Saving Seafood

Fishermen’s co-op takes stock after ‘devastation

June 7, 2023 — The 40-year-old Guam Fishermen’s Co-op building in Hagåtña was ripped open by Typhoon Mawar like a can of sardines. The smell was even worse.

On a normal day, customers might be perusing the shop for fresh local seafood. On Tuesday, however, the front door of the facility, emblazoned with stickers from fishing charters and supportive local brands, was seen blown off. The sun shone in through a skylight that had been created, ripped into the roof of the shop, courtesy of the typhoon. Water was everywhere.

“I got power, to be honest, but I need to isolate these wires,” said Manny Duenas, president of the Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association. “I don’t want somebody to be standing there and – bzzzzt!”

Read the full article at The Guam Daily Post

‘Ocean is being closed off to us’: Fishers face threatened traditions due to firing range

May 17, 2021 — Restricting access to Ritidian will mean less food for the community and threaten the island’s customs, according to Guam’s fishers.

They await final approval of a surface danger zone in the area. 

“Fishing, it’s something you develop, you grow into. If you get rid of that, that’s part of our tradition that’s gone, 4,000 years of legacy that’s gone,” said Manny Duenas. “About 90% of the fishermen use Ritidian. The fishermen that fish out there, they feed their communities and their families. At the end of the day, it’s going to adversely affect us.”

Duenas, 63, has been president of the Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association since 1995. He’s been fishing most of his adult life, and was taught the trade by his uncle and others. He said the live-fire training range under construction at Ritidian, and its associated surface danger zone, diminishes fishing.

“We’ve always been known as a seafaring community. Now the ocean is being closed off to us.”

Read the full story at the Pacific Daily News

GUAM: New fishermen’s co-op facility could be completed by 2022

April 5, 2021 — Necessary design changes, along with delays from the COVID-19 pandemic, have stalled the construction of a new Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association facility. The initial groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2017.

Kin Flores, head of the committee overseeing the project, said officials were faced with various challenges. One of the first was compliance with the flood zone regulations. Much of Hagåtña is considered a flood zone. The co-op facility had to be raised 5 feet above ground level from the original design to comply with codes.

“Since then, it has gone through two versions of the design,” Flores said. “We’re at the final stages of completing. We’re reapplying for an Army Corps (of Engineers) permit for the new sea wall and also a (Department of Public Works) permit for the new building design. And that’s potentially scheduled for late this month or early in May when we can start that permitting process.”

Another factor was poor soil conditions nearer the sea wall, which is being built to reinforce the shoreline. This made the facility’s foundation design more expensive and required that it be moved farther away.

Read the full story at The Guam Daily Post

U.S. Pacific Federal Managers Set Annual Catch Limit to Rebuild Overfished Guam Bottomfish Stock

December 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council voted to adopt a bottomfish annual catch limit (ACL) of 31,000 pounds starting in fishing year 2023 to rebuild the overfished bottomfish stock in Guam. The limit corresponds to a 35-40% risk of overfishing and would allow the stock to replenish in six years. This option poses the least chance of the fishery exceeding the catch limit and extending the rebuilding time. The annual average bottomfish catch over the past several years is about 27,000 pounds. An in-season accountability measure will be implemented to track catch relative to the ACL. Federal waters will be closed to bottomfishing when the ACL is projected to be reached.

Manny Dueñas, president of the Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association (GFCA) and former Council member and chair, provided public comment on the bottomfish data. “Council staff said there were four years that the catch exceeded the ACL,” he noted, referring to data used in the bottomfish assessment and rebuilding plan. “Why didn’t anyone go back and look at this—maybe the ACL is wrong.” The GFCA was the only source of commercial fish dealer data for decades and the hub for the Pacific Islands Fishery Science Center (PIFSC) biosampling program. Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds said that staff will ask PIFSC to address Dueñas’s concerns.

The Council concluded its three-day virtual meeting with the following recommendations on other matters, among others.

Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (MTMNM): The Council recommended delaying the release of the draft MTMNM management plan for public review and comment until the Marianas Trench Monument Advisory Council (MTMAC) is seated and provides input. The 2009 MTMNM Proclamation by President Bush established the MTMAC to “provide advice and recommendations on the development of management plans and management of the monument.” With a draft management plan for the monument due to be released in December 2020, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Council members were concerned that the MTMAC wasn’t able to provide its timely input as required.

“The MTMAC is a critical advisory body, and it needs to be an active participant in the review of the draft management plan,” said CNMI Vice Chair John Gourley. “Conducting a public review without the MTMAC would be a great disservice to the Marianas communities.”

The monument is co-managed by NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the CNMI government.

Fishing Industry Advisory Committee (FIAC): The Council endorsed several FIAC recommendations including supporting a Pacific Island-wide seafood promotion program and working with the U.S. Coast Guard and State of Hawaiʻi Harbors Division to review policies on allowing longline vessels to shelter in place during tropical storms and hurricanes, among others. The current regulation requires vessels under 250 gross tons to vacate the harbor during hurricanes. The FIAC provides input and recommendations on management and conservation actions to the Council from an industry perspective.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act: The Council requested the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources and the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources to work with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to further extend deadlines of CARES Act fishery applications, noting that many within the commercial fishing sector were unable to apply during previous application periods.

Council Officers: The following Council members were re-appointed as officers for 2021: Archie Soliai, chair; Howard Dunham, vice chair, American Samoa; Michael Dueñas, vice chair, Guam; John Gourley, vice chair, CNMI; and Edwin Watamura, vice chair, Hawaiʻi.

For the full agenda and background materials on the meeting, go to www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars or contact the Council at info@wpcouncil.org or (808) 522-8220.