Director of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Archie Taotasi Soliai, says villages targeted for the faisua project using the baby faisua that were gifted by Samoa this week, are those that fall under the Community Based Fishing Management Program (Fa’asao) with DMWR.
These villages have signed agreements with DMWR and have established village by-laws for their marine reserves.
Under the agreements, the marine reserves are co-managed by the village and DMWR.
The CBFMP program is guided under Chapter 10 of the Administrative Code of American Samoa (ASAC).
Penalties for violation of rules for these marine protected areas are also provided by-law.
Soliai explained that DMWR, together with staff from Samoa’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), are surveying some alternate sites that may be suitable for faisua placement.
Seven staffers from MAF are here for two weeks and, according to Soliai, the staff exchange that has been ongoing for the last few days is “remarkable and rewarding for both teams.”
He said, “We are truly grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with our counterparts in Samoa, to share technical expertise in the field of fisheries, aquaculture, mariculture and capacity building.”
