Category Archives: Western Pacific
Young dismisses White House Magnuson-Stevens veto threat
President Barack Obama’s administration gave an early promise to stop Rep. Don Young’s changes to national fishing laws before the bill has even seen the light of a full House discussion. “The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 1335, which would amend the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), because it would impose arbitrary and unnecessary requirements that would harm the environment and the economy,” reads the statement of administration policy released May 19. Read the rest here 11:40
Fishermen, Businesses, and Fishing Organizations Support House Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Bill
On Saturday, May 16, a diverse group of 20 businesses, 51 organizations, and 80 individuals representing fishermen and fishing communities from the East, West, and Gulf Coasts jointly signed a letter delivered to Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT), the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, supporting HR 1335, the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act,” which would reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Read the rest here 21:09
Tuna fleets agree to 35pc reduction in fishing as part of ‘global initiative’ to boost prices
Some of the world’s biggest tuna fishing fleets have agreed to reduce their catch by 35 per cent in an effort to ease the current market crisis. An oversupply of skipjack tuna has led to prices crashing from more than $US2,000 ($2,513) per tonne in 2013 to around $US1,000 ($1,256) a tonne, causing many purse seine boats to operate at a loss. The World Tuna Purse Seine Organisation (WTPO) has announced its members, including some fleets from non-members, will be cooperating with the reduced effort. Read the rest here 14:49
NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Guam Green Sea Turtles may need more protection.
When Peter Perez, 55, was a child, he used to swim with sea turtles. His father, and grandfather, he said, used to eat sea turtles before they became a threatened species, protected by federal law. Perez questioned the rationale for changing the status of the green sea turtle, saying people have reported seeing plenty of turtles around Guam. He also disagrees with the decision by the federal government to hold a public hearing for the proposal in Hawaii and not in this region. Read the rest here 16:03
U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Advances Fisheries Law
“And we’re trying to maintain the integrity of the original act by adding some smaller changes, and (among) the smaller changes are flexibility,” (Don Young) told the committee. The bill has alarmed some fishermen and conservationists. “We don’t think the changes they put in the act are really likely to have any effect on how we manage fisheries in the North Pacific,” (Chris) Oliver NPFMC said. “I think it could allow for some legitimate flexibility in other regions — and even perhaps in future situations in the North Pacific — without eroding the basic underlying conservation measures” of the law. Audio Read the rest here 07:53
Search continues for missing fisherman Ron Ingraham, Lost at Sea for twelve day’s last year
The Coast Guard continues to search Saturday for a missing mariner after the fishing vessel he was aboard capsized approximately one mile west of Lanai. While Ron Ingraham remains missing, the Coast Guard rescued Kenny Corder after he and Ingraham went into the water at 12:12 a.m. Friday from their 34-foot fishing vessel Munchkin. In a strange twist, Ingraham is the same man who was lost at sea just months ago. Corder, also commercial fisherman on Molokai and Ingraham’s good friend, said they had done that run hundreds of times. Read the rest here, and here 09:09
Local operators unhappy with long-line fishing changes in American Samoa
Recent changes to fishing regulations have not gone down well with local operators in American Samoa after the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council reduced the long-line fishing boat limit from 50 miles offshore (80 kilometres) to just 12 miles (19 kilometres). Audio Report, Click here to listen 08:36
USCG Suspends Search for Overdue Boat near Majuro
The Coast Guard suspended the search Saturday for an overdue 83-foot commercial fishing vessel near the Republic of Marshall Islands. Fishing vessel Clear Water 02 reportedly went missing with nine people aboard while en route Majuro for offload, March 12. Sunday, good Samaritan vessels recovered 34 fishing floats labeled “CW02” 224 miles east of Majuro. Two life rings marked “Clearwater 02” were located by one of the fishing vessels searching 114 miles south east of Kwajalein on Tuesday and Friday. Read the rest here 09:14
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Address Hawai’i, American Samoa, Protected Species Issues
HONOLULU (18 March 2015) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council
concluded the second day of its three-day meeting in Honolulu yesterday with recommendations for federally managed fisheries in Hawai’i and American Samoa as well as protected species. Federally managed fisheries operate seaward of state waters, which generally encompasses waters 0 to 3 miles from shore. Read the rest here 08:03
Coast Guard searching for overdue fishing boat near Majuro
HONOLULU – The Coast Guard is searching for an overdue 82-foot commercial fishing vessel near the Republic of Marshall Islands, Friday. reportedly went missing with nine people aboard while en route Majuro for offload, Thursday. Read the rest here 17:19
Canneries coping with shipping delays
With the stalemate in negotiations between the union representing dock workers and the Port Maritime Association, and notice of a lockout within a week, there are worries that the shipping situation will get even worse. The biggest employer in the territory, StarKist Samoa, says its operations have been impacted by the slowdown however it doesn’t anticipate any layoffs or changes to its local operations as a result. Read the rest here 20:36
American Samoa long line fishery faces “potential collapse” says WCPFMC
“What we’ve seen over the past decade or so, is that the small vessel fleet has substantially decreased”, he said and explained that information requested with the U.S. National Marine Fishery Service shows there were “zero longline alia” active last year.He added that the fishing grounds that were reserved in 2002 for small longline alia “is essentially under utilized… because it’s not being fished too much by the small vessels”. He also noted that the large longliner fleet numbers have also declined over the years to only 19 active ones in 2014. Read the rest here 07:27
NOAA enforcement officers rescue crew members from sunken tugboat
When the tugboat Nalani sank in waters off Oahu’s leeward coast Thursday, safety for some of the crew members came in the form of a NOAA patrol boat. Jeff Pollack and Grant Demesillo are enforcement officers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They were aboard NOAA Patrol Boat F3503 Thursday afternoon. Read the rest here 08:00
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council Fishery News
Pacific Islands Fishery News is the newsletter of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. The latest edition of the Pacific Islands Fishery News is now available! Your feedback is welcome! Lots of info in a neat package. Click here to read it. 16:23
American Samoa sets up fisheries task force
The Government of American Samoa has set up a fisheries task force to track developments posing a threat to its canneries. The task force is charged with tracking all fisheries-related developments, policies, treaties, activities and issues to ensure that the economic security and competitive advantages of the local canneries are not compromised.Read the rest here 21:31
Coast Guard conducts medevac from fishing vessel near Oahu
The Coast Guard medically evacuated a
approximately 92 miles southwest of Oahu, Sunday. The crew aboard the Lady Karen contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu at 5:25 p.m., Friday, regarding medical assistance for an ailing crewmember with a heart condition. Read the rest here 18:34
Tri Marine selling tuna seiner to Albacora amid ‘chronically oversupplied’ market
US-based tuna group Tri Marine International is in the process of selling one of two purse seiners close to being finished in a Spanish yard to Albacora Group, the owner of the largest fishing fleet in Europe. Both the vessels, Cape Ann and Cape Coral, which were launched at the Astilleros Armon Gijon shipyard on the northern coast of Spain in September, were set to operate from Pago Pago, American Samoa, where Tri Marine is inaugurating its long-awaited Samoa Tuna Processors cannery in January. Read the rest here 15:20
American Samoa tuna cannery gets $70 million from Bellevue company
A Washington state company is making a $70 million investment in a tuna cannery in the U.S. territory of American Samoa. The products from American Samoa will carry the “Made In USA” label, said officials with Bellevue-based Tri Marine International. The company took over the lease of a government property three years ago after another cannery closed. Tri Marine’s plant is expected to employ some 1,500 workers when fully operational and is operated by the company’s , which is in the seaside village of Atu’u. Read the rest here 20:17
Fishing captain saved 9 Chinese fishermen from burning ship – honored for his heroic, lifesaving actions
Eleven Chinese fisherman, four badly burned or dying, floated in a life raft near their boat that had exploded into flames in the middle of nowhere in the Pacific Ocean. The smoke plume caught the eye of a helicopter pilot scouting for tuna for a fishing vessel skippered by Point Loma native Capt. Gregory Virissimo. Over the next several excruciating hours, the captain and his crew raced to the rescue, hauled the men onto their own vessel and coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force to fly in doctors and medical supplies. Read the rest here 11:39
Coast Guard to present award to fishing vessel captain, crew
The media is invited to an award ceremony at Coast Guard Sector San Diego, Thursday, where the Coast Guard is scheduled to recognize a Point Loma fishing boat captain and his crew for their efforts in a rescue 1,500 miles off the coast of Hawaii. Gregory Virissimo, the captain of the fishing boat, and his crew discovered the fishing boat Fu Yuan Yu 065 on fire with 11 survivors in a life raft a few feet from the burning vessel, May 2, 2014. Read the rest here 16:15
Purse seiner owner sounds alarm bell
A purse seiner owner foresees that locally based vessels may pack up and leave because fishing in the South Pacific is no longer profitable. Ricardo Da Rosa, General Manager of Pacific Princess Partnership Ltd says there’s just too many boats fishing in a small area with limited fish stocks. Audio, Read the rest here 16:10
Hiring in full swing at Samoa Tuna Processors
Samoa Tuna Processors is not having problems hiring fish cleaners. STP is on target to open its cannery operations next month. Dan Sullivan, vice president of production at Tri Marine International , which owns STP, said they have advertised for fish cleaners and have received very good response with a large number of people interested in joining STP. Read the rest here 16:01
2 men from U.S. fishing vessel found swimming in open water
Two missing men from an American fishing vessel positioned 10 nautical miles northwest of Apra Harbor were found this afternoon swimming in open water. The Coast Guard was originally told that crew aboard the vessel, American Victory, were swimming in the water while the boat was stationary and that the two men ended up unaccounted for, Putnam said. Read the rest here 08:40
Eco Imperialists WWF, Greenpeace – Disappointing Outcome at Pacific Fisheries Meet
Delegates from Pacific Island nations had planned to form a united force at the Samoa meeting, calling on the body that manages the fishery to urgently adopt a number of conservation measures at its annual meeting. Greenpeace is reporting than none of the measures were adopted. Journalists were not permitted to attend the final session of the meeting. Read the rest here 11:42
Tuna showdown looms at Samoa conference
Small Pacific island states and powerful foreign fishing nations are heading for a showdown next week over management of the world’s largest tuna fishery. The islands want the annual meeting of the influential in Samoa to limit fishing for bigeye, a tuna prized by sashimi markets in Asia, America and Europe. Read the rest here 08:45
Groups sue feds over Pacific bigeye fishing rule
The complaint says the rule invents separate catch limits for American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The lawsuit says each U.S. territory can then allocate half of its catch limit to Hawaii-based longline fishing vessels. Read the rest here 17:01
Fishing boat in distress docked in Honolulu, making repairs, and heading back to sea.
A 68-foot commercial fishing boat that was in distress on Sunday is now docked in Honolulu. The captain of the Pacifica called at 9 a.m. Sunday to report the vessel was taking on 10 gallons of water per minute. Read the rest here 09:02
Rescue underway for fishing vessel taking on water 144 miles from Oahu
The Coast Guard is assisting the crew of a sinking fishing boat 144 miles north northeast of Oahu, Sunday. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center received a distress call from the commercial fishing vessel Pacifica at 08:58a.m.,Sunday. Read the rest here 17:58
Guest: Pacific Island fishing culture is under attack – Edwin Ebisui Jr. and Kitty Simonds
The president’s final action, announced on Sept. 25, formally proclaimed 490,000 square miles of these waters as part of the PRIMNM. This modification reduced, but did not remove, the harm to our fishermen and communities who depend on these waters for their livelihoods and sustenance and to supply legal, reported and regulated seafood to U.S. consumers. Read the rest here 08:19
Professional Environmental Litigation Hitmen oppose ahi increases in Western Pacific- To Sue NMFS AGAIN!
Hawaii’s longline fleet may be rejoicing over a new opportunity to catch ahi, under a new agreement that allows them access to quota from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Guam. Earthjustice is examining legal options and is likely to take The National Marine Fisheries Service to court for approving the rule change, Henkin said. Read the rest here 17:38
