{"id":403346,"date":"2023-12-14T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=403346"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"US-bigeye-tuna-catch-limit-increased-at-expense-of-Pacific-territories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/US-bigeye-tuna-catch-limit-increased-at-expense-of-Pacific-territories\/","title":{"rendered":"US bigeye tuna catch limit increased at expense of Pacific territories"},"content":{"rendered":"

RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS\u2014<\/strong>The 20th Regular Session of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting ended last Saturday with an increase in bigeye tuna catch limit for the U.S. Hawai\u2018i-based longline fishery, but a cost to Pacific territories.<\/p>\n

The meeting concluded with the adoption of a revised tropical tuna conservation and management measure for 2024 through 2026. The measure, which covers nearly 60% of global tuna supply, establishes international rules for bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin tuna fishing.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s meeting was highlighted by an overdue increase in bigeye tuna catch limit for the U.S. Hawai\u2018i-based longline fishery. However, the U.S. head of delegation and National Marine Fisheries Service was not prepared to successfully negotiate the recognition of an American Samoa purse seine fleet for privileges it should be entitled as a participating territory under the commission.<\/p>\n

The commission increased the Hawai\u2018i longline fishery catch limit of bigeye tuna to 6,554 metric tons\u2014a 3,000 mt increase\u2014supported by evidence from the Science Provider (SPC). The CMM increases catch limits for five nations with fishing limits for longline-caught bigeye contingent on increases of human observers and\/or electronic monitoring. The U.S. Hawai\u2018i longline fishery would not be required to increase its observer coverage as it maintains a level that far exceeds other countries. The successful increase for the Hawai\u2018i longline fishery follows nearly two years of collaboration between the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority, who co-convened three workshops on longline fishery management.<\/p>\n

Stakeholders and council members appreciated the endorsement of commission members and agreed that the U.S. longline fishery should have a higher catch limit. Council executive director Kitty Simonds said, \u201cThis came with the understanding that Hawai\u2018i vessels are well-managed, fish sustainably, and a part of a niche fresh fish market.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the increase for the Hawai\u2018i longline fishery came at a cost. To the detriment of the U.S. Participating Territories, the United States failed to retain a provision in the tropical tuna CMM that allows for the transfer of portions of catch to the Hawai\u2018i longline fishery in exchange for funds under specified fishing agreements. The loss of that provision eliminated those agreements and funding that had been a cornerstone of the territories\u2019 fishery development initiatives. \u201cWe vehemently oppose giving away that provision without consultation with the territories,\u201d said council chair Taulapapa William Sword. \u201cWe were not consulted before, or during, the meeting and were caught by surprise. We realize it wasn\u2019t even necessary to sacrifice this provision to increase the bigeye longline quota.\u201d<\/p>\n

CNMI head of delegation Sylvan Igisomar added, \u201cAlthough this is a win for the Hawai\u2018i longline fishery, it is a devastating loss for the Pacific Territories.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agreement included reduced fish aggregating device closure periods for purse seine vessels from three months in exclusive economic zones of Pacific nations to 1.5 months and to 2.5 months on the high seas. The purpose of these closures is to decrease juvenile mortality for bigeye tuna, which are incidentally caught in the purse seine sets targeting skipjack tuna\u2014the primary species used in canned tuna.<\/p>\n

While fishing privileges were to be balanced between longline and purse seine fisheries as part of negotiations, the commission did not adopt a proposal from American Samoa seeking the same benefits that are entitled to other Small Island Developing States and Participating Territories.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther SIDS and participating territories have been granted similar privileges on the high seas and in EEZs, such as fishing during FAD closures, and American Samoa proposed the same benefits for vessels integral to our economy,\u201d said Taotasi Archie Soliai, head of delegation for American Samoa.<\/p>\n

Soliai previously asked NMFS to proceed with rulemaking that would recognize, through U.S. regulations, a distinct territorial purse seine fleet for American Samoa. This distinction would help American Samoa\u2019s fleet attain this recognition in the Commission. Unfortunately, NMFS did not take action as requested. \u201cWe are hopeful that with the positive relationships we are building with our Pacific Islands brothers and sisters, we can finally negotiate a favorable agreement,\u201d said Soliai.<\/p>\n

The commission is responsible for the international management of tunas in the western and central Pacific, including more than 80% of the tuna production coming from the Hawai\u2018i longline fishery. Next year\u2019s Science Committee and annual regular session of the commission will be hosted in the Philippines and Fiji, respectively. The 2024 meetings will focus on the development of a new CMM for South Pacific albacore, the targeted tuna stock of the American Samoa longline fishery. (PR)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n


WESTPAC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS\u2014The 20th Regular Session of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-403346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403346\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}