Worries Over Revitalization Of US Purse Seiner Fleet In Pacificff

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has reaffirmed the purse seine closures for the CNMI and other U.S. Pacific Islands on Monday. In its decision to prohibit purse seine fishing in the CNMI, the council said they were concerned that the revitalization of the U.S. purse seine fleet.

The closure around the CNMI and Guam would include all federal waters out to 200 miles off shore.

WESPAC upheld its vote made last month to close federal waters around the CNMI, American Samoa and Guam to purse seine fishing.

When the council met last month at the Fiesta Resort, they had voted to prohibit purse seine fishing throughout the exclusive economic zone surrounding the CNMI. However, this decision-and other decision relating to Guam and Hawaii fishing-was invalidated after the council reportedly failed to give proper notice of the meeting with the Federal Register prior to the event. This meant that the council had to redo their March 17-18 meeting all over again.

In its decision to prohibit purse seine fishing in the CNMI, the council said they were concerned that the revitalization of the U.S. purse seine fleet, combined with the likely constraints on purse seine fishing effort in the Western and Central Pacific, may lead to increased interest by U.S. purse-seiners to fish in the U.S. EEZ surrounding the entire Mariana Archipelago.

“It is also likely that new vessels augmenting the U.S. purse seine fleet will be based primarily in the far west of the region in Micronesia,” the Council said at the March meeting.

The purse-seine fishing method uses large nets to target skipjack tuna to be processed as canned tuna.

Skipjack tuna is also caught by subsistence fishermen who troll using hook and line.

The closure addresses potential user conflicts of this resource.

The closure around American Samoa would span 3 to 75 miles offshore. The closure around Guam and the CNMI would include all federal waters out to 200 miles offshore.

The council also voted to ban longline fishing in federal waters out to 30 miles from the shore surrounding the CNMI. Longline fishing is already banned out to 50 miles or more around Guam and Hawaii, and pelagic fishing by vessels larger than 50 feet is banned out to 50 miles from the shore around American Samoa. Manny Duenas, council member from Guam, recused himself from the longline vote. Decisions made by the council are transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce for approval.

The council also reviewed and upheld its prior vote to reopen the permit application period for the limited entry of American Samoa longline fishery for one year. The decision was based primarily on the low number of eligible fishermen who applied during the initial enrollment period and the high number of small boat fishermen who will lose their permits due to the existing minimum landing requirements. Also considered were a handful of fishermen who missed the initial application period deadline and the current economic concerns in American Samoa. Stephen Haleck, council member from American Samoa, recused himself from the vote.

The council also reviewed and recast ballots on management of the Hawaii longline fishery for swordfish. In making its decision, the council considered the health status of the Pacific swordfish stock. The council upheld its March decision to remove the current annual effort limit on the number of allowable sets and to modify the allowable annual sea turtle interactions to 46 loggerheads and 19 leatherbacks. Interactions refer to entanglements or hooking and not to mortality. The recommended sea turtle interaction caps will be subject to further council, agency, scientific, and public review, and potential modifications, before being finalized. Council chair Sean Martin recused himself from the vote.

The council also reviewed but did not revote on non-regulatory action items including squid permits, main Hawaiian Island bottomfish risk analysis, annual catch limits and the Community Development Program.

The council is the policy-making agency for fisheries management in federal waters surrounding Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI, and the U.S. Pacific remote island areas.