October 10, 2019 — The US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced the tuna purse seine fishery in the “Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine” (ELAPS) will close as of Oct. 9.
The rule was passed on Oct. 1, as a result of vessels reaching the 2019 limit on purse seine fishing effort in the ELAPS. “This action is necessary for the United States to implement provisions of a conservation and management measure adopted by the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean,” it said.
However, American Samoa’s governor, Lolo Moliga, has written to Michael Tosatto — regional administrator for the NMFS in the Pacific Islands — asking for the rule to be “corrected”.
The cessation of fishing in the ELAPS until the turn of the year will have a negative impact on the tuna-dependent economy of his nation, wrote Loliga.