Obama's Proclamation Bans US Commercial Fishing in 63% of The

FALL 2014 ISSN 2151-2329 (PRINT) ISSN 2151-2337 (ONLINE) Newsletter of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ATLANTIC OCEAN Approximate size of the expanded Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in comparison to the size Florida of the Gulf of Mexico. BAHAMAS 495,000 square miles MEXICO Gulf of Mexico Approximate size of the US EEZ around the Pacific Remote Islands left open to commercial fishing. 287,000 square miles CUBA Yucutan Peninsula Caribbean Sea BELIZE JAMAICA GUATAMALA HONDUR AS Obama’s Proclamation Bans US Commercial Fishing in 63% of the Pacific Remote Island Waters A plan announced by President Obama on June 17, 2014, to In the months since the June announcement, the Council; the expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument governors of American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth (PRIMNM) ninefold to include the entire US exclusive economic of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI); the American Samoa zone (EEZ) waters around them—and prohibit commercial fishing and CNMI legislatures; US longline and purse-seine fishermen; therein—was amended to accommodate economically vital tuna cannery representatives; marine science experts; mayors; fishing industries in Hawai‘i and American Samoa. Following a chambers of commerce; indigenous groups/individuals; and West Wing meeting on Sept. 9, joining representatives of the many others voiced deep concerns about the shortcomings of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and the proposed expansion. They noted that the initial plan disregarded Hawaii Longline Association with Counselor to the President essential local fishing industries, provided negligible gains for John Podesta and White House Council on Environmental Quality conservation and lacked a decision-making process that was Acting Chair Mike Boots, and in the wake of public criticism and transparent and included proper representation and adequate media attention, the White House on Sept. 25 announced a environmental and public review. Continued on page 2 revised plan for the PRIMNM expansion. Ecosystem-based Management of Fisheries in the US Pacific Islands The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council was established by Congress in 1976 to manage marine resources and maintain opportunities for sustainable domestic fishing in the US exclusive economic zone waters and high seas around Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the eightFall US 2014 Pacific remote island areas. 1 Pacific Islands Fishery News Obama’s Proclamation Bans US Commercial Fishing Continued from page 1 2,700 miles from Saipan, but only about 1,400 miles from Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, which has been in dispute with the United States over ownership of Wake. “Our US Pacific Island fishermen already comply with the strictest regulations in the world,” said Kitty Simonds, Council executive director. “We now look to see how this declaration will be achieved in practice, beyond paper and politics, and hope that the US Coast Guard will use additional enforcement funds to patrol US waters as a first priority.” Currently, the US Coast Guard patrols the area once quarterly on average. “The US Pacific Islands came together as a united regional voice on this issue and that speaks to the anxiety at the prospect of an immense expansion of a Presidential monument with little-to-no local consultation,” Simonds remarked. “Congress has curtailed further use of Presidential monument proclamation The revised plan expands the monu- Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery authority in Alaska and Wyoming, and ment to include the 200-nautical-mile Conservation and Management Act, Congress should similarly bar further EEZ surrounding Johnston Atoll, Jarvis the Council has promulgated fishing national marine monument proclama- Island and Wake Island, but it does not regulations for all existing marine tions in Hawai‘i and the US territories of expand the existing 50-nautical-mile national monuments located in the American Samoa, CNMI, Guam and the prohibitions on fishing around Howland US Pacific Islands. US Pacific Remote Islands.” and Baker Islands and Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef. While existing commercial fishing The Council expressed appreciation will now be banned in to President Obama for considering the waters, currently the economic and cultural concerns non-existing non- of American citizens who will be commercial fishing most affected by the expansion. The will be allowed. The revisions allow existing US commercial accessibility of these fisheries to continue operating within waters to non- their traditional fishing grounds under commercial fishermen existing regulations in 37 percent of the is questionable. US EEZ around the US Pacific Remote The closest island Islands, but removes them completely to populated areas from 63 percent of the US EEZ around is Johnston Atoll, these islands. which is 825 miles southwest of Hawai‘i. At its 161st meeting Oct. 21 to 23, 2014, Jarvis Island is about in Honolulu, the Council is scheduled 2,500 miles from to take action to amend the existing Honolulu and about Pelagic and Pacific Remote Island Areas 2,000 miles from Representatives from the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and the Hawaii (PRIAs) Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs) to Pago Pago, American include the provisions of the monument Longline Association (HLA) leave the West Wing after their Sept. 9, 2014, meeting with John Samoa, but only 380 Podesta, Counselor to the President, and the Council on Environmental Quality. The Council had proclamation. Fishing around the PRIAs, miles from Christmas repeatedly requested the meeting following the President’s June 17 announcement. (l-r) Council including those waters now contained Island, Republic of Chair Arnold Palacios, HLA President Sean Martin, Council Member Claire Poumele (American within the extended monument, have Kiribati. Wake Island Samoa), Council International Fishery Coordinator Eric Kingma, Council Senior Scientist Paul been managed under the placed-based Dalzell, Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds, HLA Consultant Svein Fougner and Council is about 2,300 miles Vice Chair Ed Ebisui Jr. (Hawai’i). Photo by Sylvia Spalding, Council communications officer. FEP since 2007 and under species based from Honolulu, and Fishery Management Plans since 1983. Pacific Islands Fishery News 2 Fall 2014 Council Conducts Pacific Bigeye Tuna Movement and Distribution Workshop Front row (l-r) John Hampton, Karen Evans, John Hall, David Itano, Kurt Schaefer, Keith Bigelow. Back row (l-r) Patrick Lehodey, Inna Sennina, Takeyuki Matsumoto, Simon Nicol, Kim Holland, John Sibert, David Wells, Robert Campbell, Paul Dalzell, Pierre Kleiber, Jay Rooker. Twenty fisheries scientists from of Hawai‘i; couple otolith analysis with at maturity across the Pacific basin. In throughout the Pacific convened April archival tags and genetic studies; collect the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO), west of 22 to 24, 2014, for the Western Pacific otoliths from very large individuals; use 170° W, bigeye exhibit a larger maturity Regional Fishery Management Council’s commercial longline vessels to tag in size than east of 170° W. Data gaps still Workshop on Pacific Bigeye Movement higher latitudes; use Fukushima nuclear remain for bigeye reproduction such as and Distribution. The workshop was reactor signal to examine connectivity; fully understanding seasonality, location held in response to a recommendation and develop movement models that of spawning and regional variation in size by the Council’s Scientific and Statistical incorporate size, maturity, feeding, at maturity. Committee with the objective to design a spawning and oceanographic and collaborative study of bigeye movement bathymetric features. Bigeye tuna are being fished at about in the Pacific and the data requirements twice the maximum sustainable yield for to support such a study. The agenda Although bigeye appear to be a single the stock. Purse-seine fishing on FADs covered bigeye tuna life history and “stock” across the Pacific and are is having the largest impact on bigeye biology, tagging studies, otolith stable nominally a highly migratory species, fish populations, but the effects of longline isotope and micro-constituent analyses, from the far west and far east do not mix fishing on adults are also significant. The fisheries and climate change, and stock but both elements of the stock mix with workshop noted the need for finer scale structure and genetic studies. fish in the Central Pacific. Movement can fishery spatial and operational data plus be influenced by both oceanographic a great deal more data on FADs. These Participants were particularly interested conditions and bathymetric features. include FAD numbers per vessel in each in tagging studies from the Eastern and Participants noted that an understanding region, movements and attributes, and Central Pacific, Western Equatorial Pacific of the origin and exchange rates between trajectories and sonar data for research. and Coral Sea as well as those conducted regions and fisheries is still needed. For by Japan and Hawai’i fishery scientists. example, where do “Hawai‘i” bigeye Fisheries catching bigeye tuna differ originate and where do they go? The across the Pacific. In the EPO, longline The workshop noted the need for more meeting also identified the need to effort for bigeye has decreased but bigeye tagging in higher latitudes to clarify the difference

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