News + Announcements
Press Release – Bottomfish Catch Limits Could Increase for American Samoa, Decrease for Guam
HONOLULU (14 October 2015) The Scientific and Statistical Committee, a group of renowned fishery scientists who advise the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, concluded its two-day meeting in Honolulu today by setting the 2016 and 2017 acceptable...
Press Release – Hawaii’s $100 Million Fishery Reopens in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean
HONOLULU (13 Oct. 2015) After a closure that lasted more than two months, Hawaii's longline vessels can fish again for bigeye tuna in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. Since Aug. 5th, the 145 active vessels in the Hawaii longline fleet have been prohibited...
Press Release – Hawaii Bigeye Tuna Industry Reels Two Months after Reaching Its Quotas
HONOLULU (08 Oct. 2015) For the past two months, since early August, about a quarter of the 145 active vessels in the Hawaii longline fleet have been prohibited from catching their target species, bigeye tuna. Arbitrary quotas not linked to conservation objectives are...
Press Release – Milestone Reached in Setting of New Bottomfish Catch Limits for US Pacific Island Territories
HONOLULU (18 Sept. 2015) A milestone was reached this week in the setting of the 2016 and 2017 annual catch limits (ACLs) for federally managed bottomfish fisheries in the US Territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands...
Summer 2015 Pacific Islands Fishery News
http://issuu.com/wpcouncil/docs/pifn_summer_2015_final?e=7174896/15328284 Would you like to print this edition of Pacific Islands Fishery News? Click here for a printable PDF version of the newsletter.
Final Rule Published for the Hawaiian Monk Seal Critical Habitat
On August 21, 2015, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced the final rule to revise critical habitat for Hawaiian monk seals. Critical habitat triggers consultation requirements under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for actions that are authorized,...
Comment Period on the Green Turtle ESA-Listing Proposed Rule Extended to September 25, 2015
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced a third extension on the public comment period on the proposed rule to revise the green turtle listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The extension is due to a recent...
Press Release – Majuro Workshop Explores Management Options for Pacific Bigeye Tuna Overfishing
MAJURO, REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS (21 August 2015) A workshop to discuss bigeye tuna management in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) was convened by the Marshall Islands Marine Resource Authority (MIMRA) and the Western Pacific Fishery Management...
Press Release – Hawaii Longline Bigeye Fishery in the Western and Central Pacific Forced to Close
HONOLULU (29 July 2015) The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced that Hawaii longline vessels fishing in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) will no longer be able to retain and land bigeye tuna between August 5, 2015, and the end of the...
Press Release – Federal Fishery Managers Question Proposed Rule on Green Sea Turtles, Address Allocation of US Tuna Catches
HONOLULU (18 June 2015) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council today in Honolulu heard a series of recommendations from its advisory groups opposing and questioning the March 20, 2015, proposal by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and US...