Category Archives: Western Pacific
CNMI Lt. Gov. Hocog Asks Western Pacific Fishery Management Council to Collaborate on Three Key Issues
Acting Gov. Victor Hocog of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) today asked the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council to work with the Commonwealth to address regulations that impact the people of the CNMI. On behalf of Gov. Ralph Torres, who is off-island, Hocog made his remarks during the opening of the 166th meeting of the Council today at the Fiesta Resort & Spa in Garapan, CNMI. “I humbly ask this Council to consider the state our people are faced with,” he added. “I choose to ask the Council in the days ahead on this meeting to give serious thoughts and consideration [on how we can] work together and achieve what islanders need without compromising standards.” Hocog listed three items of concern: 1) the 0 to 3 miles of submerged lands and waters around islands of the Islands Unit of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (MNM) that have not been conveyed to the CNMI; 2) sea turtles and sharks; and 3) US military bombing of Farallon de Medinilla (FDM). Read the press release here 21:26
Fishermen protest marine reserve at Kaupulehu
KAUPULEHU — The sea is full of fish. Especially on one stretch of North Kona coastline whose closure for 10 years needs only the governor’s signature to be final. That’s according to the 40 or so fishermen who lined Queen Kaahumanu Highway waving signs on Saturday to protest the establishment of the Kaupulehu Marine Reserve, the island’s first initiative to put a reef off-limits to fishing while a subsistence plan is drafted for the 3.6 miles of coastline at Kaupulehu Bay. Anglers who troll, cast nets and fish with spears were angered that such bounty was being placed out of their reach, and questioned the state’s motives for the closure. “Out of all of the areas on the island, they want to close the one in front of the millionaires and billionaires,” said Abram Boido, owner of Mobile Marine Repair Service in Kailua-Kona. “Ask yourself, is it the fishing?” Read the story here 21:54
Two companies have proposed offshore wind farms in Hawaii
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the agency that would decide whether to approve ocean leases for the projects, held a meeting about the proposals Monday. Among concerns raised so far is the potential danger that whales or submarines could bump into the cords anchoring the turbines to the ocean floor, said Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, a Hawaii nonprofit organization. “Do you want to really turn the ocean into the next industrial site?” Curtis asked. Some fishermen are concerned about the possible impact on birds flying over the sea. “The best fish spotters we have are birds,” said Ron Tam, secretary of the Hawaii Fishermen’s Alliance for Conservation and Tradition. “And then, are we going to be able to fish in and about and through these floating machines? We don’t know…That has a definite economic impact.” Read the rest here 11:42
Dear President Obama – Opposed to expanding Papahanaumokuakea marine monument, Isaac and Shyla Moon, Kalaheo
A group of seven Hawaii residents (William Aila, Kamanaopono Crabbe, Isaac Harp, Kekuewa Kikiloi, Marvin Kaleo Manuel, Victoria Holt Takamine, Nainoa Thompson) recently wrote you a letter asking you to expand the current Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument in Hawaii, from 50 miles to 200 miles. There are no clear promises that the expansion will not encroach middle banks and the buoys that many of Kauai’s fishermen go to. Over the past five years we have attended numerous meetings and hearings. The overall feeling from our community is that we’re being overrun and taken advantage of by the government, regardless of existing state management policies and regulations. Read the rest here 11:48
Hawaii Lawmakers To Obama: Don’t Grow Marine Monument
Amid the flurry of final votes on hundreds of bills last week, Hawaii lawmakers privately weighed whether to sign a letter to President Obama that Rep. James Tokioka was circulating during the last few days of the legislative session. The letter called on the president not to consider expanding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, stating that “there is no scientific justification or conservation benefit in doing so.” In all, 30 House lawmakers, including Speaker Joe Souki, signed the May 3 letter. Just days earlier, Hawaii Senate President Ron Kouchi sent Obama a nearly identical one. This opposition, which lawmakers kept out of public view, has been overshadowed by a strong public push to expand the monument, officially designated by President George W. Bush as Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in 2007. Read the rest here 08:27
Group calls on President Obama to dramatically expand NW Islands Marine Monument
A group of roughly 20 Native Hawaiians, local fishermen, scientists and conservationists rallied Thursday morning at Kewalo Marine Laboratory, armed with a 43,000-signature (Pew) petition urging President Barack Obama to expand federal protections around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.President George W. Bush established Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in 2006 as, at the time, the largest fully protected marine reserve on the planet. Its protections, which include prohibitions against commercial fishing, extend 50 miles outside the island chain. The group wants Obama to expand the monument to the maximum limit that federal jurisdiction allows — 200 miles out, with certain exceptions. That would make it nine times its current size of 139,797 square miles, and bigger than all the country’s national parks combined. Read the rest here 11:04
Proposal For At Sea Observers Could Further Hurt U.S. Purse Seiner Fleet
A new fishery rule that the federal government is moving to implement is expected to deal another financial blow to the US purse seiner fleet, which is already faced with stiff competition from foreign vessels such as the Chinese fleet, who are subsidized by their government, China. US National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) has proposed a rule which would require Observers to be on board US purse seiners fishing in the western and central Pacific ocean (WCPO). The proposal was issued last week under authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act. It is a three-pronged proposed rule, which includes a move to establish restrictions in 2016 and 2017 on the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) by U.S. purse seine vessels in the WCPO; and to establish limits in 2016 and 2017 on the amount of bigeye tuna that may be captured by U.S. longline vessels in the WCPO. Read the rest here 11:54
Companies Express Disappointment in Slow Progress of South Pacific Tuna Treaty Negotiations
“The
has been unable to operate at full capacity due to ongoing Treaty negotiations since August of 2015. Our Fleet was forced to cease fishing operations entirely in the first quarter of this year. Even so, we have not wavered and have been working against the clock since the U.S. announced a formal withdrawal from the existing Treaty in January. As I have stated before, a dissolution of this Treaty would be devastating to the U.S. Fleet and the tuna industry as a whole, collapsing the vessels operating under U.S. Flag, as well as the commercial operations that depend on their harvest. This has a direct effect on thousands of jobs in the Islands Nations, American Samoa and in the continental U.S. Read the story here 08:34
Video shows man attacking Hawaiian monk seal, culture expert mentions commercial fishermen?
One of Kauai’s most popular Hawaiian monk seals was attacked on Tuesday night at Salt Pond Beach Park, and a video recording of the scuffle is circulating on social media. The footage shows an unidentified man enter the water at Salt Pond at sunset and attack RK30, a full-grown female monk seal, in what appears to be an attempt to chase the her from her resting place on the beach. Kumu Sabra Kauka, who teaches Hawaiian culture through education around the island, said she was disturbed when she saw the video. “That kind of behavior is uncalled for and is inexcusable,” she said. “Being high or drunk is no excuse. She said sometimes this kind of aggression toward the Hawaiian Monk Seals stems from the commercial fishing community and the mindset that the seals are stealing the fish from their nets. Read the article here Watch the video here 13:03
Brad Hunter: Modern day hunter-gatherer
Is Brad Hunter a paleo man? Well, almost. Between 15,000 and 7,000 B.C., paleo people were migratory, following their food sources. They ate animals that they hunted or fished as well as nuts, berries and vegetables that they gathered. Not until the development of agriculture were people able to stay in one place without risking starvation. Today, Brad hunts fish for animal protein and gathers seeds and cuttings to grow food on his farm. (early days) During these youthful travels, Brad visited a surfing friend in New Jersey. While there, he was offered a lucrative job with a commercial fishing fleet out of Barnegat Light, just north of Atlantic City. He stayed with the company for 10 years, doing longline fishing 200 miles off shore in the Gulf Stream. Read the rest here 18:18
Hawaiian leaders urge President Barack Obama to expand marine conservation area
A group of Native Hawaiian leaders have urged President Barack Obama to expand what’s already one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. But the president of the Hawaii Longline Association said Friday the lobbying effort is using Hawaiian culture as an excuse to close off more waters to fishermen. Papahanaumokuakea (pah-pah-HAH-now-moh-cuh-ah-cay-ah) Marine National Monument is a 140,000-square-mile area of the Pacific where remote islands, atolls, islets and coral reefs serve as habitat for some of the world’s most endangered species. The region is also a sacred place in the history, culture and cosmology of Native Hawaiians. Read the rest here 09:47
Commercial fisherman Jonathon Hoag meets joint team who saved his life
“Who wouldn’t?” Hoag said. “A group of people who saved your life, three lives… to send a post card or a ‘thank you’ note? No, I don’t think so.” After shaking hands and personally thanking those involved in his extraction, Hoag took some time to talk about the rescue. “We were just doing our normal thing, we were fishing,” Hoag said. “It was rougher than usual; we didn’t really fish in the morning because it was so rough. We have a big sea anchor that we use so we just basically rode it out for a while. Later on in the late afternoon it ended up lying down a little bit and we got up to where we fish. The fishing was decent so we fished until just before dark.” On March 11, watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu received an emergency distress call that would evolve into the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy conducting a successful SAR mission to transport Hoag and his two crew members to safety. Read the story, click here 07:03
Ocean planning meetings at village level urged – Locals push back
There should be opportunity for traditional leaders and fisher men and women in the villages to provide their comments on how coastal and ocean resources of American Samoa should be managed. That’s one of the recommendations made by participants at a meeting convened by the Pacific Regional Planning Group, a federal group appointed under presidential executive order, to gather input form local communities to develop a plan for the balances and sustainable management of American Samoa’s seas and coasts. There was resistance from some in the audience in having federal officials convene a meeting in the territory, with no visible involvement and presence of local government and traditional leaders at the gathering last night. Read the rest, Click here 10:05
Pacific Islands moving away from vessel day scheme
US tuna boat owners have decried the policy of the Pacific island countries which are party to the US South Pacific Tuna Treaty to charge for fishing days rather than the amount of fish caught under the treaty. The Parties to the Nauru Agreemen (PNA) , the grouping of countries with the largest exclusive economic zones where US purse seiners fish came up with the vessel day scheme promoting it as a more equitable way for the islands to be paid for their resource. While there’s an interim agreement in place for tuna boats to resume fishing in Pacific island waters,,Read the rest, click here 14:15
Silver Bay Seafoods in American Samoa to recruit for their Summer Seafood Processing
About 200 job seekers turned up at the Tradewinds Saturday to learn about job opportunities offered by Silver Bay Seafoods in Alaska, an integrated processor of frozen salmon for domestic and export markets. Two company reps are in the territory to recruit for their Summer Seafood Processing. Most of those who turned up were young people, several of whom are currently working at the canneries. Silver Bay Seafoods is looking for manpower from anywhere it can and has extended job offers to non-US states and foreign countries using special immigration provisions. Link 11:19
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council meeting in Honolulu March 15 – 17, 2016
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council convenes March 15 to 17, at Fuller Hall, YWCA, 1040 Richards St., Honolulu. Fishermen, other stakeholders and members of the public are invited to participate in the meeting and decision-making for federally managed fisheries in the offshore waters of Hawai’i, the Territories of American Samoa and Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and US Pacific Remote Island Areas. Read the rest here 12:17
State, federal officials confiscate, sell nearly 3,600 pounds of fish from longline vessel
State and federal authorities seized the catch of a longline fishing vessel and cited seven fishermen for not having valid commercial marine licenses, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a news release today. The Coast Guard cutter Galveston Island boarded the 71-foot fishing vessel Lady Ann Margret earlier this month about 350 miles off Oahu and found the boat’s high seas fishing permit expired last year. The Coast Guard directed the captain to return to port because of expired permit and to fix safety violations. Read the rest here 09:07
Coast Guard rescues 3 fishermen forced to abandon ship off Big Island
The three fishermen who were forced to abandon ship from a 41-foot fishing vessel off the coast of the Big Island were rescued Friday morning and are now safe on Oahu, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard launched one of its helicopters after receiving the emergency report shortly before 8 p.m. on Thursday. While scouring the ocean, the aircrew located the fishermen in a life raft when they spotted flashing lights and flares used to call for help. The fishermen were on a fishing vessel called the Vicious Cycle when they were forced to abandon ship approximately 160 miles southwest of Kona. Read the rest here, and here 12:57
American Samoa – Tri Marine says return of tuna boats good for everyone
Tri Marine International’s ten U.S. flag Cape fleet vessels and other U.S. flag boats based in American Samoa are once again allowed access to their historic fishing grounds in the Western and Central Pacific. This comes after nearly two months of being locked out by failed treaty negotiations.Don Binotto CEO of STP and the tuna Store says “This is welcome news not only for our fleet and our business, but to the many families in American Samoa that depend on a tuna-based economy, including the 2,000 employees we aim to have working when we are at capacity at Samoa Tuna Processors (STP).” Read the rest here Hallman: Fishing deal finalized, fees transmitted to FFA Read the rest here 09:42
ENGO aligned Hawaiians Press Obama To Expand NW Islands Marine Monument
A group of seven prominent Native Hawaiians has asked President Barack Obama to expand federal protections around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. President George W. Bush established in 2006 as the largest fully protected marine reserve on the planet at the time. Its protections, which include prohibitions against commercial fishing, extend 50 miles outside the island chain. The group didn’t say in the letter how much it wants to expand the monument, but federal jurisdiction extends out to 200 miles. That would make it nine times its current size of 139,797 square miles, which is bigger than all the country’s national parks combined. Read the rest here 12:44
UPDATED! American Eagle Captain, Eight Crewmen board fire stricken Vessel, Suppress fire, Crew Safe
The Coast Guard successfully coordinated the rescue of 42 people who abandoned ship when their 
caught fire approximately 1,800 miles south of the Hawaiian Islands, Wednesday. An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Barbers Point arrived on scene at 5:10 p.m. (HST), established communications with the fishing vessel’s crew and dropped a dewatering pump, flash lights and flares. Fong Seong 888, a Tuvalu-flagged oil tanker, arrived on scene at 5:30 p.m. (HST) to offer additional assistance. The captain of the American Eagle reported smoke had lessened from the disabled fishing vessel and boarded the vessel with eight crew members to suppress the fire. Read the rest here 07:03
Coast Guard responding to report of 42 people abandoning fishing vessel 1,800 miles south of Hawaii
The Coast Guard is responding to a report of 42 people abandoning ship after their fishing vessel caught fire approximately 1,800 miles south of the Hawaiian Islands, Wednesday. The 40 crewmembers aboard 258-foot U.S.-flagged fishing vessel American Eagle abandoned ship at 10 a.m. (HST) into two life rafts, three work boats and one skiff. An emergency position-indicating radio beacon was activated and is transmitting information. Read the post here 19:54
Congressman Hunter calls for a ban on some American aid tied to South Pacific Tuna Treaty
This follows the end of the treaty arrangements when the US failed to pay its first quarter levy and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency is no longer issuing licences to fish for tuna in the island countries’ waters.Hunter wants the US Congress to stop the US Government using congressionally approved funds as aid to the Pacific countries involved – which includes all the independent island nations in the region. Congress allocates about US$21 million dollars each annually to the US State Department as part of the federal government’s under the Tuna Treaty. Hunter said it’s important to stress economic assistance does not occur on its own; it had always been tied to United States boats fishing in the Treaty area. Read the rest here 10:59
Western Pacific – NMFS allows longliners to fish within 12 miles from shore
In a decision issued today, the US National Marine Fisheries Service has allowed locally based longliners to fish within 12 miles from shore. The federal agency approved a recommendation by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council to amend the Large vessel Prohibited Area, (LVPA) which currently restircts longliners to fish 50 miles out. Read the rest here – American Samoa wants to be part of fish negotiations Read the rest here Pago Pago feels the effects of idle fishing boats Read the rest here 12:04
Canneries look for a list of concessions from American Samoa
Faced with a decline in their competitive advantage, the governor’s executive assistant Iulogologo Joseph Pereira says the canneries are seeking concessions from the government and a response is being formulated to help the canneries — the largest private employer in the territory. The canneries and fishing industry in American Samoa are facing serious challenges with the fishing restrictions imposed in June — and since the beginning of 2016, the Forum Fisheries Agency or FFA is no longer issuing fishing licenses to the U.S. fleeting to fish in waters of 17 Pacific island countries under the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. Read the article here 13:58
Tri Marine International not surprised by US withdrawal from Tuna Treaty
Tri Marine International is not surprised by the US Government’s announcement its withdrawing from the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. In a statement issued this afternoon the owners of local cannery Samoa Tuna Processors say it remains focused on ensuring the long term stability of its operations in American Samoa. The cannery said the current Treaty is tied to a reality that no longer exists and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up to meet the needs of both the Pacific Island Parties and the U.S. boat owners as Asian interests continue to expand their reach into the region. Read the article here 15:00
US announces withdrawal from crucial fisheries treaty with Pacific nations
The United States has given Pacific Island nations notice that it plans to withdraw from the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, one of its most important aid, trade and geopolitical arrangements with the region. The 27-year-old treaty is set to expire 12 months from the date of the withdrawal notice. The announcement came after Washington agreed to pay $128 million ($US89m) for its 2016 fishing days, but within months reneged on the deal saying its fleet could not afford to pay. The US action risks its boats being shut out of hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of ocean as other global fishing powers, including China, gain more access. Read the article here 11:18
Tri Marine says South Pacific Tuna Treaty is obsolete
The owners of American Samoa’s second cannery, Samoa Tuna Processors, say the Treaty which allows US fishing boats to fish in waters of Pacific island countries is obsolete and needs to be revised. Tri Marine International says in a statement that the tuna treaty in its current form fails to retain the most value for the resource owners because the Vessel Day Scheme places value on fishing days alone, rather than the tuna itself. According to Tri Marine, calculating value based on fishing days is a shortsighted economic equation that doesn’t necessarily represent the long-term best interests of island communities. Read the article here 09:02
U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter to Secretary of State John Kerry: Help save US tuna jobs
U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter wants the U.S. State Department to step in to assist American tuna boats — many with ties to San Diego — that are shut out of a large area of the Pacific Ocean for the first time in nearly 30 years. In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Hunter writes that the U.S. government must act fast to help the tuna fleet. Last week, administrators of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty — a 27-year-old accord among 17 nations governing waters in the western Pacific — refused to issue 2016 licenses on Jan. 1. It said American boats must pay millions of dollars in fees, they agreed to in August, to fish international waters. Read the article here 08:42
American Samoa: It’s happening, purse seiners are tying up
At least 14 US purse seiners out of 37 that are licensed to fish under the US South Pacific Tuna Treaty are idling their operations following a directive from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that all US vessels in the Western Pacific Ocean under the Treaty are to cease operations as of December 31st. That prohibition is to remain in effect until the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), issues licenses for 2016, which hinges on a new agreement with the Parties to the Nauru Agreement. Read the article here 10:29
