Press Releases
Press Release: Council to Solicit Input from Community on NWHI Fishing Regulations, Requests Support for Purse Seiners in American Samoa (23 September 2022)
HONOLULU (23 September 2022) At its meeting this week, the Council reviewed alternatives for fishing regulations in the Monument Expansion Area (50-200 nautical miles) of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Among the alternatives are maintaining the status quo, where...
Press Release – Council Rebukes Proposal to Expand Marine National Monument in Pacific (22 September 2022)
HONOLULU (22 September 2022) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Keone Nakoa, provided the opening remarks at the Council meeting this week, noting he is a native son of Hawai‘i. Nakoa is the lead Department of the Interior (DOI) official...
Press Release – Scientists Tackle Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management Issues for Western Pacific Region (15 September 2022)
HONOLULU (15 September 2022) The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) concluded its three-day meeting today that emphasized the importance of rigorous scientific analysis, good data and consideration of human communities to inform ecosystem-based...
Press Release: Scientists Concerned with Lack of Data to Support Marine Monument Expansion (14 September 2022)
HONOLULU (14 September 2022) The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee heard a presentation by Bob Richmond, University of Hawai‘i professor and coauthor on the proposal to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, on the scientific merits...
Press Release- Western Pacific Scientists to Discuss NWHI Fishing Regulations and False Killer Whale Impact Studies Next Week (9 September 2022)
HONOLULU (9 September 2022) Scientists from throughout the Western Pacific Region will meet Sept. 13 to 15, 2022, to provide advice and comments to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council on the fishing regulations in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands...
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...
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...