June 20, 2023 — The following was released by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

This week the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) discussed a NOAA assessment to quantify the population of pelagic false killer whales (FKWs) both inside and outside the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around Hawai‘i to account for its overlap with the local commercial longline fishery. Previous assessments estimated the number of pelagic FKWs inside the EEZ and a broader Central Pacific area that is thought to include other distinct groups of whales. The new approach defined a “management area” based on available survey sightings, observed longline bycatch, and genetic and satellite telemetry tag data.

 

The resulting abundance estimate within the new area is 5,528 individuals. This total is used to calculate the potential biological removal (PBR), or the maximum number of individuals that can be removed from a population without causing it to decline below its sustainable level. 

 

SSC members raised several concerns about the approach the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) used to define the new management area boundary and the assumptions used to account for uncertainty in available data. The SSC noted a comprehensive explanation is needed on the data included and excluded from the new area. Alternative boundaries should be considered, including areas south of the proposed one where the species distribution model suggests high abundance of FKWs. The SSC recommended an independent peer review be conducted on the assessment, including validation of the underlying model.

 

“This is a complex issue and it’s important the FKW population estimate be as accurate as possible because it directly affects the Hawai‘i longline fishery,” said SSC member Milani Chaloupka, Ecological Modelling Services, Australia. “Available scientific information suggests that pelagic FKWs occur outside of the proposed management area boundary, and that these observations could be included in a more comprehensive assessment.”

 

FKWs are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. When the number of fishery interactions that result in mortality and serious injuries (MSI) for the animals exceeds the PBR, the Act requires a Take Reduction Team to be formed to recommend a Take Reduction Plan. A team was formed in 2010 to address FKW interactions with the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery that targets bigeye tuna, and a plan was implemented in 2012. 

 

In recent years, the estimated number of MSI in the deep-set fishery was below or one above the PBR for the portion of the pelagic FKWs inside the EEZ, which changes with new population approximations. Using the new approach that includes areas outside of the EEZ, PBR is estimated at 33 FKWs for the management area, and the MSI estimate is 47 from the deep-set fishery for 2017-2021 in the same area. Most FKWs accidentally caught in the fishery are released alive with the hook and some amount of trailing line left on the animal, which NOAA counts as serious injuries. 

 

The SSC also determined a 2023 bottomfish stock assessment for American Samoa is the best scientific information available to use for developing annual catch limits. The new analysis resulted in the bottomfish stock status changing from overfished and overfishing occurring to not overfished or experiencing overfishing.

 

The PIFSC described updates from the 2019 to 2023 assessments to the SSC. The key differences were 1) using a new framework, which considers age and other characteristics of the population, and 2) splitting the 11 bottomfish species historically managed together in a species complex into individual species models. These changes allowed scientists to identify and fix errors in the data, such as when two species are very similar and may be misidentified.

 

PIFSC noted workshops organized in 2021 with fishermen in the territory, the Council and the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) provided valuable information to help interpret the available data.

 

“I appreciate the Science Center’s efforts to engage the fishermen and gather all the historical data,” said Domingo Ochavillo, DMWR Fisheries Biologist. “Working with the community was fruitful and made a big difference in resolving fishing data issues.”

The SSC also recommended rolling over the current acceptable biological catches for the CNMI bottomfish fishery for 2024-2025 (280,000 pounds) and the main Hawaiian Islands Kona crab fishery for 2024-2026 (30,802 pounds). The two limits are set to expire in 2023. The SSC evaluated the available data and analyses calculating the risk of overfishing and determined the existing limits were appropriate to extend.

 

Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets June 27-29, 2023, at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium in Utulei, American Samoa. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/195th-council-meeting.

Scientific and Statistical Committee: James Lynch (chair); Jason Biggs (Guam Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources); Debra Cabrera (University of Guam); Frank Camacho (University of Guam); Milani Chaloupka (University of Queensland); Erik Franklin (University of Hawai‘i, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology); Shelton Harley (Fisheries New Zealand); Jason Helyer (Hawai‘i Division of Aquatic Resources); Ray Hilborn (University of Washington); Justin Hospital (NMFS PIFSC); Dave Itano (Fisheries Consultant); Donald Kobayashi (NMFS PIFSC); Steve Martell (Sea State Inc.); Domingo Ochavillo (American Samoa DMWR); Graham Pilling (Secretariat of the Pacific Community); Craig Severance (University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, retired); Francisco Villagomez (CNMI Division of Fish & Wildlife); Tia Brown (acting, ex-officio) (NMFS PIFSC).

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council: Secretary of Commerce appointees from nominees selected by American Samoa, the CNMI, Guam and Hawai‘i governors: John Gourley, Micronesian Environmental Services (CNMI) (chair); Roger Dang, Fresh Island Fish Co. (Hawai‘i) (vice chair); Manny Dueñas, Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association (Guam) (vice chair); Will Sword, noncommercial fisherman/engineer (American Samoa) (vice chair); Judith Guthertz, University of Guam (Guam); Shaelene Kamaka‘ala, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (Hawai‘i); Matt Ramsey, Conservation International (Hawai‘i); and McGrew Rice, charter boat captain (CNMI). Designated state officials: Dawn Chang, Hawai‘i Dept. of Land & Natural Resources; Sylvan Igisomar, CNMI Dept. of Lands & Natural Resources (vice chair); Chelsa Muña, Guam Dept. of Agriculture; and Archie Soliai, American Samoa Dept. of Marine & Wildlife Resources. Designated federal officials (voting): Sarah Malloy (acting), NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office. Designated federal officials (nonvoting): Colin Brinkman, U.S. State Dept.; Brian Peck, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; and RADM Michael Day, U.S. Coast Guard 14th District.

June 12, 2023 — The following was released by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Scientific advisors to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will meet June 14-16, 2023, to provide advice and comments on U.S. Pacific Territory bottomfish stocks, Kona crab fishery and false killer whale (FKW) assessments in Hawai‘i, the proposed Pacific Remote Islands (PRI) sanctuary, and other topics.

 The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) meeting is open to in-person or remote participation via web conference for attendees. The full agenda, background documents and instructions for connecting to the meeting and providing oral public comments are available at www.wpcouncil.org/event/148th-scientific-and-statistical-committee-meeting.

 American Samoa Bottomfish Assessment

The SSC will discuss and evaluate a new bottomfish stock assessment model for the American Samoa fishery. The Council’s American Samoa Fishery Ecosystem Plan encompasses 11 bottomfish species, historically managed as a species complex. The previous 2019 assessment indicated the complex was overfished and undergoing overfishing, leading to a rebuilding plan that limited annual catches to below 5,000 pounds. However, using new methodology, a February 2023 assessment shows that the bottomfish complex is no longer overfished or experiencing overfishing. 

 The 2023 stock assessment uses biological information from nine of the 11 species and improved the reconstruction of historical catch. In 2022, NOAA held a series of data workshops to refine the interpretation of catch records, in cooperation with fishermen, the Council and the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources. The 2023 Western Pacific Stock Assessment Review panel found the methods and data integrations greatly improved the analysis. 

 The SSC will review the report and recommendations and may provide feedback to determine whether the new stock assessment represents the best scientific information available (BSIA). If deemed appropriate, the Council will proceed with developing new annual catch limits based on the outcomes, replacing the rebuilding plan.

 CNMI Bottomfish ABC Specification for 2024-2025

The SSC will consider specifying an acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) bottomfish fisheries for fishing year 2024-2025. The specifications would be based on the 2019 Benchmark Stock Assessment of the Mariana Archipelago Bottomfish Fisheries, which the SSC previously considered BSIA. This assessment found the CNMI fishery was not overfished or experiencing overfishing.

 As part of the process to determine annual catch limits (ACLs), the Council will take into account the ABCs calculated by the SSC. These ABCs incorporate the overfishing limit derived from the stock assessment, while considering scientific uncertainties.

 MHI Kona Crab ABC Specification for 2024-2026

The SSC will also evaluate the ABC for the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) Kona crab fishery to assist the Council in developing an ACL. At a prior meeting, the SSC set the ABC at 30,802 pounds. The committee will determine if this specification remains accurate for fishing years 2024-2026 based on the 2019 stock assessment with catch projections to 2026. The assessment determined that the fishery is not overfished or experiencing overfishing. 

 MHI False Killer Whale Assessments

The SSC will review new assessments conducted by the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center for two separate FKW populations around Hawai‘i. The first assessment updates the population estimate for the MHI insular FKWs, which is a small population that is considered genetically distinct from other populations around the region and listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. 

 The second assessment focuses on the pelagic population of FKWs. The pelagic FKW range extends offshore from the MHI and well beyond the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but the outer extent of the range is unknown. The new assessment provided a population estimate for the pelagic stock both inside and outside the EEZ to account for its occurrence and overlap with the Hawai‘i longline fishery. NOAA provided the resulting pelagic population estimate to the FKW Take Reduction Team (TRT), which convened March 28-31, 2023. The TRT, established under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, aims to reduce mortality and serious injuries to FKWs. The SSC will also discuss a report of the TRT meeting. 

 Proposed Pacific Remote Islands Sanctuary

The SSC will hear a presentation and discuss information from NOAA on the goals and objectives of the proposed national marine sanctuary in the PRI. The Council, under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, has the responsibility to develop fishing regulations. The National Marine Fisheries Service is preparing a position statement, which includes keeping an objective of sustainable fisheries within the sanctuary boundaries. The SSC may recommend specific analyses for NOAA to conduct as it prepares its Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed sanctuary.

 The SSC meeting is a crucial platform for leading scientists, experts and stakeholders to collaborate and contribute their knowledge to the formulation of effective conservation strategies. By fostering dialogue and facilitating scientific deliberations, the SSC aims to protect and sustain the delicate balance of marine ecosystems while promoting responsible and sustainable fishing practices.

Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets June 27-29 at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium in Utulei, American Samoa. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/195th-council-meeting.

April 19, 2023 — The following was released by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council continues its efforts to persuade NOAA officials to allow Native Hawaiian fishing to recover costs related to their permitted fishing in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). The Council, concerned that federal ocean policies are overlooking the fishing needs of Indigenous Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, responded to NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) with a letter last Friday challenging NOS’s position that recouping costs of fishing in the NWHI amounted to selling, rather than cultural barter and trade.

NOS’s February 22 letter says, “While NOAA may authorize subsistence fishing in the [Monument Expansion Area] under a Native Hawaiian Practices Fishing Permit only where the fish may be traded, bartered, or exchanged on a small scale within the family or community, such activities must be sustainable and must not serve as a toehold for prohibited commercial fishing.”

The Council on April 14 responded that final MEA action does indeed provide for effective safeguards against commercial fishing because (1) commercial fishing is prohibited; and (2) the applicant for a Native Hawaiian Subsistence Practices Fishing Permit is required to describe fishing trip costs. The review process includes consultation with the Council, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Monument board and the public. The NMFS Regional Administrator makes the final decision to allow or disallow the proposed costs. Barter and trade continues to be available and are not affected by a decision on cost recovery.

In their letter, NOS concluded that the action of a “sale” in a federal fishing permit in the NWHI was unlikely to meet the goals and objectives of the Administration’s proposed national marine sanctuary encompassing the entire NWHI.

The Council disagrees because its MEA action does align with the goals and objectives of the Administration’s proposed sanctuary as follows:

• Provides a framework for NMFS to consider cost recovery. 
• Promotes partnership and engagement. 
• Supports co-management for stewardship.
• Allows input on Native Hawaiian management concepts.
• Enhances community involvement through public review and commenting with opportunities for economically disadvantaged communities. 

President Obama’s Proclamation 9478 specifically allows for noncommercial fishing and Native Hawaiian fishing practices in the MEA. Obviously, the President intended that sustainable fishing occur in the MEA and any attempt to reduce that opportunity by not allowing recovery of fishing costs clashes with this intent.

Limited cost recovery is necessary for Native Hawaiian participation in regulated fishing practices under Proclamation 9478, considering the community’s socio-economic challenges, which include high rates of poverty, unemployment and negative health conditions. Disallowing cost recovery by sale would further disenfranchise the community, hindering its ability to participate in Native Hawaiian subsistence and traditional fishing practices.

Mayor Derek Kawakami of Kaua‘i at a public meeting the Council held in November 2022 said, “I don’t know too many fishermen who can afford to go there and fish. However, there are rich people who can reach that area which would leave a bitter taste in local mouths.”

Final action by the Council included a request to NOAA/NOS to support disadvantaged communities in Hawai‘i by exploring statutory options such as those provided within the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

 

For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/CouncilMEAFishingRegs and

www.wpcouncil.org/western-pacific-community-development-program.

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.