FISHERY ECOSYSTEM PLAN for the PACIFIC REMOTE ISLANDS AREA Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400 Honolulu, HI 96813 PHONE: (808) 522-8220 FAX: (808) 522-8226 www.wpcouncil.org Working Draft: 10/7/2015 11:53 AM This page was intentionally left blank. FEP for the Pacific Remote Island Area Preface PREFACE In 2005, the Council recommended to establish and implement fishery ecosystem plans for archipelagic, pelagic, and remote island areas in the Western Pacific Region. Previously, the Council managed fisheries in these areas using the single-species management paradigm. Ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM) addresses a geographically-specified system of fishery-associated organisms (including humans), and the environment and the processes that control its dynamics. It includes noncommercial and commercial fisheries, and recognizes the physical, biological, economic and social interactions among the affected components of the ecosystem. Perhaps most importantly, EBFM seeks to manage for a spectrum of goals society has for fishery ecosystems – some of which may be in competition. The Council’s first fishery ecosystem plans were approved by the Secretary of Commerce in September 2009. However, considering ecosystem-based fishery management has an extended history in our region. For example, the Council’s Executive Director, Kitty Simonds, was an active participant in one of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA’s first ecosystem management workshops, in 1986. In 2001, the Council took final action to recommend the first fishery ecosystem management plan in the nation. The Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishery Management Plan covered coral reef fishery ecosystems in the U.S. Pacific Islands. Among other things, the plan established a process to assess and control ecosystem effects of bottomfish, precious coral, and crustacean fisheries operating federal waters under then-existing fishery management. The Pacific Remote Island Area Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) is the framework under which the Council will manage place-based fishery ecosystem resources, including the integration of important ecosystem elements important to decision-making. These elements include social, cultural, and economic dimensions, protected species, habitat considerations, climate change effects, and the implications to fisheries from various spatial uses of the marine environment. Successful ecosystem-based fisheries management requires an increased understanding of a range of social and scientific issues, including the societal goals society appropriate management objectives, biological and trophic relationships, ecosystem indicators and models, and the ecological effects of non-fishing activities on the marine environment. Future fishery management actions are anticipated to utilize this information as it becomes available, and adaptive management will be used to further advance the implementation of ecosystem science and principles. In this regard, the success of the EBFM approach relies heavily on the data collection and synthesis process established by the pelagic and archipelago annual fishery ecosystem reports (SAFE Reports). In 2015, the Council, in partnership with the National Marine Fisheries (NMFS) Pacific Islands Fishery Science Center, local fishery resource management agencies, and the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office revised and expanded the contents of these reports to include the range of ecosystem elements described above. [insert signature] i FEP for the Pacific Remote Island Area Preface This page was intentionally left blank. ii FEP for the Pacific Remote Island Area Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) is the primary domestic legislation governing management of the nation’s marine fisheries. The United States Congress has amended and reauthorized the MSA several times since 1976. The 1996 reauthorization included, among other things, a new emphasis on the precautionary approach. In 2006, an annual catch limit requirement was written in. The MSA contains ten national standards, with which all fishery management plans and plan amendments must conform. The MSA also requires U.S. fisheries management be consistent with the requirements of other regulations including the National Environmental Policy Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and several other Federal laws and Executive Orders. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Council) is authorized to prepare and submit to the Secretary of Commerce for approval, disapproval or partial approval, a Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and any necessary amendments, for fisheries that are under its authority and that require conservation and management. The Council transitioned to Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs) from FMPs in 2009. The Council process includes many opportunities for public involvement in the development of FEPs and amendments. This Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) governs federal fisheries of the Pacific Remote Islands Area, which are comprised of Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Wake, Islands, Johnston and Palmyra Atolls, and Kingman Reef. The management area is the United States (U.S.) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Plan covers bottomfish, coral reef fish, crustacean, and precious corals stocks and fisheries. The FEP was implemented on September 24, 2009. It replaced a set of species-based FMPs that covered the Western Pacific Region. This version of the FEP was implemented on ____. It strengthens the ecosystem-based fishery management approach, provides the public with additional information regarding the management process, conforms to new information requirements, and is a framework for a clearer understanding of fishery and conservation and management measures promulgated by the FEP and subsequent amendments to it. iii FEP for the Pacific Remote Island Area Executive Summary This page was intentionally left blank. iv FEP for the Pacific Remote Island Area Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................ i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... iii 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Mission ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Authorities and Primary Management and Process Drivers ........................................... 2 1.2.1 Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act ............................. 2 1.2.1.1 National Standards .............................................................................................. 5 1.2.1.2 Essential Fish Habitat ......................................................................................... 5 1.2.2 National Marine Fisheries Service Guidance ............................................................. 7 1.2.3 The National Environmental Policy Act ..................................................................... 7 1.2.4 Endangered Species Act ............................................................................................. 8 1.2.5 Marine Mammal Protection Act ................................................................................. 9 1.3 Pacific Remote Islands Area ......................................................................................... 10 1.3.1 Geography ................................................................................................................. 10 1.3.2 History and Socio-Economic Considerations ........................................................... 11 1.3.2.1 Fishing Communities ........................................................................................ 13 2. MANAGEMENT POLICY, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES ................................................ 15 2.1 Council Management Policy ......................................................................................... 15 2.2 Pacific Remote Islands Area FEP Purpose and Need ................................................... 15 2.3 Pacific Remote Islands Area Fishery Ecosystem Plan Goals ....................................... 16 2.4 Pacific Remote Islands Area FEP Objectives ............................................................... 16 3. MANAGEMENT REGIME AND FISHERY INFORMATION ......................................... 19 3.1 PRIA Bottomfish Fisheries ........................................................................................... 19 3.1.1 Type and Quantity of Fishing Gear .......................................................................... 20 3.1.2 Catch in Number or Weight ...................................................................................... 20 3.1.3 Economics ................................................................................................................. 20 3.1.4 Present and Probable Future Condition of the Fishery ............................................. 20 3.1.5 Bottomfish Management Unit Species ..................................................................... 20 3.1.6 MSA Conservation and Management Measures ....................................................... 21 3.1.6.1 Management