Saving Seafood

Fish Councils Look For Ways To Bounce Back From Pandemic

May 29, 2020 — Archie Soliai was supposed to be leading a meeting at the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore this week, but instead he appeared on a computer screen with a pixelated view of Pago Pago in American Samoa in the background.

Soliai is the chairman of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, a quasi-governmental federal agency that oversees fish stocks in U.S. waters from Hawaii to the Pacific Island territories of American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.

He works for the StarKist Samoa tuna cannery, and over the course of two days hosted a meeting of the nation’s premier fisheries managers via a WebEx video conference to discuss how commercial fishermen could rebound from the coronavirus outbreak that so far has killed more than 101,000 people in the U.S. and 358,000 worldwide.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

‘New Normal’ Trumpets a Bigger Role for U.S. Seafood

May 28, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Leaders of the nation’s eight Regional Fishery Management Councils convened the first of their biannual meetings in 2020 today by teleconference. The Council Coordination Committee (CCC) meeting provides the Councils and heads of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to discuss issues relevant to all of the Councils. Heading today’s agenda was COVID-19 impacts on U.S. fisheries and federal efforts to address them, including President Trump’s Executive Orders on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth and on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery and the CARES Act $300M stimulus package for fisheries and aquaculture.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has made our responsibility more poignant and highlights the often overlooked fact that managing our nation’s fisheries is about ensuring that Americans have food,” stated Taotasi Archie Soliai, chair of the Western Pacific Council, which hosted the meeting. “Yes, management is about making certain fish stocks and protected species remain healthy. Yes, management is about guaranteeing that our fishermen can earn a decent living, pursue the sport of recreational fishing and continue their cultural traditions. But the bottom line is the goal of management of our fisheries is to ensure that our nation can provide nutritious seafood to its people from its waters, which comprise the second largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world.”

Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Chris Oliver said the agency “is looking to support a ‘new normal’ where seafood plays an even bigger role in our economy and in our households. … The Presidential Executive Order greatly adds the horsepower we needed, by codifying our role to support you. It calls for regulatory reform to maximize commercial and recreational fishing opportunities and enforcement of common-sense restrictions on seafood imports that do not meet American standards. And it places NOAA firmly in charge of coordinating the federal process for aquaculture permitting. The Executive Order and the CARES Act funding create an exciting new opportunity to address long-term challenges to expanding the domestic seafood sector.”

Offshore wind issues, bycatch and changing stock assessment status were among other items covered today. The meeting continues tomorrow and is open to the public. The agenda and conference call-in instructions are posted at http://www.fisherycouncils.org/ccc-meetings/may-2020.

Two Fishery Management Council Agendas to Focus on COVID-19 Effects on Fisheries, Management

May 26, 2020 — Concerns relating to the coronavirus have meant many state, federal and international fishery management meetings have gone virtual. But now two of those meetings are tackling COVID-19’s direct effect on fisheries and fisheries management.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is seeking input on COVID-19 impacts on fisheries and management when it meets virtually for its June 2020 meeting. The council may also consider management changes to ease those impacts, according to an industry notice.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Fishery Management Councils to Meet May 27-28 by Teleconference

May 21, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Leadership teams from the nation’s eight regional fishery management councils will convene by teleconference for the spring 2020 Council Coordination Committee (CCC) meeting. The CCC is comprised of the chairs, vice chairs and executive directors of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Mid-Atlantic, New England, North Pacific, Pacific, South Atlantic and Western Pacific Fishery Management Councils. CCC chairmanship rotates annually among the eight Councils, which have authority over fisheries seaward of state waters in the US exclusive economic zone.

The committee meets twice each year with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to discuss issues relevant to all fishery management councils. The Western Pacific Council is serving as this year’s CCC chair and will be hosting this year’s first meeting on May 27 and 28. The meeting will be held by teleconference due to COVID-19 travel and quarantine restrictions.  The public is welcome to participate.

Agenda items will be discussed between 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. (Hawai‘i standard time) each day. Among the scheduled topics are the following:

 

  • COVID-19 effects on Council operations and NMFS rulemaking
  • CARES Act $300M stimulus package for fisheries and aquaculture
  • President’s Executive Order 13921 on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth
  • NMFS updates on priorities, policy directives, technical guidance, bycatch initiatives, etc.
  • Legislative issues
  • CCC Scientific Subcommittee and Habitat Working Group reports

The complete agendas and conference call-in instructions will be posted at http://www.fisherycouncils.org/ccc-meetings/may-2020.

The meeting notice is available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-05-11/pdf/2020-10023.pdf.

 

Hawaii Fishermen Are Stuck In Port As Federal Aid Falls Short

May 19, 2020 — For the past three months, much of Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet, the one that normally stocks the state’s markets and restaurants with fresh poke, ruby red ahi and slabs of swordfish, has been tied up in port as the coronavirus ravages the islands’ economy.

With tourism all but shut down due to Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s 14-day quarantine and restaurant service reduced to takeout for social distancing purposes, there’s less demand for fish.

Prices have dwindled to the point where going out on the water can be more expensive for fishermen than the price of the catch coming in.

State and federal governments have done little to help out, despite the fact that fish are a critical source of protein for the islands’ residents.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

American Samoa’s local longliner fleet gets new dedicated dock space

May 18, 2020 — The long-awaited project to build a dock for larger American Samoa fishing vessels broke ground on 7 April, and had a groundbreaking ceremony on 7 May, according to a press release from the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.

The new berthing area extends the current dock by 450 feet, and will grant the longliner fleet in the area its first dedicated space. Local longliners currently berth “opportunistically” at the main Pago Pago port, StarKist, and Malaloa facilities, but can frequently be required to move when container ships and cruise liners require them to relocate.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Western Pacific Council calls on Trump to ease fishing restrictions in the Pacific marine monuments

May 12, 2020 — A regional fishery management council sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump late last week urging his administration to ease limitations on fishing in the nation’s Pacific marine monuments, saying the restrictions hinder American tuna fishing.

The letter, penned by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Chair Archie Taotasi Soliari and Executive Director Kitty Simonds, was dated Friday, 8 May, a day after the administration released details of how it would allocate the USD 300 million in funding to the seafood industry from the CARES Act. At the same time, White House officials held a call with fishery management officials to discuss other aspects of Trump’s executive order that outlined improving the country’s competitiveness as a seafood producer, a key economic policy for the administration since it came into office more than three years ago.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

American Samoa to Break Ground on New Fishing Dock

May 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The groundbreaking ceremony for a long-awaited dock for larger American Samoa fishing vessels will take place tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the Malaloa Marina in Pago Pago. Gov. Lolo M. Moliga, members of his staff and cabinet, the Silva Group contractors and members of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council are scheduled to attend.

The new berthing area extends the current dock at the Malaloa Marina by 450 feet. It will be used by the local longline fleet, which currently has no dedicated dock and opportunistically berths at the main Pago Pago port, StarKist and Malaloa facilities until the arrival of purse-seine vessels, cruise liners and fuel and container ships requires them to relocate.

The American Samoa longline fleet is comprised of 16 vessels averaging 79 feet and three smaller alia (traditional catamaran style) vessels. It targets albacore tuna, which is delivered to the StarKist cannery. Incidental catches of marlin and yellowfin and bigeye tuna are sold to local businesses and used for cultural/community obligations.

“We must maintain this fishery,” says Kitty M. Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. “It is one of three US tuna fisheries in the western and central Pacific. It has been challenged by current gaps in the management of South Pacific albacore by international fishery commissions. The United States needs to remain a pivotal player in these management and conservation negotiations.”

At the request of the American Samoa government to provide assistance in addressing the lack of docking space in Pago Pago Harbor, the Council provided $195,000 through the Sustainable Fisheries Fund. The funds are used to support the Marine Conservation Plan for each of the US Pacific Territories, which includes fisheries development as one of the objectives. The funds were used for the design phase of the project with the agreement that the local government would identify a funding source for the construction of the dock.

“This is a great milestone and a long time coming,” says Taotasi Archie Soliai, Council chair and a manager at StarKist. “The Council is extremely excited and looks forward to this project completion so more dock space is available to our local fleet. Our goal is to work with the territorial governments to provide support for their MCPs, and this dock expansion falls in line with those objectives. A big heartfelt appreciation goes to Gov. Lolo Moliga and his Administration for the funding allocation towards this project. This is a win-win situation for everyone!”

3 students earn fisheries scholarships

May 4, 2020 — Three college students have been named recipients of the 2020-2021 U.S. Pacific Territories Fishery Capacity-Building Scholarship.

The recipients are:

  • Aveipepa Fua, of American Samoa, who will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marine science at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo;
  • Jude Lizama, of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, who will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in oceanography with a concentration in fisheries science at Hawai’i Pacific University; and
  • Leilani Sablan, of Guam, who will be pursuing a master’s degree in biology at the University of Guam.

Read the full story at The Guam Daily Post

Council Announces Three Winners for 2020-2021 US Pacific Territories Fishery Capacity-Building Scholarship

May 1, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020-2021 US Pacific Territories Fishery Capacity-Building Scholarship. The scholarships are offered annually to college students with close connections to American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) who are pursuing degrees that will bolster the Territories’ capacity to manage their fishery ecosystems. Students who accept a scholarship agree to work with their local fishery agency upon graduation for an equivalent amount of time that they receive the scholarship.

The 2020-2021 recipients include Aveipepa Fua (American Samoa) who will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marine science at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo; Jude Lizama (CNMI) who will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in oceanography with a concentration in fisheries science at Hawai’i Pacific University; and Leilani Sablan (Guam) who will be pursuing a master’s degree in biology at the University of Guam.

Since the scholarship program began in 2016, five recipients have graduated, with three having fulfilled their work requirements in American Samoa and the CNMI and two beginning their work commitment in 2019; and six recipients are poised to graduate in 2020 (two students) and 2021 (four students).

The scholarship program was established through a memorandum of understanding involving several federal agencies, the local fishery agencies in the Territories and several colleges and universities in Hawai’i and the Territories. It is funded by the Council, NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office.