September 22, 2022 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Keone Nakoa, provided the opening remarks at the Council meeting this week, noting he is a native son of Hawai‘i. Nakoa is the lead Department of the Interior (DOI) official directly responsible for managing the administration of the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the freely associated states. The DOI coordinates with other federal agencies to implement regional and national level coastal policy and actions, and works closely with the governments of the U.S. Pacific Territories.

Sam Rauch, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reported on priority areas for Headquarters including climate change, the National Seafood Strategy and conservation. “We’ve been successful because of the Fishery Management Councils,” said Rauch. “90% of stocks are not subject to overfishing and 80% not overfished.” Rauch also noted two large appropriation bills, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act, which have $1 billion for habitat and coastal restorations and $2.6 billion for coastal resiliency work, respectively. Much of this funding will go to competitive grants for states and territories.

Council members questioned the progress of the Biden Administration’s America the Beautiful 30×30 initiative regarding the definition of conservation, pointing out the many area-based measures currently in place. Rauch said at the end of the year, the federal government is to provide an atlas of conservation areas and a working definition for conservation.

The eight regional fishery management councils (FMCs) developed a definition of conservation and are awaiting the federal government definition. The FMCs provided a report at the May Council Coordination Committee (CCC) meeting to inform the atlas. The Council requested draft information be provided at the next CCC meeting in October.  

Marine National Monument Proposed Expansion

The Council’s advisory groups reported key discussion points on the proposed expansion to the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument from their meetings held prior to the Council meeting. The Scientific and Statistical Committee found the proposal “conceptually challenged and factually shallow” because it lacked data or an analytical framework to evaluate or support the stated benefits. The Pacific Remote Islands Coalition, who developed the proposal, “lacked engagement with the territories, specifically American Samoa.” 

Michael Goto, chair of the Council’s Fishing Industry Advisory Committee, said U.S. fisheries are in jeopardy of “death by a thousand cuts” with actions like the proposed monument expansion that further undermines well-managed U.S. fisheries that “will only benefit China.”

The Council will inform the White House and relevant federal agencies about the lack of scientific justification for the previous and proposed expansion of marine national monuments in the Pacific that prohibit U.S. tuna fisheries. The Council will also reiterate its June 2022 recommendation to request a comprehensive evaluation of the unintended consequences, including social and economic impacts, be conducted and evaluated through a transparent and public process if further closures are considered. 

Further, the Council will contact the Pacific Remote Islands Coalition to request the group directly addresses and consults with fishing communities and local fishery management agencies in the U.S. Pacific Territories. The Council also asked NMFS to assist the territories on a scientific evaluation of the proposal, including unintended consequences to American Samoa fisheries.

Council members were offended that Hawai‘i leaders lent support to the proposed monument expansion without considering the potential impacts on the territories, which are comprised of mostly underserved communities. 

Council member Judith Guthertz from Guam said, “This is an emotional issue for people in the territories. We don’t really have a voice in Congress. We don’t elect the president and we have to depend on Hawai‘i’s support. Just because we live in the territories, doesn’t mean it should rob us of the opportunity to be treated as Americans.” 

“The expansion will only benefit a few, and will severely impact the American Samoa economy that is 90% dependent on the tuna industry,” said Council Chair Archie Soliai, Council chair and director of American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources. “I am disappointed at the lack of aloha coming from Hawai‘i. We were not asked for our opinion prior to the announcement; it is not the Samoan way to disregard others.” Soliai asked the DOI and NMFS to weigh in on the impact that the proposed expansion would have on American Samoa, pointing out that if the tuna industry collapses, the territory will be 100% dependent on the federal government.

Hawai‘i and American Samoa Longline Fishery Reports 

The Council discussed a Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center report on the performance of the 140 Hawai‘i longline vessels during the first half of 2022. Compared to 2021, the fishery had a relatively low bigeye tuna catch (89K fish, down 14K) and catch per unit effort. Even though the catch was low, the fish price was high, so fishermen were able to recoup their operating costs. Yellowfin tuna catches have trended upward since 2015, increasing 5K fishes from 2021 to 42K, and swordfish catch is up about 1K to 9K fishes.

The nine vessels of the American Samoa longline fleet had an increased albacore tuna catch rate from January to June 2022 compared to the same period last year–13.26 versus about 9 fish per 1,000 hooks. Approximately 12 fish caught per 1,000 hooks is considered a “break-even” point for fishermen in terms of the costs and benefits of each fishing trip. American Samoa longline fishery catch rates have declined by at least 50% since 2002, so such a significant increase in fishery performance is encouraging.

Aquaculture in the Western Pacific

The Council recommended establishing an expanded aquaculture management program in the Western Pacific Region. A program is needed to provide the Council and NMFS with a framework to review and authorize where, how and how much aquaculture is developed in federal waters of the U.S. exclusive economic zone. The Council will finalize an amendment to the Hawai‘i and Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plans for transmission to NMFS.

New Council members Will Sword (American Samoa), Judith Guthertz (Guam) and Shaelene Kamaka‘ala (Hawai‘i) were sworn in at the Council meeting on Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Commerce appoints members chosen from a list of people recommended by regional governors. Members serve a three-year term, starting Aug. 11, 2022, and can be reappointed to serve three consecutive terms.

September 19, 2022 — The following was released by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) concluded its three-day meeting today that emphasized the importance of rigorous scientific analysis, good data and consideration of human communities to inform ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) for fisheries across Hawai‘i, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.  

The SSC reviewed a Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) analysis evaluating the effects of a triggered area closure called the Southern Exclusion Zone. The SEZ was established under the National Marine Fisheries Service’s False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan as part of a suite of measures intended to reduce impacts to these large-toothed whales. The analysis confirmed the Hawai‘i longline fishing effort shifted to areas immediately south and east of the closure area during SEZ closures (July-December 2018; and February 2019-August 2020). 

“There are tradeoffs to the closure,” said SSC member Steve Martell. “In areas outside the SEZ, fishermen have higher chances of interacting with other protected species like oceanic whitetip sharks and giant manta rays. Fishermen may also have more competition with foreign fishing boats in the area.” The SSC recognized that while these exchanges are likely happening, the current analysis did not quantify the extent to which other species of concern may have been negatively affected by the false killer whale measure. The SSC recommended further analyses to evaluate these effects. 

The SSC also emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to address potential cross-species conflicts and tradeoffs of species-specific bycatch mitigation measures in the Hawai‘i longline fishery. Many of the existing conservation measures implemented in the fishery have been developed to reduce impacts to one species or species group, such as sea turtles, seabirds or sharks. 

The SSC reviewed new data from a recent PIFSC study supporting the benefit to Endangered Species Act-listed oceanic whitetip sharks from the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery’s transition from wire leaders to monofilament nylon leaders earlier this year. Sharks can bite through nylon leaders easier than wire and have a higher chance of freeing themselves. The same study highlighted the downside of this strategy. The slower degradation rate of monofilament line in the ocean means that trailing line left on the shark may have greater consequences than wire leaders that were shown to start breaking off after 2 months. Hawai‘i’s longline fishermen are also required to cut the line as close to the hook as possible when releasing oceanic whitetip sharks. This comes with crew safety issues due to flyback caused by the required use of weights close to the hook to reduce interactions with Laysan and black-footed albatrosses. 

To better communicate these complex multi-species considerations, the SSC recommended the Council develop an infographic on the potential effects of several management measures on various species. 

These conversations about managing broader ecosystem impacts as part of fishery management in a changing environment are increasing across the eight regional fishery management councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. It was the focus of a national meeting of the SSCs from the eight regions that convened in Sitka, Alaska in August.

“There will be ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in terms of species and fisheries as ecosystem changes become an increasingly important concern in our region,” said Frank Camacho, SSC member from Guam, reporting on the discussions from the meeting. “We need to develop tools to handle changes in species abundances that are expected to happen in response to changing environmental conditions.” The SSC recommended prioritizing the development of these tools, and conducting scenario planning for extreme environmental events to assist with economic and social resilience of fishing communities. 

While the Council has incorporated ecosystem-based considerations into its fishery management plans since the mid-2000s, methods to quantify the point at which a fish or habitat cannot recover are still evolving. The SSC discussed a PIFSC project that is the first step towards developing EBFM frameworks applicable to management. Utilizing existing data sets, the project identified threshold relationships between ecosystem indicators and environmental drivers and estimated thresholds for coral reef ecosystem species. SSC members provided feedback on statistical methods and future directions noting an interest in how the project will inform management targets.

Moving forward, Council, PIFSC and Pacific Islands Regional Office staffs will host a workshop in October 2022 to streamline EBFM priorities in the Pacific Islands region. The workshop goal is to develop a region-wide road map with actionable EBFM items to be addressed in the short- and long-term (5 and 10+ years). Following this, the Council and NMFS will likely hold a series of public workshops to engage stakeholders in the region on EBFM approaches.

September 15, 2022 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee heard a presentation by Bob Richmond, University of Hawai‘i professor and coauthor on the proposal to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, on the scientific merits of the proposed expansion. The SSC members noted in their discussion the overwhelming lack of data to support theorized benefits and an analytical framework to assemble data in the proposal evaluation.

“The SSC promotes developing marine protected areas based on scientific evidence,” said SSC member David Itano. “It is important to understand the biology and fish stock dynamics, as well as how they interact with fisheries. If we are going to preserve U.S. fisheries that are accepted as the world’s best-managed, we have to stop taking away their garden.” Another SSC member said tropical tuna stocks that inhabit proposed expansion waters are not considered overfished nor experiencing overfishing based on internationally accepted best available science and that U.S. fisheries constitute a small portion of total fishing pressure. 

SSC members raised several concerns including that data streams from human activities (such as fishing) that would be used for monitoring ecosystem health would cease to exist with the formation of more closed areas. 

The SSC asserted that indigenous cultural and environmental justice issues were not taken into account. “Our actions are part of the ecosystem, therefore we are the stewards,” said SSC member Jason Biggs from Guam, noting natives never remove themselves completely from an area they manage. Domingo Ochavillo from American Samoa pointed out the disproportionate impact the monument expansion would have on the territory’s economy, which is dependent on fish delivered to the StarKist cannery. Purse seine vessels that fish in the potentially closed areas would then fish in the area of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and offload in Ecuador.

The SSC also discussed alternatives for fishing regulations in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, forming a working group to discuss the definition of “subsistence fishing.” The group developed several variations with or without customary exchange and cost recovery and will provide options for the Council’s consideration at its meeting next week.

September 12, 2022 — The following was released by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Scientists from throughout the Western Pacific Region will meet Sept. 13 to 15, 2022, to provide advice and comments to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council on the fishing regulations in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), a false killer whale (FKW) analysis, uku essential fish habitat studies, American Samoa longline fishery performance and other topics.  

Public attendance for the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) meeting will be limited to web conference only. The full agenda, background documents and instructions for connecting to the meeting and providing oral public comments are available

Fishing Regulations in the NWHI 

At its 192nd meeting in September, the Council will consider taking action on fishing regulations in the NWHI Monument Expansion Area. The SSC will consider the alternatives presented and may provide advice and recommendations on the definitions for non-commercial and subsistence fishing, as well as limits on fishing and any equity and environmental justice impacts.

 FKW Interaction and Depredation Analysis

The SSC will discuss its input for an ongoing NOAA analysis evaluating how changes to fishing effort distribution during Southern Exclusion Zone closures may have affected the patterns in FKW interaction and depredation. The Council recommended this study at its March 2022 meeting to inform further Council discussion on managing FKW impacts from the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery.

 Uku Essential Fish Habitat

The SSC will hear a report on the external independent review of essential fish habitat (EFH) models for uku (Aprion virescens, grey snapper, green jobfish) in the main Hawaiian Islands. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Council must describe EFH and provide maps of the geographic locations or define boundaries within which EFH is found. The independent reviewers analyzed two studies that were a great improvement over the existing literature-based description of uku EFH. The SSC will discuss if these products are the best scientific information available to delineate uku EFH.

American Samoa Longline Fishery Performance 

The SSC will discuss fishery performance of all pelagic vessels fishing and reporting catch in American Samoa, including “large” longline vessels more than 50 feet long. In 2002, the Council developed a Large Vessel Prohibited Area (LVPA) to minimize competition between the large-vessel longline fleet and smaller longlining alia (traditional double-hulled catamaran) boats in American Samoa. The LVPA excluded large vessels from waters 0 to 50 nautical miles seaward of Tutulia, Swains and Manu‘a Islands. 

Due to declining fishery performance of the American Samoa Longline fishery following establishment of the LVPA, the Council had recommended allowing some American Samoa longline vessels an exemption to fish waters beyond 12 nm within the LVPA. Litigation between the American Samoa government and the National Marine Fisheries Service led to a 2017 court order to halt these exemptions. In 2020, federal courts reversed the 2017 decision. The exemption to the LVPA was reinstated in July 2021 to allow certain U.S. longline vessels 50 feet and longer to fish in portions of the LVPA. This exemption included a provision for the Council to annually review the impacts of the exemption on catch rates and small vessel participation.

The SSC will evaluate fishery changes due to the LVPA and the 2021 reinstatement of the exemption.

Other agenda topics include discussing the scientific justification for the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument expansion proposal, and reviewing the alternatives for establishing an Aquaculture Management Framework in the Western Pacific. The SSC may provide advice on potential environmental impacts from aquaculture to the Council before it takes final action at its September meeting.

 Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets Sept. 20-22, 2022 in-person at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/192nd-council-meeting-virtual.