Important fisheries issues for Am Samoa on agenda

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Renowned scientists from throughout the Pacific are meeting in Honolulu today through Thursday to provide recommendations on managing fisheries in Hawai‘i, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the US Pacific Remote Islands Areas.

The meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) is open to the public and runs 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Council office, 1164 Bishop St., Suite1400.

Recommendations from the SSC and the Council’s other advisory bodies will be considered by the Council at its 172nd meeting to be held March 14-17 at the Laniakea YWCA, Fuller Hall, 1040 Richards St., Honolulu.

The Council is expected to take action on nine items, including the following five actions that are being reviewed by the SSC.

For American Samoa one of the key issues on the agenda is the American Samoa Large Vessel Prohibited Area:

In 2002, the Large Vessel Prohibited Area (LVPA) was established to separate the large (greater than 50 feet) and small longline vessels to prevent potential gear conflict and catch competition.

Subsequently, the fleet of small alia longline vessels dwindled from 40 down to one. About 15 larger longline vessels continue to operate out of Pago Pago Harbor under severe economic stress.

Consideration will be given to LVPA options that may improve economic efficiency of the larger longline vessels while taking into consideration, among other things, the need to prevent overfishing, impacts on small vessels and protecting American Samoa cultural fishing practices.

Another agenda item important to American Samoa is the swordfish trip limit: In 2009, the Council recommended and amendment to require gear modifications in the America Samoa longline fishery to require hooks to be set below 100 meters in depth in order to minimize the incidental catch of green sea turtles.

The National Marine Fisheries Service implemented this measure in 2011.

The amendment also limited swordfish per trip to 10, which mirrored Hawaii longline regulations.

Poor economic conditions have persisted in the American Samoa longline fishery for several years due to reduced albacore catch rates, high operating costs and relatively low fish prices.

The council is reviewing whether to modify or remove the limit on the maximum number of swordfish that can be landed on a per trip basis by vessels holding an American Samoa limited entry longline permit that operate south of the Equator.

The intent of the proposed action is to optimize fishery resources by reducing regulatory discards of swordfish and increase efficiency of the fishery while maintaining safeguards for sea turtles and other protected species.

Other issues are: a federal measure that limits the bigeye longline catch of the US Territories and the amount of catch they could transfer under Specified Fishing Arrangements to permitted vessels; and a proposed amendment to the Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs) for the Hawai‘i, American Samoa and Mariana Archipelagos.

The amendment would reclassify hundreds of species that are not readily caught by fishermen as ecosystem component species.

Currently these species are classified as “species in need of federal management and conservation,” which requires stock assessments, annual catch limits and other actions from which “ecosystem component species” are exempt.