Press Release – Federal Fishery Managers Address Cumulative Impacts on Fishing Communities

TUMON, GUAM (21 March 2014) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which has authority over federally managed fisheries in Hawai`i, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the US Pacific remote island areas, concluded its four-day meeting today in Tumon, Guam.

The Council heard from Guam fishermen about ongoing cumulative impacts on their fishing communities. Lack of access to safe and unpolluted fishing grounds, shark depredation, rising fuel costs, lack of fisheries support, competition from citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) initiatives were among the plethora of complaints presented to the Council.

Manuel Duenas, president of the Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative, said the situation is at the point where he is ready to quit fishing. He noted that shark depredation, as well as the cost for fuel and fishing supplies, has increased and is negatively impacting Guam’s fishing community. “We don’t have an industry, it’s a community,” he said, noting that fishermen sell only a few fish to cover expenses and the rest is distributed to feed family and neighbors.

Aside from limited access to fishing grounds due to weather and geography, fishermen said the military, marine protected areas (MPAs) and pollution significantly restrict their access to safe waters where they can fish. It was noted that 13 persons have drowned on Guam since the Council’s last meeting in October 2013, in part due to fishermen having to travel farther to reach permitted fishing areas, many times under inclement and unsafe conditions.

“Do not oppress the people who put food on the table,” said Ernest T. Chargualaf, mayor of Merizo (Malesso). He stated that, when Guam’s marine preserves were established, there was supposed to be open rotation. He also said the Guam Department of Agriculture is spending more money addressing deer, which were imported to Guam, than it is on fish, which are a native food source.

Another impact is the ongoing competition with fishermen from FSM, who are allowed to reside in Guam and other areas of the United States as part of FSM’s Compact of Free Association with the United States. Fishermen also worried about potential impacts from the proposed listing of 66 species of coral under the ESA, Apra harbor dredging impacts on coral and fish habitat, and the ocean disposal site 15 miles offshore that may receive 1 million cubic yards of dredged material annually, among other concerns.

The Council responded to the public comments, scientific presentations and advisory group recommendations with the following actions, among others:

• To work with the appropriate Guam agencies to provide for adequate fishing opportunities through fishing infrastructure such as boat ramps in Ylig and Inarajan, as well as fishing aggregation devices (FADs), fishing platforms, fishing ramps and access areas in Hagatna, Agat and Merizo.

• To assist Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR) with issues related to FAD design, deployment and permits.

• To request that the Guam Department of Agriculture provide access to the Guam marine preserves for the University of Guam’s 4-H fish tagging project.

• To recommend that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) prioritize cooperative shark research in the Marianas and provide funding and support for proposals for shark depredation studies.

• To work with NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and Guam to convene a data collection information workshop for fish vendors in Guam and provide assistance in developing an incentive program to enhance fishery data collection participation.

• To support the efforts of and community-based management plan for coastal and marine resources developed by the Malesso community and to assist the mayor’s office in implementation efforts as needed as well as community outreach efforts.

• To facilitate dialogue with the village of Yigo, and other Guam villages in developing a plan to enhance the village fishing access infrastructure as well as to address safety at sea concerns.

• To work with the government of Guam on addressing the impacts of fishing by Compact of Free Association country residents.

Regarding Hawai`i fisheries, Alton Miyaska of the Hawai`i Division of Aquatic Resources reported on the decision by William Aila, chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, to open up six Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Areas (BRFAs) and to keep six BRFAs closed. Miyaska said that, regarding the BRFAs to remain closed, in four of them research has been conducted for seven years and the preliminary draft report is due by the end of the month and, in the other two areas, research may be initiated.

Ed Ebisui, Council vice chair from Hawai`i, thanked the State for opening six BRFAs, but said it didn’t go far enough. “We have the ability to be self-sufficient and we fish responsibly … but it doesn’t get us anywhere but more regulations. … I go to Costco and see imports from countries that are unregulated,” he said. “It is ironic that our imports encourage international illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.… The BRFAs have outlived their usefulness,” he added.

Subsequent to establishment of the BRFAs in the 1990s, both the State and federal fishery managers implemented total allowable catch for bottomfish in 2007 and annual catch limits since 2011.

“This whole thing is kapakahi (messed up),” said Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds. “Fishermen have come to the Council for the last five years, and we told them to wait until the Sate decides what to do and then the Council will review what the State does.” She noted that she was disappointed that the large BRFAs of Penguin Bank and Makapu`u, which are accessible to fishermen, would remain closed. She noted that for seven years the researcher studying the BRFAs has been given more than $300,000 a year upfront and hasn’t come up with a report.

Charles Daxboeck, chair of the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), said that the SSC members had asked the researcher on numerous occasions to show them his preliminary data. “There’s nothing,” Daxboeck said. “We told him how to do the study correctly, but it is too late.” Daxboeck noted that there is no baseline for the research and that is something the researcher should have done when the BRFAs were established. At this point, to establish a baseline, Daxboeck said, the areas should be opened and fished with both commercial and non-commercial fishermen reporting their catches.