Director of Marine and Wildlife Resources Archie Taotasi Soliai is urging the National Marine Fisheries Service to help save the American Samoa-based purse seine fleet from further decline.
This follows a report that another locally based purse seine has been sold and reflagged, reducing the local fleet to just 11.
NMFS is not recognizing the US flagged purse seine fleet as a locally based American Samoa fleet.
Soliai said in a March 25 letter to the Acting Regional Administrator of NMFS, Sarah Molloy, “We have just received a recent report regarding the sale and reflagging of, yet another, US-flagged purse seine vessel, further diminishing the number of locally based US purse seiners to a mere eleven.
“In comparison, China’s fleet has grown exponentially in the last two decades to approximately 80 longliners, 500 purse seiners and 25 fish carriers. Chinese policy with respect to food security and support for their fisheries far outweigh that of the US.”
“The downward trend in this fishery not only signifies a continued significant decline in our fishing fleet, but also threatens the economic stability of American Samoa,” said Soliai.
He emphasized, “The continued erosion of our fishery industry will result in economic collapse for our territory, a fate that we cannot afford to entertain.”
The DMWR Director urged that NMFS takes immediate action to address this issue with the urgency it demands.
Soliai said it’s understood that there may be legal concerns and implications surrounding the recognition of the American Samoa-based purse seine fleet; however, he pointed out that it is crucial that these concerns are addressed “in a manner that prioritizes the well-being of our community.
“The policies in place must be revisited to ensure that they do not disproportionately disadvantage struggling economies like American Samoa.”
