Governor Lolo Moliga called the impact of Washington’s cabotage policies on American Samoa “unhuman,” and called on federal officials to take steps now to save the territory’s canneries.
KHJ Washington Correspondent Matt Kaye reports—
Seventeen hours by air from Washington, and Governor Lolo Moliga told top Obama Administration officials at the annual IGIA meeting here that places American Samoa “right in the middle of nowhere.”
The governor says Washington’s concept of ‘one-size fits all’ has “never worked for American Samoa, and never will,” with a territory so “unique.”
He says the tuna canneries need special help, including economic incentives that American Samoa cannot give.
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Governor Lolo cited the impact of the minimum wage hike last year and protested the recent NOAA Fisheries Service decision to compress the protected fisheries zone from 50-miles to 12.
He stressed, the waters belong to American Samoa and its people.
And he added this:
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…taking with them 5,000-6,000 jobs, or half of American Samoa’s workforce…
Meantime, Governor Lolo attacked federal cabotage laws that Congress may yet reform, while seeming to address criticism back home for taking a large delegation to Washington—
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The governor told officials at the IGIA session, if Washington would just waive some of the restrictions on foreign carriers, American Samoa could become self-reliant in the next 5 to 10-years and no longer be dependent on the federal government for its very existence.
