September 23, 2024 — The following was released by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council was well-represented at the 154th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), held Sept. 15-19, 2024 in Honolulu. The theme was “Conserving Fishes and Fishing Traditions through Knowledge Co-Production.”
Council members and advisors participated in a session on “Large Blue-Water Marine Protected Areas: Benefits and Costs,” which drew around 70 attendees. Dr. Ray Hilborn, a member of the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), chaired the session and provided a talk evaluating impacts the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) has had on yellowfin and bigeye tuna stocks and resulting catch rates. Hilborn countered an October 2022 paper that claimed the 2016 expansion of PMNM had ‘spillover benefits’ for tuna fisheries, arguing that increased tuna catch rates were due to a pre-existing rise in tuna biomass, not the expansion. “Considering how little yellowfin tuna was caught in the Monument Expansion Area, it is just biologically impossible to attribute catch rate increases to the expansion without considering broader regional dynamics,” Hilborn explained.
Presentations from Council members and advisors Will Sword, Archie Soliai, John Gourley, Eric Kingma and Nate Ilaoa highlighted the impact of Marine National Monuments on Pacific Island communities. They raised concerns about expanding large closed areas in U.S. Pacific waters. American Samoa Advisory Panel member Ilaoa likened the push to close more waters to colonialism, arguing that Pacific Islanders are being forced to meet the national ‘30 by 30’ goal—protecting 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030—at great cost to their local economies.
A proposed designation of the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) as a National Marine Sanctuary could potentially shut down tuna fishing in the remaining open waters 50 to 200 nautical miles seaward of Palmyra and Howland/Baker Atolls. Tuna-rich U.S. waters around Jarvis, Johnston and Wake Islands are already closed to fishing. Hilborn noted that none of the tuna species are at risk of overfishing and recent studies concluded closures in nearby Kiribati had zero conservation benefit. Soliai, Council vice chair from American Samoa, pointed out that “Pacific Islanders already carry the disproportionate burden of this 30 by 30 initiative, because 90% of this goal is already in our waters.”
Ilaoa and Soliai stressed that the economy of American Samoa relies heavily on the tuna industry, which provides thousands of jobs and sustains the territory’s shrinking population. The territory’s last remaining tuna cannery depends on a steady supply of U.S.-caught fish and helps subsidize shipping for most goods, keeping costs affordable for residents. Closing more waters to U.S.-flagged vessels could devastate the local economy, as international agreements already limit their access to the high seas. The United States has also not distinguished an American Samoa purse seine fishery, which could add some relief to international restrictions.
“They are shoving this down our brown throats,” said Ilaoa. “This Administration seems willing to destroy our American Samoa tuna industry, crippling our already struggling economy, just to look good to some people on the mainland thinking they’re protecting something.”
As the lead keynote speaker at the plenary, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa faculty Kawika Winter, said, “We don’t need more marine protected areas, we need more marine RESPECTED areas.”
Council advisors and staff also participated in other symposia, sharing insights on incorporating social, economic and ecological knowledge into management, engaging fishing communities in science and management, and undergraduate fisheries curriculum. Meeting attendees gave presentations, joined discussion panels and promoted the Council’s work through an exhibit.