Press Releases
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...
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...
Press Release – Federal Fishery Managers Finalize Main Hawaiian Islands Deep-Water Bottomfish Catch Limit Recommendations, Voice Opposition to Humpback Whale Sanctuary Expansion
HONOLULU (17 June 2015) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council today in Honolulu recommended that the annual catch limits (ACLs) for seven prized species of deep-water bottomfish (known locally as the Deep 7) caught in waters around the main Hawaiian...
Press Release – Scientists Lower Acceptable Biological Catch for Hawai‘i Deep-Water Bottomfish
HONOLULU (11 June 2015) At the conclusion of its three-day meeting today in Honolulu, the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council set the acceptable biological catch (ABC) for prized deep-water bottomfish...
Press Release – Scientists to Determine Acceptable Biological Catch for Hawai‘i Deepwater Bottomfish
HONOLULU (27 May 2015) The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will meet June 9 to 11, 2015, to consider and make recommendations on numerous issues regarding federally managed species in Hawai‘i,...
Press Release – ‘Ahi, The Yellowfin Tuna: Managing Our Fisheries Now Available for Public Viewing and Downloading
HONOLULU (02 April 2015) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is pleased to announce the free public screenings and availability of the full-length version of the locally made documentary ‘Ahi, The Yellowfin Tuna: Managing Our Fisheries. This...
Press Release – Federal Fishery Managers Amend American Samoa Large Vessel Prohibited Area to Promote Optimal Yield, Efficiency and Non-Discrimination in the Local Albacore Fishery
HONOLULU (20 March 2015) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, at the conclusion of its three-day meeting in Honolulu on Wednesday, recommended an amendment to the American Samoa Large Vessel Prohibited Area (LVPA) regulations. If approved by the...