Saving Seafood

Three issues concerning Am Samoa to be considered by Westpac

November 16, 2023 — The 197th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will convene December 12-13, 2023, by web conference (Webex).

Of particular interest to American Samoa are:

Fishing Regulations for the Proposed Pacific Remote Island National Marine Sanctuary;

• Discontinuing the Rebuilding Plan and Annual Catch Limit Specifications for the American Samoa Bottomfish Fishery for 2024-2026; and

• Amending the Multi-year US Territorial Bigeye Tuna Catch Limit and Allocation Specification Action

Read the full article at Samoa News

U.S. House committee hears testimony on importance of fishing rights to Am Samoa

September 21, 2023 — Uifa’atali Amata took part in a hearing Tuesday in the House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that examined U.S. waters and the marine sanctuary and monument. The hearing was titled, “Examining Barriers to Access in Federal Waters: A Closer Look at the Marine Sanctuary and Monument System.”

Congresswoman Amata gave remarks and used a visual display of the Pacific waters to defend the need for fishing rights, before asking key questions of the expert witnesses, emphasizing the fact that 51 percent of the two million square mile U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has been designated via presidential proclamation.

“I want to show just how much the Biden Administration is taking from Samoans and other indigenous peoples in the Pacific. By expanding the Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monument, we will lose nearly all U.S. EEZ’s in the Pacific,” Congresswoman Amata warned. “At this critical time, with China increasingly gaining a foothold in the region, the United States will quickly become nothing more than a passive bystander in the world’s largest fishery.”

Read the full article at Samoa News