DLNR eyes fishery pilot project

The Department of Lands and Natural Resources is hoping to develop a fishery pilot project which would help train local people on the modern methods of fishing, according to acting DLNR Secretary Richard B. Seman.

With funding from the federal and local government, the department is looking at the possibility of acquiring a 100 ft. vessel equipped with modern fishing facilities and manned by professionals, who will assist in the training.

This demonstration project is actually part of a comprehensive plan to be carried out in Guam, American Samoa, CNMI and Hawaii. The heads of the various island-governments have written to the U.S. Department of Commerce seeking its financial support.

For more than 30 years, local fishermen have only been involved in small-scale fishing which cannot even provide regular supply to the different hotels and restaurants on the island.

The government, Seman said, must take the lead role in developing such project because experimenting on the technology would need a huge amount of investment. “We will let them go out with professionals to experiment on the different techniques and let them make mistakes without worrying about losses in revenue,” he said.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which under a federal law has jurisdiction over fisheries management in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, has urged the CNMI to develop its fishing business to serve the tourism market just like Hawaii.

However, the CNMI has yet to find a businessman who would invest in fish processing and cold storage facilities to serve the growing domestic market as well as help the local fishermen dispose of their catch to various supermarkets and reduce dependence on imported fish.

Aside from this, the CNMI can serve as a transshipment point for long line vessels with its modern airport and seaport facilities. With only 40 longliners in 1986, Hawaii now has 125 longliners to boost its $100 million fishing business.

The island’s major domestic fishery resources is the troll fishery for skipjack, yellowfin, wahoo, mahi-mahi and billfish. Second is the bottomfish fishery, which centers primarily around the islands and banks from Rota to Zealandia Bank North of Sarigan, about 100 miles north of Saipan.