News + Announcements
FR Notice: 2022 U.S. Territorial Longline Bigeye Tuna Catch Limits for American Samoa (Aug. 29, 2022)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Announcement of a valid specified fishing agreement. SUMMARY: NMFS announces a valid specified fishing agreement that allocates up to 1,500...
August 2022 Pacific Islands Fishery News – Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Expansion Proposal
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FR Notice: Final 2021 Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Reports (08/03/2022)
AGENCY:National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION:Notice; response to comments. SUMMARY:As required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS has considered public comments for revisions of...
2023-2026 Council Advisory Panel Member Solicitation
The Council invites you to apply for membership on one of its Advisory Panels! Who is eligible to apply? If you have an interest in keeping our fisheries sustainable, we want you to apply! However, you must be a U.S. citizen, national or permanent resident and at...
Press Release – 2021 Western Pacific Fishery Reports Now Available (30 June 2022)
HONOLULU (30 June 2022) The Council’s 2021 Annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Reports are now available on the Council website (www.wpcouncil.org/annual-reports). The five reports cover the performance of Council-managed fisheries in American Samoa,...
Press Release: Council Offended by Removal of Last Vestiges of US Ocean Waters Open to Fishing (23 June 2022)
HONOLULU (23 June 2022) The Council supported permitting non-commercial fishing and prohibiting commercial fishing in the Monument Expansion Area of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) (50 to 200 nautical miles). Council members were infuriated because...
FR Notice: Sanctuary System Business Advisory Council (06/23/2022)
AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC). ACTION: Notice of open public meeting. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Office...
Press Release – Western Pacific Federal Managers Support Conservation Definition and Request Better Coordination with NOAA on ESA Biological Opinions (22 June 2022)
HONOLULU (22 June 2022) Today, the Council requested NOAA and the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) adopt a Council Coordination Committee (CCC) area-based management subcommittee’s proposed definition of “conservation area” to identify qualifying regions in...
Press Release: Council Concerned With Lack of Support for Western Pacific Fishing Communities (21 June 2022)
HONOLULU (21 June 2022) On the first day of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council meeting, members learned that while the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) FY2022 budget increased this year, the Council’s annual request was reduced by $343K....
Press Release: Western Pacific Scientists Support No Jeopardy Determination for Oceanic Whitetip Sharks Caught in Region’s Bottomfish Fisheries (17 June 2022)
HONOLULU (17 June 2022) The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) supported part of a draft bottomfish fishery biological opinion (BiOp) that concluded fisheries in Hawai‘i, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam are not likely to...