News + Announcements
Press Release – Interim Bottomfish Measure Addresses Overfishing, Allows American Samoa Fishery to Operate (24 October 2019)
UTULEI, AMERICAN SAMOA (24 October 2019) Fishermen from Tutuila and Manu'a islands concerned about the future of the Territory's bottomfish fishery attended the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council meeting yesterday and today in Utulei,...
Press Release – Lt. Governor, Congresswoman, Territory Commerce Department Stress Importance of Fisheries to the U.S. Territory of American Samoa (23 October 2019)
UTULEI, AMERICAN SAMOA (23 October 2019) "Fisheries sustains our livelihoods in all aspects of our lives" was the core message that reverberated through the remarks of Lt. Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga, who opened the 180th meeting of the Western Pacific...
Press Release – Hawai‘i Shallow-Set Longline Fishery Has No Discernable Impact on Sea Turtle Populations (16 October 2019)
HONOLULU (16 October 2019) Scientists from throughout the Pacific meeting this week in Honolulu found that mortality by the Hawai'i shallow-set longline fishery on loggerheads and leatherbacks are "trivial" and have no impact on their population levels....
Summer 2019 Pacific Island Fishery Newsletter
Click here for printable PDF Get Connected, Stay Involved!
Press Release – Researchers and Feds to Address Quality of Science Used to Manage US Pacific Island Fisheries (9 October 2019)
HONOLULU (9 October 2019) Scientists from throughout the Pacific region will meet Oct. 15 to 17, 2019, in Honolulu to address the quality of the data used to manage federal fisheries and other topics. The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western...
Press Release – Federal Managers Finalize Turtle Interaction Measures with Hawai’i Swordfish Fishery (9 August 2019)
HONOLULU (9 August 2019) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council met yesterday to amend the Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan with revisions to the loggerhead and leatherback turtle mitigation measures for the Hawai'i shallow-set longline fishery. The...
Press Release – Federal Managers to Make Final Recommendations on Leatherback and Loggerhead Sea Turtle Interactions with Hawai’i Swordfish Fishery (6 August 2019)
Leatherback sea turtle. Photo courtesy USFWS. HONOLULU (6 August 2019) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will meet on Aug. 8, 2019, to consider final recommendations on the management of the Hawai'i swordfish fishery's interactions with...
FR Notice – 2019 U.S. Territorial Longline Bigeye Tuna Catch Limits for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Aug. 1, 2019)
ACTION: Announcement of a valid specified fishing agreement. SUMMARY: NMFS announces a valid specified fishing agreement that allocates up to 1,000 metric tons (t) of the 2019 bigeye tuna limit for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to U.S....
FR Notice – 2019 Bigeye Tuna Longline Fishery Closure (July 24, 2019)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Temporary rule; fishery closure. SUMMARY: NMFS is closing the U.S. pelagic longline fishery for bigeye tuna in the western and central Pacific...
Contrary to Civil Beat Claims, Wespac Is Effective and Transparent
[Below is the Council’s full response submitted to Honolulu Civil Beat, including the section (highlighted in yellow) that Civil Beat redacted.] In a series of recent articles and an editorial, the Honolulu Civil Beat made several allegations against the Western...