Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Archives - Page 2 of 37

Request for Proposals: Pacific Island Fishery Governance and Policy Projects

May 13, 2026 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Council) is soliciting services to support its Climate Change and Communities Program (CCCP). Contractors and services are required to carry out projects included in the CCCP as supported through NOAA’s Inflation Reduction Act funding. Contract services will support the three work items below (See Scope of Work for additional details):

Integrating Fishers’ Ecological Knowledge into Adaptive Fisheries Governance – Contractor(s) will develop and implement a technology-based (web or app) data portal that fishermen can use to record on-the-water fisheries and ecosystem observations on a real-time basis. Information collected throughout the year will supplement the ecosystem information gathered through the Council’s established annual fishermen’s observation meeting and monthly Advisory Panel meetings. Information is included in the Council’s Annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report on the fisheries.
Fisher Resilience Compact: A Co-Managed Crisis Response Framework –Contractor and facilitator will coordinate and host a Pacific Islands Regional Workshop to explore the development of a formal governance compact between fishers, local fishery agencies, the Council, and emergency response entities. The agreement will allow the Council to better structure its management framework to process, adapt and respond quickly and effectively to mitigate fishing community impacts from climate, natural and other disasters.
Shark Depredation/Mitigation Workshop to Align Local and Federal Regulations to Improve Shark Management and Educate Fishing Communities – Contractor(s) will use outcomes from the international workshop held in Honolulu on February 10-11, 2026, to support follow-up work addressing increased shark depredation in Pacific Island demersal and pelagic fisheries. The contractor(s) will help advance the workshop-identified needs to educate the fishing community on shark regulations, reporting and mitigation, and to better align local and federal shark governance.

Interested people or entities should submit one (1) proposal clearly identifying which of the three service items listed above to which they are applying. Proposals can target any single service item or combination thereof. Contracts will be structured on a time and materials basis. Applicants shall include a narrative of the work to be done, timeline for completion and budget for each service item included in the proposal. Proposals must be emailed to info@wpcouncil.org before 5:00 p.m. May 26, 2026.

CONTRACT SERVICE: This is a time and material-based contract. Proposals must include an hourly rate for all individuals included in the project(s).

CONTRACT PERIOD: The contract will begin after June 1, 2026, and end October 31, 2026.

SCOPE OF WORK: The contractor(s) will work closely with Council staff and coordinating committees to carry out the projects as included in this solicitation. See Additional Information below for a detailed Scope of Work for each of the three projects listed above.

ELIGIBILITY: The potential contractor must:

Possess a detailed working knowledge of the Magnuson-Steven Act and other policies, regulations, and guidance documents relating to marine resource management and conservation in the Pacific Islands Region;
Be familiar with the responsibilities of the Council and its advisory bodies, as well as Pacific Islands community cultures and natural resources;
Be familiar with state/territorial and federal fishery agencies, and fishing and seafood communities in the Western Pacific;
Have knowledge of current fisheries science, research, data collection and management, U.S. Pacific Islands cultures, marine conservation, management and environmental laws and use of technology in today’s fisheries;
Have the ability to communicate and work effectively with staff, Council members, institution and agency fishery scientists, fishery administrators and the fishing community;
Have the ability to plan, organize and successfully complete work in situations that require coordination and management of numerous diverse demands and tasks, attention to detail and deliver high quality products under short timelines;
Demonstrated proficiency in oral and written communications and standard personal computer software;
Be able to travel as required for each project; and
Have/address additional criteria included in the Additional Information for the Scope of Work below, where applicable.

REQUIREMENTS: The contractor will work independently and coordinate with Council staff to meet deliverable timelines. Proposals must include an hourly billing rate for each individual working on the project and will be evaluated on a competitive basis based on meeting eligibility criteria as stated above. Selected contractor begins contract in June 2026 and must complete the project by October 31, 2026.

HOW TO APPLY: Submissions should include a proposal with the following items (maximum 5 pages): a. Name, affiliation, and contact information of the principal contractor(s); b. Brief statement on contractor’s experience and ability to address the requirements as stated in the Scope of Work; c. Estimated time required to effectively support the Scope of Work; and d. Curriculum vitae or resume for each project participant (does not count toward the 5-page limit).

Proposals may be submitted by e-mail (attach materials in PDF files) to info@wpcouncil.org or regular mail to: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Proposals will be welcome until May 26, 2026, or until a contractor is engaged.

Additional Information on Project Scope of Work

and Eligibility Criteria

1. Integrating Fishers’ Ecological Knowledge into Adaptive Fisheries Governance

Contractor will work with Council staff and advisors to develop an integrated Council-hosted web-based portal linked through social media platforms to gather ecological fishery information from Pacific Island fishermen and ocean users. The web portal will collect ecological, fishery, social, economic and market-related information consistent with that collected through the Council’s annual fishermen’s observation program and monthly Advisory Panel meetings. Promotion of the portal will be through regular meetings of the Council’s advisory bodies and other public meetings, continuation of community consultation meetings, popular fishing social media platforms and other Council outreach and education activities/events.

Expected Outcomes:

Web-based portal (WordPress) to receive information from ocean users’ replicable model for integrating real-time fishermen observations into formal fisheries monitoring and evaluation.
Popular place-based social media platforms (e.g., WhatsApp in Mariana Islands; Facebook in American Samoa) to be used to share portal availability with the fishing, science, and policy communities.
Portal system must be able to generate and export an electronic report of information collected from the community. Data fields must support ecological indicator categories that align with the Council’s Annual SAFE Report format and timing.
Data collected through the portal must be made available through standard reports in a format compatible with Microsoft Excel or other common spreadsheet/database systems.

Additional Eligibility Criteria:

Experience with developing and maintaining website in WordPress software.
Working knowledge and experience programming websites to create a user-friendly public interface to collect fishery and ecosystem information/data.

2. Fisher Resilience Compact: A Co-Managed Crisis Response Framework

This project will develop a co-managed framework between the fishing community and government agencies to standardize a crisis response to support food security resulting from natural disasters, economic shutdowns, or climate-related emergencies. A Fisher Resilience Compact formalizes how fishers and agencies will communicate, mobilize, gather critical social and economic impact information, and deliver community relief, ensuring that local knowledge and capacity are recognized as integral to community governance and resilience infrastructure.

The contractor will research and source information on programs that provide fishing community disaster relief funding, including eligibility criteria and information needed to determine social and economic losses. The contractor will plan, coordinate and host a multi-day workshop in Honolulu which will explore and develop a formal governance compact between fishers, local fishery agencies, Council, and emergency response entities. The contractor will work with Council staff to identify and select up to four representatives from each island area (Hawai‘i, American Samoa, Guam, CNMI) to participate in the workshop. Workshop participants will consider availability of baseline information on local fisheries, infrastructure, service industries, seafood markets and other ancillary sectors tied to thriving fisheries. As the fisheries provide food to communities, it is critical to understand how these disaster events affect the social and economic contribution of fisheries, seafood networks and the broader island communities. The outcome of this initiative will be a co-managed governance structure for future crisis response and a Memorandum of Understanding to be reviewed by Council’s Regional Ecosystem Advisory Committees and other advisory bodies, and adopted by the Council.

Expected Outcomes:

Report on information availability to establish a baseline from which social and economic loss can be calculated resulting from impacts from natural disasters.
Fisher Resilience Compact Memorandum of Understanding to consider:
Activation Protocols: How fishers are mobilized within local emergency operations.
Governance Structure: Roles, responsibilities, and decision authority between fishers, agencies, and partners.
Communication & Data Systems: Rapid information collection and sharing on harbor status, fish availability, and ocean conditions.
Relief Coordination Pathways: Clear methods to distribute fish through the Fish for the People initiative.
Policy Integration: How this Compact is institutionalized within the Council, local agencies, Civil Defense, and NOAA recovery/disaster relief frameworks.
Crisis Governance Playbook mapping decision authority, communication, and response pathways.
Scenario-planning framework to train future responders and fishers.
White paper and policy brief informing the Council, NOAA, and state resilience plans.
Present to the Council and advisory bodies, as required.

Additional Eligibility Criteria:

Experience working with first responders and agencies/organizations with responsibility of responding to natural disasters.
Experience working with fishing and seafood communities that have experience navigating the impacts of natural disasters in the Pacific Islands.

3. Shark Depredation/Mitigation Workshop to Align Local and Federal Regulations to Improve Governance and Educate Fishing Communities

Working from the outcomes from the International Shark Depredation/Mitigation Workshop held February 10-11, 2026, in Honolulu, the contractor will coordinate with Council staff and facilitate a Hawai‘i Shark Governance and Education workshop to improve alignment of federal and local shark regulations, monitoring/data collection of shark depredation and education on shark species.

The workshop will include representatives from Hawai‘i’s fishing community, local and federal management, monitoring and enforcement agencies, scientists, private businesses, and Council advisors. Council staff will work with the contractor to develop the workshop agenda, produce briefing materials and documents, identify workshop participants, and coordinate the workshop with help from a facilitator.

Expectations and Outcomes:

Workshop should provide participants with the opportunity to:
Review and discuss in detail the federal and state regulatory regimes currently in place for shark harvest, sale and interactions.
Evaluate the monitoring programs and data collected on the harvest, sale and fishery interactions with sharks in the Hawai‘i archipelago.
Develop educational tools for the fishing community to better identify shark species and report shark interaction and depredation occurring in Hawai‘i fisheries.
Report on the outcomes of the Hawai‘i Shark Governance and Education Workshop.
Present to the Council and advisory bodies, as required.

Guam’s reef fishery plan focus on reefs, not on federal waters

April 21, 2026 — When the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council voted in March to restore commercial fishing in parts of four Pacific marine national monuments, the coverage that followed left one key figure on Guam with something to clarify.

Chelsa Muña, director of the Guam Department of Agriculture and Guam’s representative on the council, wants island residents to understand something that has gotten lost in the broader noise around Pacific fisheries: Guam’s Coral Reef Fisheries Management Plan covers coral reef fish only. Not bottom fish. Not pelagics. Reef fish.

“It is critical that the plan and any new guidelines and regulations only apply to coral reef fish,” Muña told The Guam Daily Post. “We are not addressing bottom fish or pelagic fish.”

That distinction matters because federal fishery regulations, including the council’s monument decisions, apply to bottomfish and pelagics in waters three to 200 nautical miles from shore. Guam’s territorial waters extend just three miles out. The two systems operate in separate jurisdictions and cover entirely different fish populations.

Read the full article at The Guam Daily Post

Pacific monuments reopening push fights over fishing, culture

April 16, 2026 — A renewed push to reopen the U.S. Pacific Marine National Monuments to commercial fishing is setting up another round of tension among fishing access, conservation priorities, and cultural protections in some of the most remote waters in the world.

Earlier this month, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac) recommended allowing commercial fishing across all four Pacific monuments– Papahānaumokuākea, Pacific Islands Heritage, Marianas Trench, and Rose Atoll– areas that together span roughly 3.1 million square kilometers of protected ocean, according to Mongabay.

Wespac framed the move as a return to balance. The recommendation, the council said, is “about restoring sustainable fishing.” But the proposal has drawn criticism from conservation groups and Native Hawaiian advocates, who argue the monuments were established to safeguard ecosystems and cultural connections that extend far beyond commercial interests.

“I am sad that with all these restrictions in our areas, we are slowly losing some of our culture,” Wespac council member Pedro Itibus said in a press release.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Council recommends opening US Pacific marine monuments to commercial fishing

April 15, 2026 — A U.S. fishing regulator recently recommended allowing commercial fishing across all four of the country’s Pacific marine national monuments.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac) said the move is “about restoring sustainable fishing.” Conservationists and native peoples, however, say it will damage some of Earth’s most pristine ocean ecosystems.

The monuments — Pacific Islands Heritage, Rose Atoll, Marianas Trench, and Papahānaumokuākea — cover 3.1 million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles) of coral atolls, deep-sea trenches and remote islands.

Read the full article at Mongabay

POSTPONED: Mariana Islands Community Consultation Meetings

April 9, 2026 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, in partnership with the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG) and local partners, has postponed the Mariana Islands Community Consultation meetings scheduled for April 13-16, 2026.

This decision follows close monitoring of Typhoon 04W, which is forecast to pass near Guam between Monday and Tuesday, April 13–14. Out of an abundance of caution, and in line with regional weather monitoring and emergency preparedness efforts, the Council and its partners are prioritizing the safety of community members, fishers and staff.

The meetings were intended to build on discussions from October 2025 by providing updates on community input, sharing ongoing efforts, and engaging fishers in collaborative activities such as fish mapping and fisher observations. These efforts remain a priority, and all meetings will be rescheduled to a later dateto ensure meaningful community participation. Updated meeting dates will be announced when available.

Community members are strongly encouraged to stay informed through official weather updates, take necessary precautions and focus on preparedness as the storm approaches.

(Now Postponed) Meeting Schedule:

● Saipan, CNMI

Date: April 13, 2026 (Monday)

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ChST)

Location: Crowne Plaza Resort, Azucena Room, Coral Tree Ave, Garapan

● Tinian, CNMI

Date: April 14, 2026 (Tuesday)

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ChST)

Location: Tinian Western Lodge, Conference Center, Canal St

● Hagåtña, GU

Date: April 16, 2026 (Thursday)

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ChST)

Location: Guam Museum, Multi Purpose Room, 193 Chalan Santo Papa Juan Pablo Dos

Amending turtle protection laws proposed to permit cultural use

March 30, 2026 — For decades the green sea turtle has been protected under the Endangered Species Act, but with the populations now recovering, members of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council resurrected conversations on restoring culturally important sea turtle harvesting during its recent meeting in Hawaii.

At the heart of the conversation is the long-overdue question, “What recovery could mean not only for conservation, but also for the possible return of cultural stewardship and sustainable use in the Western Pacific?” according to a release from the council.

The council recognized that the green sea turtle, although protected, also has played a role in cultures of the Western Pacific.

Read the full article at The Guam Daily Post

WPFMC recommends reopening marine monuments to commercial fishing

March 27, 2026 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) took final action to reopen commercial fishing in multiple marine monuments, including the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

“This is not about removing monument protections; it’s about restoring sustainable fishing in limited areas under fishery regulations the Council has developed over decades,” WPFMC Executive Director Kitty Simonds said in a release. “Those regulations were built to balance access and conservation, and that remains the Council’s guiding principle under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Council to reopen monument waters to commercial fishing

March 27, 2026 — After hearing roughly 70 public comments, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC) has taken final action to restore commercial fishing access across several U.S. Pacific marine national monuments– marking a significant shift for fleets that have operated under long-standing closures.

The Council voted at its 206^th meeting to recommend reopening portions of the Pacific Islands Heritage, Rose Atoll, Marinas Trench, and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monuments to federally managed commercial fisheries.

“This is not about removing monument protections – it’s about restoring sustainable fishing in limited areas under fishery regulations the Council has developed over decades,” said Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds. “Those regulations were built to balance access and conservation, and that remains the Council’s guiding principle under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Recovering Green Sea Turtles Prompt New Dialogue on Culture and Sustainable Use in the Western Pacific

March 27, 2026 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

For many Pacific Island communities, green sea turtles are more than a protected species. They are part of ceremony, identity, family teaching and a way of life that many say has been interrupted for generations.

Now, as green sea turtle populations recover, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is advancing a conversation that many island leaders say is long overdue: what recovery could mean not only for conservation, but also for the possible return of cultural stewardship and sustainable use in the Western Pacific.

At its meeting today, the Council reaffirmed its commitment to work with federal and territorial agencies to continue exploring avenues for the sustainable take of green sea turtles in the region.

The action followed an international workshop held March 1, 2026, during the 44th International Sea Turtle Symposium in Kona, Hawai‘i. More than 100 participants from 21 countries and territories gathered to examine how sea turtle use is managed, what systems are working and what lessons may help make sustainable use viable.

The workshop highlighted that conservation and use can coexist. With community involvement, locally adapted management and appropriate biological safeguards, sustainable use can support conservation at any population level. Presentations also showed that sea turtle use continues in subsistence, ceremonial and customary contexts, with local governance, indigenous knowledge and accountability central to successful stewardship.

Council member Chelsa Muña, Guam Dept. of Agriculture director, commended the meaningful progress made through the workshop. “It aligns with past Council comments about incorporating cultural take and traditional knowledge into some form of community-based management,” said Muña. “Rather than villainizing culture, there could be incorporation of that community into some form of management of the population.”

“It was interesting to hear that populations were still increasing in places where take was never banned,” said American Samoa Dept. of Marine and Wildlife Resources Director and Council chair Nathan Ilaoa. “We should not let cultural traditions get lost on our watch, and I encourage our federal partners to take the ball and forge ahead in finding a way for sustainable harvest in our Pacific Island region.”

CNMI Dept. of Lands and Natural Resources Secretary and Council member Sylvan Igisomar said the discussion is ultimately about what communities stand to lose when cultural practices are left dormant for too long. “When a cultural practice is lost, it’s gone forever,” Igisomar said. “My children will never have my childhood.”

“Back in Guam, we try to perpetuate our traditional use of resources while maintaining strong stewardship in how we protect them and take only what we need, especially for events and celebrations,” said Guam Council member Jesse Rosario.

The Council along with U.S. Pacific Islanders have sought to restore culturally important sea turtle harvest since take was prohibited under the Endangered Species Act in 1978. In 2021, a U.S. State Department representative told the Council that avenues for resuming green sea turtle cultural harvest, even if the ESA allowed it, are not available due to U.S. obligations under the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC). Under the IAC, the parties must take action to prohibit intentional use of sea turtles, with limited exceptions. In September 2025, the Council requested assistance from the Trump Administration to explore changes to the IAC to allow for the sustainable use of green sea turtles in the region.

WP Fishery Council Demands Inclusion of Cultural Value in Federal Prioritization Framework

March 26, 2026 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council today advanced follow-up work on fisheries science and management priorities, reaffirmed its seafood Executive Order recommendations from its September 2025 meeting, and took action on shark depredation and mitigation in the Pacific Islands region.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) plans to reduce funding to the regions and science centers to manage our fisheries. The prioritization framework is intended to narrow the scope of NMFS’s federal fisheries science and management from more than 500 stocks nationally to account for new funding realities. The framework weighs the value of and risks to each fishery and stock, defining value primarily in monetary terms and treating social and other considerations as secondary.

The NMFS economic-first approach fails to reflect the essential role of fisheries in the Pacific Islands region. The Council made clear that for Pacific Island communities, cultural importance supersedes economic value integral to the prioritization exercise. Members directed its Scientific and Statistical Committee to develop a mechanism capable of determining and quantifying the value of culture to inform the prioritization.

“Reduced funding does not eliminate the Council’s responsibility to manage fisheries in the region,” said Council Chair Nathan Ilaoa from American Samoa. “We are different – we don’t have vast amounts of farmland or Costco, we depend on fisheries, we have to make sure it doesn’t downgrade our fisheries. Cultural value may be difficult to quantify, but it must be part of the decision-making process.”

Although the region’s small-scale bottomfish and Kona crab fisheries may appear small by national economic standards, they play an outsized role in food security and culture. Evaluating fisheries only by dollar value would make it harder for Western Pacific fisheries to compete for funding.

In 2018, the Council moved to reclassify hundreds of fisheries caught in state and territorial waters as ecosystem component species so that limited resources can be directed to priority fisheries.

“This is ultimately a resource allocation issue at both the regional and national levels,” said Council member Barry Thom, executive director of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the newest nonvoting member. “The Council, Center and Region should use this process to demonstrate that resources are being targeted where they are most needed.”

Seafood Executive Order

Responding to EO 14276, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness,” the Council reviewed its recommendations and decided that no changes to our list of actions will be made. Removing fishing prohibitions in the Pacific Island monuments remains the Council’s highest priority. A close second is revising burdensome regulations such as the Hawai‘i shallow-set longline fishery turtle trip limit measure and hard cap, which are highly disruptive to a fishery that supplies approximately half of the domestic swordfish market.

“The current closure has been costly and inefficient, burdening the longline fleet that supplies our StarKist cannery,” Ilaoa said. “Our fleet is critical to American Samoa’s economy and to maintain MSC certification needed to support contracts serving the military and school lunch programs across the nation.”

Shark Depredation and Mitigation

Major outcomes from the February 2026 shark workshop highlighted ongoing concerns about shark depredation across the region. Participants agreed that better data collection and reporting is critical. Information on lost gear and fishing time, and continued collaboration with fishermen to test and improve deterrent technologies are among the top priorities.

“What we heard from around the region is that shark depredation varies between pelagic and bottomfish fisheries,” said workshop chair Jason Helyer of the Hawai‘i Division of Aquatic Resources. “Questions about whether it is being driven by population changes, habituation or climate-related factors are part of a broader issue affecting fisheries globally.”

Guidelines for Electronic Monitoring

Electronic monitoring (EM) takes advantage of modern technology to monitor Council-managed longline fisheries while lessening burdens to vessel operators compared to human observers such as providing food and living space. The Council reviewed guidelines for vessel monitoring plans (VMPs), which are vessel-specific plans required for boats using EM systems. The VMPs include contact information, malfunction contingencies and catch handling requirements while at sea.

In June 2025, the Council recommended full EM implementation in the Hawai‘i and American Samoa longline fisheries, with a primary focus on protected species and bycatch monitoring. The Council endorsed the guidelines to help ensure the program operates efficiently. The Council recommended continued training for vessel owners, operators and crew on VMP requirements and to consider some of the cultural differences, including diverse languages spoken. The Council, with NMFS and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, held multiple forums from November 2025 to February 2026 to gather fishing industry feedback on EM and VMPs. In that time, 40-50 crew members, captains and vessel managers were trained.

“While there will be a transition period as we ramp up EM, I can assure from experience with our other programs that it will run smooth once implemented,” said Thom. “These conversations on VMPs are very important to make the program effective.”

At these forums, vessel owners and operators expressed preference for EM rather than having to accommodate human observers while at sea. Ilaoa said, “It is good we are able to reduce burden on crews and meet monitoring needs. Having the VMPs specific to each vessel in our region is the way to go.”