Saving Seafood

News for the Western Pacific Region

American Samoa Secures Landmark Victory at WCPFC22, US Makes Progress on Commitments for 2026

December 6, 2025 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The 22nd Regular Session of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC22) meeting concluded Friday with a unanimous decision securing the long-term future of the South Pacific albacore fishery, a major gain for the American Samoa longline fishery managed by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council.
By consensus, WCPFC members adopted a new management procedure (MP) that could reduce overall South Pacific albacore catch by about 10-12% from recent years to approximately 56,000 metric tons in commission waters. The decision is expected to ease oversupply and improve market conditions for small island fleets, including American Samoa, which saw some of the worst economic conditions on record in 2024. It also meets a key requirement to maintain Marine Stewardship Council certification that allows the American Samoa longline fishery to sell albacore to the local StarKist cannery at a premium price.
“This management procedure has been nearly a decade in the making, and the U.S. Pacific territories took it over the top with their steadfast support,” said Kitty Simonds, Council executive director. “It is a critical step to stabilize the albacore fishery and the island economies and food security that depend on it.”
Council member Nathan Ilaoa, director of the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, championed a more conservative approach during negotiations. “When operational costs are high and catch rates are low, the only fleets that can continue to operate are those receiving substantial subsidies,” Ilaoa said. “That creates a critical inequity for the American Samoa longline fleet and other small island domestic fleets.”
Representatives from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands supported American Samoa and other Pacific Island delegations. “These positions are consistent with protecting island food security and economies,” said Council member Chelsa Muña, director of Guam’s Department of Agriculture.
Next year, WCPFC members will negotiate an implementing measure and catch allocations to fully operationalize the new albacore MP.
The U.S. delegation, led by NOAA’s Drew Lawler, advanced priorities for Council-managed fisheries, including work toward a bigeye tuna management procedure that considers purse seine as well as longline impacts, and a commitment to adopt a conservation and management measure on electronic monitoring in 2026.
“Members of the U.S. and territorial delegations viewed his leadership as a vast improvement over previous years and said this year’s delegation presented a much stronger unified front,” Simonds said.

CNMI community pushes back on seabed mining as comment period deadline looms

December 8, 2025 — Saipan residents packed an amphitheater last week to voice concerns about deep-sea mining plans off the Marianas, with local leaders warning the federal government is steamrolling territories without adequate input or financial benefit.

A Dec. 3 forum at American Memorial Park drew community members as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s 30-day comment period on a request for information, or RFI,  nears its Friday deadline. The meeting revealed deep skepticism about the process and mounting frustration over territorial sovereignty.

“This is not self-government where people will just come in and dictate what they’re going to do to your resources,” said Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Rep. Vincent “Kobre” Aldan, who chairs the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation, and Communications. “Self-government is very powerful. That’s the reason why we negotiated.”

Aldan pointed to the U.S. Constitution’s Territorial Clause as the legal foundation allowing the federal government to act unilaterally in territorial waters. He urged Pacific islanders to unite in challenging the provision, which grants Congress broad authority over U.S. territories.

“Can we beat it? Yes, we can. How? By numbers,” Aldan said. “If we can work together with our territorial brothers and sisters, not just here in the Pacific, but also in the Caribbean, and by numbers, sign a petition, get a resolution going, and send it up to the U.S. Congress, then they’ll listen.”

The forum brought together marine scientists, traditional navigators, economists, and government officials to discuss the proposed mining area east of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument. The site sits about 128 nautical miles from Saipan in federal waters beyond the CNMI’s three-mile territorial boundary.

Governors David Apatang of the CNMI and Lou Leon Guerrero of Guam have jointly requested a 120-day extension to the comment period, which had not been granted as of Monday, when the BOEM RFI docket page at regulations.gov showed 224 comments received.

Sheila Babauta, chair of Friends of the Mariana Trench, told The Guam Daily Post in an interview last week that her organization opposes the RFI and supports the extension request. She noted the document contains an error describing the proposed area as west of the trench when it’s actually to the east.

Read the full article at The Guam Daily Post

NGOs call for WCPFC to adopt transshipment rules, echo calls for South Pacific albacore management procedure

December 1, 2025 — Environmental NGOs are calling on the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) to adopt new rules for transshipment regulation, electronic monitoring, and fish aggregating devices (FADs) and have joined calls for a new management procedure for South Pacific albacore.

The WCPFC, which is meeting 1 to 5 December, oversees more than half of the world’s tuna catch and includes 26 different member countries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA proposing new rules on commercial fishing in the expanded areas of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument

November 25, 2025 — The 205th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will convene by web conference on December 16-17, 2025.

Host sites for Webex include 1164 Bishop St., Ste. 1400, Honolulu, HI; Tedi of Samoa Bldg., Ste. 208B, Fagatogo Village, AS; BRI Bldg., Ste. 205, Kopa Di Oru St., Garapan, Saipan, CNMI; Cliff Pointe, 304 W. O’Brien Dr., Hagatfia, Guam.

The Webex link is https://tinyurl.com/205Counci1Mtg (if prompted, enter event number: 2864 005 8179; password: CM205mtg).

Specific information on joining the meeting, instructions for connecting to the Webex and providing oral public comments during the meeting will be posted on the Council website at: www.wpcouncil.org/event/205th-council-meeting-virtual-2.

The Council will consider and may take action on the issues summarized below, including any public comments on them. Written public comments on final action items should be received by the Council’s executive director by 5 p.m. (HST), Thursday, December 11, 2025, via postal mail, fax or email as indicated at end of the end of the article.

Read the full article at Samoa News

Pacific Island nations, Global Tuna Alliance urge WCPFC to adopt management procedure for South Pacific albacore

November 21, 2025 — Ahead of the upcoming meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), taking place from 1 to 5 December in Manila, Philippines, Pacific Island nations have developed a joint, science-based proposal for the management of South Pacific albacore.

Simultaneously, the Global Tuna Alliance (GTA) has launched the “Anchor Albacore’s Future” campaign to highlight the importance of adopting a predictable management plan for the tuna species.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump admin eyes deep-sea mining in CNMI, 100-plus miles offshore Guam

November 20, 2025 — The federal government is eyeing a potential offshore mining project near the Mariana Trench, in an area around 128 nautical miles east of Saipan and around the same distance east of Guam, in response to executive orders from President Donald Trump.

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Gov. David Apatang on Nov. 15 jointly asked for an additional 120-day extension on a comment period closing on Dec. 12.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, BOEM, announced on Nov. 10 a request for information seeking interest in commercial leasing for offshore mining operations near the CNMI and American Samoa.

Read the full article at Pacific Daily News

HAWAII: Green Sea Turtles Have Rebounded. Should Hawaiians Be Able To Eat Them?

November 5, 2025 — Mac Poepoe grew up diving in the waters off Molokaʻi to spear honu — Hawai‘i’s distinct species of green sea turtle — that helped feed his family. He also often saw other fishermen hunt honu for profit, selling its prized meat to shops and restaurants across the channel on Maui.

Those widespread commercial killings helped land the honu on the federal endangered species list in 1978, when Poepoe, a lifelong Friendly Isle resident, was 29 years old. The move didn’t include any cultural exemptions for Hawaiians such as Poepoe, who had sustainably harvested the turtles for generations.

“What it does, it criminalizes us,” Poepoe said Friday. “That law applies to everybody like us that was born eating turtle. It’s not our primary source of food, but it’s one of our resources that we rely on.”

The International Union for Conservation of Nature — a network of governments and conservation groups — actually declared that Hawaiian green sea turtles were no longer endangered more than a decade ago. The federal government, however, still designates the species as endangered and Hawaiian green sea turtles are still protected under U.S. law.

Then, last month, the group expanded its declaration to cover green sea turtles worldwide, saying it considers them a species of “least concern,” meaning they have a less than 10% chance of going extinct in the next century.

Weeks earlier, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds asked federal fisheries leaders to help restore rights to kill some green sea turtles for cultural purposes, such as special meals.

Read the full article at Civil Beats

South Korea announces trade deal with US reducing tariffs to 15 percent

October 29, 2025 — The U.S. and South Korea have reached a trade deal that will reduce tariffs on the Asian nation from 25 percent to 15 percent, both countries announced on 29 October.

U.S. President Donald Trump initially threatened the 25 percent tariff in July, with a start date of 1 August. Since that time, all goods from the country – including seafood – have been subject to the duty.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Wespac moves toward reopening Pacific monument to commercial fishing

October 6, 2025 — The prospects of opening up Hawaii’s protected marine monument to commercial fishing has moved a step closer to reality.

Members of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, or Wespac, voted Sept. 17 to move toward allowing commercial fishing within four marine national monuments, including Papahanau ­mokuakea and the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.

The decision followed testimony in strong opposition from Native Hawaiian leaders, scientists and environmental advocates.

Read the full article at The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Local fish vendors share struggles with pricing, imports, and regulations

October 6, 2025 — AT a public meeting at the Crowne Plaza on Oct. 4, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council heard directly from fishing vendors about the challenges they face.

A release from the WPRFMC called the event a “community consultation” and said it was aimed at “strengthening connections with fish vendors and exploring ways to improve markets, pricing, and seafood safety.”

Alex Min of WPRFMC said the organization wanted to hear about a wide range of issues impacting fishing vendors, who he described as “key points of contact” for fisheries.

“You’re seeing a lot of different fish coming to you and through you,” he said. “We think that’s a really important thing to record and make sure your voices are heard.”

Arnel Obando, a resident, said one thing affecting fishermen — and therefore fishing vendors — is the prohibition on monofilament fishing nets. On Saipan, it is illegal to fish with a tekken (gill net) or chenchulu (drag net).

Read the full article at Marianas Variety