About 15 people turned up a the initial Public Scoping Meeting for Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for Pelagic Deep-set Tuna Longline Fisheries held yesterday evening at the Office of Samoa Affairs.
Ariel Jacobs, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office’s Natural Resource Management Specialist for the Sustainable Fisheries Division said a presentation she made was well-received .
The public meetings are to collect input form the community in the Pacific island terriotryes and Hawaii to be included in fisheries management plans,
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Last night was the first of the three meetings to be conducted by the NOOA Fisheries officials…another is set for this eveing at Vaimaona’s guest fale in Lauli’i and the final one will be held tomorrow at the NOAA campus at Tasi Street at Lyons Park from 6-9 PM.
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The deadline for public comments will be April 14th and those unable to attend the public hearings can go online and present their comments via
http://www.fpir.noaa/gov/SFD/pelagic_deepset_tuna_longline_fisheries_islands_peis.html
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Jacobs encourages members of the public to attend these important meetings regarding the environmental impact for pelagic deep-set longline fisheries in the Pacific islands including American Samoa.
