June 29, 2023 — Opponents of a proposed national marine sanctuary in the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands, in particular tuna cannery employees in American Samoa, protested and testified against the sanctuary today during a Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council meeting that’s being held in the territory.
The council, known as Wespac, is holding a multi-day meeting covering a variety of fishing-related issues in the Pacific Ocean, including the ongoing process to turn the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) into a sanctuary and expand it into the largest marine protected area in the world.
Employees of the StarKist tuna cannery, located in American Samoa, took the opportunity to protest the proposed sanctuary, fearing that it could lead to the closure of the cannery.
They attended the Wespac meeting today as the council provided an update on the sanctuary designation process. More than a dozen workers and opponents of the sanctuary could be seen holding signs with messages saying “StarKist Samoa cannery takes care of my family” or “I’m a cannery worker; save my job.”
The sanctuary would close off commercial fishing to about 780,000 square miles of U.S. waters around Baker, Howland and Jarvis islands; Johnston, Wake and Palmyra atolls; and Kingman Reef. Opponents have warned that the sanctuary’s most significant effect would be the closure of the cannery, which employs 14% of American Samoa’s workforce and is its largest private employer, according to a 2020 report on the territory’s economy by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Canned tuna represents about 90% of the territory’s exports, the report said.