April 2, 2023 — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata testified last week before key lawmakers of the Appropriations Committee to emphasize American Samoa’s appropriations situation, while expressing concern about the new challenges faced as a fishing-based economy.
“Tuna is to American Samoa, what the potato is to Idaho and the lobster is to Maine – without them our economies and identities would be drastically reduced,” Amata said to Committee Members representing those states.
“Now what would happen if the President declared that potato growing be outlawed or that lobsters couldn’t be caught in an area ‘bigger than Alaska and Colorado combined?’ Because that’s what the President bragged about yesterday (last week), declaring that over 777,000 acres of tuna fishing grounds be off limits for the U.S. fishing industry and that is canned at the American Samoa cannery.”