oceanographers. The authors evaluated the estimated population and fishery changes for these two commercially important tunas in the PIPA and a series of large hypothetical MPAs, making up approximately 33% of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

 “Skipjack and bigeye tuna have a wide distribution in tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Pacific, and are capable of spawning anywhere the water temperature is greater than about 25 °C,” said Hampton. “Their larvae drift in the surface water currents, and as they grow, they are able to move widely throughout the region. So closing off one part of the area does not offer much, if any, protection to species like this.” He added, “When areas like the PIPA are closed to fishing, we tend to see the vessels that would have fished there simply move their activities to adjacent areas, which again limits their conservation effectiveness.”

 SSC member Ray Hilborn also presented research findings suggesting the 2016 expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands did not lead to significant localized increases in tuna. Hilborn’s analyses counter claims made in a study published in Science in October 2022. The claim was based on higher tuna catch rates outside the expansion area after 2016. Hilborn revealed catch rates were already higher in areas immediately outside the new monument border prior to its designation. 

Proponents for the PIPA and the PMNM believe a theorized “spillover effect” from these MPAs would have a significant conservation benefit and increase tuna abundance directly surrounding the MPA. This benefit was never realized in either case, according to Hampton and Hilborn. 

 Hampton and Hilborn pointed out yellowfin tuna abundance, according to a comprehensive population assessment, was increasing prior to the PMNM expansion and continued afterwards. Proportional increases in tuna catch rates, relative to earlier years, were not higher in the potential spillover area. Hampton noted the paper published in Science made no reference to the amount of tuna caught inside the expansion area, nor did it reference tuna stock assessments.

 The SSC concurred with the two scientists’ findings. PIPA, unlike the PMNM, had significant levels of industrial tuna fishing, and its closure did not render much of a conservation benefit or spillover effect. The SSC lamented the difficulty of correcting published work that promotes large MPAs. “There is a need to elevate issues raised in these presentations within the global community,” Hilborn said.

 SSC Informs Domestic and International Bigeye Tuna Management

The SSC reviewed a framework to establish multi-year allocation limits for bigeye tuna from American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The new framework may remove requirements for annual catch limits in the territories from the Council’s Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan. 

 The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WPCFC), that manages the tuna stock internationally, does not require catch limits for Small Island Developing States and Participating Territories. However, the Council conservatively recommended catch limits for the territories when the WCPO bigeye tuna stock was considered to be experiencing overfishing in 2014. New data revealed in 2017 the stock was not overfished, nor experiencing overfishing. 

 The Council is considering taking action to specify multi-year territorial bigeye tuna catch and/or allocation limits at its meeting during the last week of March. The SSC determined that the bigeye tuna stock was healthy and any potential impacts of the Hawai‘i-based U.S. longline fishery would be minimal.

 “We can all agree, based on the science available, that the options presented to the Council do not pose any significant conservation risk to tuna stocks,” said Steve Martell, SSC member.

 The SSC also discussed the scientific requirements for revising a WCPFC tropical tuna measure, and supporting longline management workshops. The Council hosted a workshop in November 2022 with the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority (MIMRA) to improve international management of tropical tuna longline fisheries. A second workshop is planned for April 2023.

 The scientific needs include analyses of future fishing levels on the bigeye tuna stock and methods to convert tuna catch into units of fishing days. The Council and MIMRA’s next workshop will explore using “zone-based management” for longline vessels on the high seas and within the national waters of the United States or other nations. SSC members referred to zone-based management of tunas by Pacific Island countries that comprise the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, and recommended investigating existing tools.

 “If linear programming tools have already been developed to convert catch to fishing days based on vessel sizes, we should certainly consider utilizing them for the Hawai’i fishery,” according to SSC member Milani Chaloupka.

 SSC members plan to develop alternatives to manage the U.S. longline fleet before the WCPFC hosts its longline management workshops this summer.

The SSC also discussed the international working groups’ progress to improve understanding of life history characteristics for key North Pacific billfish species. The group was formed to address a need for coordinated billfish biological sampling across nations and fisheries to improve stock assessments. To enhance regional outreach, the SSC recommended the working group inform the WCPFC Scientific Committee of its research. The SSC also requested periodic updates from the NMFS PIFSC Life History Program for billfish and other pelagic species of interest to the committee.

March 15, 2023 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) today reviewed cost recovery options for permitted fishing in the Monument Expansion Area (MEA) of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). 

The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) developed a fishing trip cost estimate based on data from 2003 adjusted for inflation to today’s dollars. The calculations included fuel, ice, bait, provisions and supplies. Council staff reported on data gathered from fishermen that previously fished in the MEA and estimated how much a trip would cost today. Costs varied according to vessel size, weather, trip length and other considerations. Staff noted that some costs such as fuel exceed the inflation rate and could be considerably higher. The Council preliminarily said at its December 2022 meeting that the cost recovery limit should not exceed $15,000 per trip.

Discussion centered on the importance of data collection, including economic statistics. SSC member Craig Severance said, “Cost recovery is a matter of equity and environmental justice and without some form of cost recovery, it will be impractical for people to go there.” EEJ is a priority of the Biden Administration and several Executive Orders have addressed injustices for native communities in the Western Pacific Region.

The SSC said the fishing cost estimates should also consider crew costs, among other factors. SSC member Steve Martell pointed out that other cost recovery programs such as for North Pacific halibut include funds for labor. The SSC believed it is difficult to set an upper cost recovery limit without additional information, noting that fishing activity costs will vary in the future. 

SSC members emphasized that fishing efforts in the MEA would provide valuable fishery information. The more fishing data collected, the better because there is no scientific advantage in restraining costs.

The MEA was established in 2016 by Presidential Proclamation 9478 and is managed by NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Proclamation allows for regulated fishing activities, including Native Hawaiian practices and noncommercial fishing, but prohibits commercial fishing activities and anchoring on any living or dead coral.

The SSC also recommended extending a moratorium on the gold coral fishery in the Western Pacific Region for an additional five years until 2028. The moratorium was issued in 2008 due to uncertainty in the coral’s growth rate. New research discovered that gold coral grows much slower than previously estimated. PIFSC expects to prioritize deep sea coral research in the Pacific Islands in 2025, and SSC members thought this could help improve the gold coral growth rate estimate. There are no current federal permit holders, but commercial fishery interest exists. 

December 8, 2022 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Fishery managers from across the Western Pacific recommended fishing regulations yesterday for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) Expansion Area. Members of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council recommended the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) authorize noncommercial and Native Hawaiian subsistence fishing from 50 to 200 nautical miles around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). For Native Hawaiian practices, this would include an opportunity to recover fishing costs up to $15,000 per trip.  

The Council member discussion over the past few days has been lively.

“It is important to provide this opportunity for people in the Pacific, specifically Hawai‘i, to provide food for their community, especially areas that have been culturally their place to fish,” said American Samoa Council member Will Sword. “We can also take advantage of the chance to gather much needed data.”

“I’m concerned that any action we take here will define our culture and its evolution,” said Manny Dueñas, Council member from Guam. “In the end, we are looking at ways to sustain our native peoples and see them flourish like hundreds of years ago.”

In discussing cost recovery, Council member McGrew Rice said, “By my estimate, if a 1-day trip to the NWHI costs $3,000 plus fuel, most people can’t afford this without being able to recoup their costs.” This echoes sentiments heard from the public at meetings the Council held across Hawai‘i in November. Cost recovery includes actual trip expenses like fuel, bait and ice. The NWHI are 400 miles from the main Hawaiian Islands, and take two days to reach by boat.

Some members disagreed with the final recommendation. David Sakoda, the State of Hawai‘i representative, was concerned with dissolving established Native Hawaiian rights under the State Constitution. “We don’t want to water down customary and traditional rights by extending beyond what is included in the Constitution,” said Sakoda. The State was amenable to cost recovery, as long as it was only included in the noncommercial fishing permit.

Hawai‘i Council member Shae Kamaka‘ala said, “I feel the term Native Hawaiian subsistence is much too narrow. Native Hawaiian practice permits are in place for the original monument area, and it is a more appropriate term to describe the broader human interaction in that space.”

The Council has had an indigenous fishing rights standing committee since the 1980s, and from 2006 to 2017, supported a Puwalu (conference) series of 10 meetings to identify traditional fishing practices in Hawai‘i to inform management decisions.

The Council approved the fishing regulations in the Monument Expansion Area with two dissensions and two abstentions, and included prohibiting commercial fishing, limiting gear types and catch limits for managed pelagic and bottomfish species. NMFS and the Council will report fishery performance indicators such as number of permits issued, and catch and effort information in the annual Hawai‘i and Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan reports.

In 2016, Presidential Proclamation No. 9478 set aside an area of 50 to 200 nautical miles (the outer boundary of the U.S. exclusive economic zone) adjacent to the PMNM. The Proclamation provides for management of activities and species under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including noncommercial fishing and Native Hawaiian practices.

An improved shark conservation and management measure proposed by the United States and Canada was adopted at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam held last week, effective Jan. 1, 2024. The measure to prohibit wire leaders and shark lines in tuna and billfish longline vessels from 20 degrees north latitude to 20 degrees south latitude is consistent with the Council’s MSA 304(i) international recommendations. It also contains safe release provisions for non-retained sharks and extends obligations for fins to be naturally attached to carcasses through 2024. Fishing vessels are instructed to release non-retained sharks as soon as possible, taking into consideration the safety of the crew and observer by using a line cutter to cut the branchline as close to the hook as possible.

The Council recommended an annual catch limit of 457 tons of striped marlin for the U.S. longline fishery in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, consistent with previous Council action and a WCPFC measure. The Council also recommended an annual retention limit of 443 tons as an accountability measure. If the limit is reached, the fishery would not be allowed to retain striped marlin, but other fisheries would not be restricted. The Council will reevaluate this catch limit when a new stock assessment is available from a scientific services provider (ISC), anticipated in 2023.

The Council took final action to establish a long-term sustainable aquaculture program in the Western Pacific Region. This revises a recommendation from the September 2022 meeting that inadvertently omitted that an amendment be made to all five of the Council’s fishery ecosystem plans for the region. This program is needed to provide the Council and NMFS with a framework to review and authorize aquaculture development and activities in federal waters of the U.S. EEZ.

December 1, 2022 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) at its meeting yesterday discussed a critique of a recently published paper on “Spillover benefits from the world’s largest fully protected MPA,” referring to reported benefits from expanding the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) in 2016. SSC member Ray Hilborn summarized analyses that point out flaws in the paper’s conclusions.

 The 2022 paper by Sarah Medoff and her collaborators claimed that tuna catch per unit effort (CPUE) rose faster close to the PMNM boundary after 2016, and the amount of increase diminished as one moves farther from the boundary. The authors say this infers a spillover effect of the increased abundance inside the Monument into the ocean beyond the border. 

A group of scientists including SSC members and other prominent stock assessment scientists attempted to replicate the study’s results, but were unable to find the same conclusions.

“When we look at all of the data, we simply don’t see what they estimated,” said Hilborn. “In general, CPUE increased faster the farther away you are from the PMNM after the closure – this is the opposite of what the paper says.”

A machine learning analysis of the logbook data conducted by SSC member Milani Chaloupka also showed that the higher yellowfin tuna catch rates seen after 2016 extended out to about 550 km from the PMNM, rather than only in the immediate vicinity. This suggested the changes in catch rates based on distance from shore were likely due to environmental changes. 

Chaloupka noted, “Science needs to be reproducible, but we are not finding that through our explorations.”

Around the time the PMNM was expanded, yellowfin tuna recruitment also increased across the Pacific, a key piece of information missing from the original paper’s findings.

The SSC also heard a report on public meetings held in November 2022 soliciting community feedback on potential fishing regulations in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Monument Expansion Area (MEA). The Council is considering developing recommendations for federal permitting and reporting and limits on species, gears and catch. Communities across the state supported providing fishing opportunities in the MEA, whether for commercial, noncommercial or Native Hawaiian purposes.  

The SSC discussion focused on customary exchange and subsistence fishing definitions and the diverse social, cultural and traditional benefits fish provide to underserved populations and broader island communities. The Committee noted customary exchange is just another term for generalized reciprocities and is distinct from barter as there is no negotiation involved. The SSC recommended that any potential fishing permits developed should include data collection, reporting and monitoring in line with federal fishery ecosystem plan requirements. Any fishery should have limits that are managed based on stock assessments or other science-based information.

In 2016, Presidential Proclamation No. 9478 set aside an area of 50 to 200 nautical miles (the outer boundary of the U.S. exclusive economic zone) adjacent to the PMNM. The Proclamation provides for management of activities and species under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including noncommercial fishing and Native Hawaiian practices.

The SSC heard a presentation on an Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) workshop with Council and NMFS staffs. The fishery managers and scientists met Oct. 4, 2022, to map out the implementation of EBFM in the Pacific Islands Region. The workshop provided an opportunity to share office-specific priorities and to develop a process that will guide EBFM efforts over the next five to 10 years.

Council priorities included identifying reliable ecosystem indicators, enhancing data collection from monitoring, building flexibility when incorporating ecosystem considerations, and accounting for uncertainty to ecosystem drivers for management advice.

Going forward, a subset of workshop participants will meet quarterly to identify projects and refine the process needed to implement EBFM into upcoming fishery stock assessments and increase the confidence in data that informs marine policy.

In 2001, the Council was the first regional fishery management council in the nation to develop an ecosystem-based management plan. It held three EBFM workshops in the mid-2000s, prior to restructuring its Fishery Management Plans in 2009 to five Fishery Ecosystem Plans, shifting the management focus from a species-based to ecosystem-based conservation approach.

The Council will consider recommendations and advice from the SSC on these and other matters when it meets Dec. 5-8, 2022, in-person at the Pagoda Hotel. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/193rd-council-meeting. 

November 25, 2022 — The following was released by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Scientists from throughout the Western Pacific Region will meet Nov. 29 to 30, 2022, to provide advice and comments to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council on the fishing regulations in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), fishery interaction studies and analyses with species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), an assessment of area-based management areas in the United States and other topics. 

The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet virtually via 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/146th-scientific-and-statistical-committee-virtual-meeting.

Fishing Regulations in the NWHI 

At its 193rd meeting in December, the Council will take action on fishing regulations in the NWHI Monument Expansion Area (MEA). Presidential Proclamation 9478 that established the MEA in 2016 authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to manage noncommercial fishing consistent with the overall objectives of the area. The SSC will consider a report from community meetings held in November around the main Hawaiian Islands to gather feedback from the public regarding definitions for subsistence fishing. The SSC may provide the Council with advice and recommendations on refined fishing regulation alternatives.

False Killer Whale and Hawai‘i Deep-Set Longline Fishery Interaction Studies

The SSC will discuss outcomes from the FKW Take Reduction Team that met in November 2022 to review implications of the latest FKW interaction studies, assess the effectiveness of the current plan and brainstorm potential modifications to management measures. The Council is a member of the Team, formed under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to reduce impacts to FKWs that are accidentally hooked or entangled in the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery. Most FKWs are released alive, but MMPA guidelines assume the animals may become seriously injured if they are released with the hook in the mouth or trailing line. 

The Team formed working groups to refine options for gear modifications and handling guidance, and to develop a fighting line/cutter device, among other topics, in preparation for a follow up meeting in March 2023. The SSC may advise the Council on potential management measures considered by the Team in preparation for its next meeting in March 2023.

ESA Section 7 Consultations 

The SSC will review information presented in the final supplemental biological opinions (BiOps) for the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery and American Samoa longline fishery covering oceanic whitetip sharks and giant manta rays. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issues biological opinions to document its determination on how certain actions affect ESA-listed species and designated critical habitat. NMFS concluded these fisheries are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of these two species. The BiOps include measures that require the release of animals caught alive in a manner that minimizes injury and ensures sufficient monitoring and reporting to confirm that the extent of take is not exceeded. The SSC may provide advice to the Council on the BiOp analyses.

Area-Based Management Report

The SSC will discuss a report from the Council Coordination Committee Area-Based Management Subcommittee that was tasked with indexing and evaluating existing Fishery Management Council actions throughout the United States. The assessment was meant to quantify the nation’s progress towards the Biden Administration’s goal to conserve 30% of all U.S. lands and waters by 2030 with its existing marine managed areas. The subcommittee found the majority of the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is conserved relative to environmentally adverse fishing activities. Bottom trawling and/or dredging is prohibited in 75% of the EEZ, and all bottom-tending gear and pelagic fishing gear are restricted in 57% and 55% of the federally managed area, respectively.

Other agenda topics include reviewing a paper inferring spillover benefits of the

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and discussing ecosystem-based fisheries management priorities in the Pacific Islands Region.

Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets Dec. 5-8, 2022, in-person at the Pagoda Hotel. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agendas a

September 23, 2022 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

At its meeting this week, the Council reviewed alternatives for fishing regulations in the Monument Expansion Area (50-200 nautical miles) of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Among the alternatives are maintaining the status quo, where fishing regulations would mirror those in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, and requiring a federal subsistence fishing permit for Native Hawaiian practices with a definition of subsistence and options for including customary exchange.

“It may be easier to manage and enforce fishing regulations in the MEA if they align with the existing monument regulation framework,” said David Sakoda, representative for the State of Hawai‘i. 

Shaelene Kamaka‘ala, new Council member from Hawai‘i, noted “it would be helpful to educate the community on what traditional uses for this area have been.”

Prior to final action in December, the Council will hold public meetings to gather information to help shape the final alternatives. These alternatives will be subject to standard federal regulatory requirements such as permit sanctions, gear restrictions, at-sea observer coverage and other provisions required under the Fishery Ecosystem Plans. Public meetings will be announced through the Federal Register and the Council’s website (www.wpcouncil.org) in the near future.

Council members discussed the importance of maintaining tuna supply to the StarKist cannery in Pago Pago, American Samoa, which relies heavily on tuna brought in from U.S.-flagged purse seiners. The Council requested that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proceed with a 2015 proposed rulemaking to recognize a distinct American Samoa purse seine fleet comprised of some U.S.-flagged vessels. This rulemaking could potentially recognize an American Samoa fishery that would be entitled to privileges within the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) granted to small island developing states (SIDS) and participating territories. These privileges include exemptions to seasonal fish aggregating device closures and limits to high seas fishing access. This would incentivize U.S.-flagged American Samoa vessels to fish in WCPFC waters and offload in American Samoa, but NMFS has yet to proceed with this.

 Adding to this disappointment was a proposed rulemaking this month to separate U.S. purse seine effort limits into a high seas effort limit and an effort limit within the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Council members expressed their concern that there is not a sufficient public comment period for this rulemaking and about the disproportionate burden this places on the territory. In previous years, NMFS had combined limits to high seas and U.S. EEZ purse seine fishing days as a single limit to optimize fishing opportunities.

Council Chair Archie Soliai expressed his dismay with NMFS not proceeding with rulemaking to recognize a distinct American Samoa fleet, yet moving forward with regulations for limits that could potentially drive U.S.-flagged purse seiners to fish in the eastern Pacific and be less likely to offload in Pago Pago. “This proposed rule will have significant negative consequences for American Samoa and put the territory at significant risk. I realize the United States needs to comply with the WCPFC. But why does our government not regulate the U.S.-flagged vessels in American Samoa under the WCPFC as a SIDS?”  

“Incoming tuna to supply the cannery has been going down since 2008,” said Will Sword, Council vice chair for American Samoa. “The feds keep giving away what we need to keep our production going. This does not provide justice for us with what we produce for the nation.” Approximately 100,000 metric tons of tuna are offloaded in Pago Pago each year, of which the majority are provided by U.S.-flagged purse seine vessels. 

The Council will respond to the proposed rulemaking for separate high seas and U.S. EEZ effort limit for U.S. purse seine vessels, requesting NMFS consider the negative impacts that the rule will have on American Samoa and an extension for the comment period to Nov. 1, 2022. The results of a 2016 study on the Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine closure in 2015 found it had an impact of up to $110 million during that period.

Other Council recommendations included requesting an update from the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries on the status of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument on the sanctuary nomination inventory list, and revisions to a NMFS proposed rule on coral critical habitat to reflect new species information and comments from the Council and Territory governments.

2023-2026 Advisory Panel Members

The Council appointed new members to its Advisory Panel for the 2023-2026 term. The Council receives advice from a panel of recreational and commercial fishermen, charter boat operators, buyers, sellers, consumers and others knowledgeable about fisheries in the region, including indigenous fisheries. The panel includes subpanels for the American Samoa Archipelago, Hawai‘i Archipelago and Mariana Archipelago. Clayward Tam was chosen as the chair, and the vice chairs are Gil Kuali‘i (Hawai‘i), Nathan Ilaoa (American Samoa), Richard Farrell (Marianas – CNMI) and Judy Amesbury (Marianas – Guam). A full list of names will be available soon on the Council website.