Proceedings of the American Samoa Coral Reef Fishery Workshop Stacey Kilarski and Alan R. Everson (Editors) U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/SPO-114 Proceedings of the American Samoa Coral Reef Fishery Workshop Convention Center, Utulei, American Samoa October 21-23, 2008 Edited by: Stacey Kilarksi AECOS, Inc. 45-939 Kamehameha Highway Suite 104 Kane‘ohe, HI 96744 Alan R. Everson Pacific Islands Regional Office, NMFS Habitat Conservation Division 1601 Kapiolani Blvd Suite 1110 Honolulu, HI 96814 [email protected] NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/SPO-114 U.S. Department of Commerce Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Administrator of NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Eric C. Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Suggested citation: Kilarski, Stacey, and Alan Everson (eds.). Proceedings of the American Samoa Coral Reef Fishery Workshop (October 2008). U.S. Dep. Commerce, NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS- F/SPO114, 143 p. A copy of this report may be obtained from: Alan R. Everson Pacific Islands Regional Office, NMFS Habitat Conservation Division 1601 Kapiolani Blvd Suite 1110 Honolulu, HI 96814 [email protected] Or online at: http://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/tm/ American Samoa Coral Reef Fishery Workshop Convention Center, Utulei, American Samoa October 21-23, 2008 Organizers: NOAA-Pacific Island Regional Office NOAA-Pacific Island Fishery Science Center Department of Marine and Wildlife Resource Participants: Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources Department of Fishery, Samoa Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Samoa Department of Commerce American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency American Samoa Community College American Samoa Coastal Management Program Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary National Park Service of American Samoa University of Hawaii Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council 1 Table of Contents Introduction, workshop summary and recommendations…………………..…………………….4 Long-term marine resource use in American Samoa: Some preliminary thoughts ...................... 14 Alex Morrison – University of Hawaii, Manoa Status of Reef Fish from Fishery-Independent (Visual Census) Surveys Across the American Samoan Islands ............................................................................................................................. 21 Robert Schroeder – NOAA Fisheries PIFSC CRED Demographic analysis of a target reef fish species in Tutuila Island, American Samoa: implications for fishery management............................................................................................ 23 Domingo Ochavillo – Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources 2007 Status of bottomfish fishery in American Samoa ................................................................ 26 Ioane Tomanogi – Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources The state of the coral reef habitat in American Samoa, 2008 ....................................................... 42 Douglas Fenner – Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources DMWR marine resource management strategy: merging protected area and fishery management tools ............................................................................................................................................. 112 Marlowe Sabater – Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources Connectivity among coral reef fish populations in the remote Samoan Archipelago: metapopulation concept and implications……………………………………….120 Peter Craig – National Parks Service of American Samoa, Rusty Brainard -- Pacific Islands Fishery Science Center Pala Pals: Inter-Organizational Cooperation to Create a Comprehensive and Adaptive Management Plan For the Pala Lagon Watershed ...................................................................... 131 Doug Harper – American Samoa Department of Commerce The Current Status of the No-take MPA Program in American Samoa………………………..133 Lucy Jacob – Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, American Samoa Fishery Workshop Participatory Learning and Action ............................................................... 136 Fatima Sauafea-Leau – NOAA-Pacific Island Regional Office 2 Protection of Reef Fish Fisheries Workshop Summary .............................................................. 137 Benjamin Carroll – Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, American Samoa Management Plan Review and Site Expansion of Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary .... 139 Gene Brighouse – Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exchanged Experience Project Overview ................................................................................... 142 Soli Tuaumu – American Samoa Coastal Management Program 3 American Samoa Coral Reef Fishery Workshop October 21-23, 2008 Introduction, Summary and Recommendations Introduction Part 1: Historical Overview of Fisheries in American Samoa Part 2: Present Status and Management of Fisheries In American Samoa Session 1: Present status and trend in coral reef fish population and fishery Session 2: Current management status for coral reef and associated fishery Part 3: Strategic Planning for Fishery Management Consensus on the status of American Samoa‘s coral reef fisheries Recommendations on ways to address non-consensus issues Recommendations on ways to move forward with management Specific Data Needs Recommendations for Future Workshops 4 Introduction Over the course of three days (Oct. 21-23, 2008), local and regional resource managers and scientists from NOAA-Pacific Islands Regional Office, NOAA-Pacific Island Fishery Science Center, Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Department of Fishery, Samoa, Department of Commerce, American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency, American Samoa Community College, American Samoa Coastal Management Program, Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary, National Park Service of American Samoa, The University of Hawaii, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and community members gathered in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Objectives The workshop addressed the following main objectives: 1. Document the historical use, catch, and effort of fishery resources in American Samoa. 2. Assess the current state of fishery resources, availability and quality of fisheries data in American Samoa. 3. Engage community members in fisheries management. Outcomes Based on the above objectives, the workshop was designed to stimulate open group discussion among participants to reach the following outcomes: 1. Recommendations for improved data collection 2. Recommended management measures based upon available data 3. Determined management tools needed to maintain a sustainable coral reef fishery 4. Integrated management regime between American Samoa and Independent Samoa (―Two Samoas‖) In efforts to reach the main objectives, the workshop was divided into three focused sections, with the following themes: (1) Historical overview of fisheries, (2) Present status and management of fisheries, and (3) Strategic planning for fishery management. The first two sections‘ specific objectives, key outcomes, gaps, and recommendations are described below. Full summaries of each presentation follow this report. The last section resulted in a list of consensus/non-consensus issues which were assembled based on the first two sections‘ presentations and group discussions. The final day of the workshop was also used to provide recommendations on ways to revise the fisheries local action strategy (LAS). Part 1. Historical Overview of Fisheries in American Samoa 1a. Objectives Three presentations (Table 1) were given in the first session which provided information on past fishing patterns, traditional fishery management, and fish population status based on historical accounts, elder fishermen interviews and archaeological studies. The main objectives of this first session on the historical overview of fisheries in American Samoa included the following: 1. To assess the historical, traditional fishing patterns/practices in American Samoa. 2. To reveal what is known about fish consumption from the past in American Samoa. 3. To generate a ―baseline‖ of the nearshore fishery based on the historical accounts of traditional fishing practices and management, fish populations, and consumption patterns. 5 Table 1 Presentations in Session 1 Part 1: Historical Overview of Fisheries in American Samoa 2500 years of marine procurement in American Samoa: Patterns and Alex Morrison - UH, Manoa implications based on archeological records Historic fishing methods and marine management in American Arielle Levine – NOAAPIFSC Samoa based on archival records Traditional knowledge of marine resource use, management, and Bert Fuiava – DMWR changes over time based on interviews with elder fishermen 1b. Key outcomes Historic fishing methods and marine management in American Samoa based on archival records Very little is known about the historical fishing and consumption patterns in American Samoa, and no baseline data exists. However, through written records of early explorers, missionaries, colonial administrators, naval officers and anthropologists, as well as through interviews with elder fishermen, a picture of the past fishery resource patterns and management can be composed. Families and villages were central to management and decision-making in American Samoa. This traditional value system was based on sharing and distribution