HONOLULU —After a long day of discussion and public comments, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, at its 204th meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 16, agreed to move forward allowing commercial fishing within the four marine national monuments in the U.S. Pacific.
With a Proclamation and Executive Order from President Trump for guidance, the Council deliberated on the impacts of commercial fishing within the boundaries of the Pacific Islands Heritage, Rose Atoll, Marianas Trench and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monuments.
“The Council is responding to the Proclamation through the Council process of the MSA. It is transparent and people have the opportunity to voice their opinions,” said Hawai‘i Council member Matt Ramsey. “If the Council takes no action, others might make the decision for us. I appreciate the opportunity to shape and reform those commercial fishing regulations.”
The Council directed staff to prepare an analysis of management options to implement Presidential Proclamation 10918, “Unleashing American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific.” The analysis, to be presented at the Council’s December meeting, will ensure sustainable harvest of fishery resources while conserving protected species and monument resources.
During the public comment period, Joe Hamby, representing the U.S. purse seine industry, explained that the United States needs to do more to identify the origins of imported fish, especially from China, to buyers in local markets. “U.S. consumers are unknowingly supporting the highly subsidized and forced-labor Chinese fish industry,” Hamby said.
Council Chairman Will Sword said, “U.S. fishermen need to fish in our healthy U.S. waters. The bottomline is eating our own fish.”
Manuel Duenas, Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association, commented that in our region “there are no ‘commercial’ fishers. We are community-based fishers. The boats are owned by local families and fish for the benefit of the community.”
Strong opposition to removing commercial fishing prohibitions came from multiple members of academia, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group. Concerns expressed were that commercial fishing would endanger protected species, ignore cultural values and harm the ecosystem.
Kanoe Morishige, assistant professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, said, “Papahānaumokuākea is not a realm for extraction,” and that “commercial extraction conflicts with what binds Hawaiians to the seascape.”
There are multiple opportunities for public comment through the Council process. Anyone interested can provide comments via email: info@wpcouncil.org and learn more at the Council’s website: www.wpcouncil.org/.
