News + Announcements
Spring 2023 Pacific Island Fishery News
Click here for printable PDF. Newsletter articles listed in order 1 - Potential Economic and Political Fallout of Tuna Fishery Closures in Proposed PRIA Sanctuary 8 - WPRFMC Out in the Community 2 - 194th Council Meeting Highlights 9 - New Licensing System for...
Council letter to Nicole LeBoeuf, NOAA NOS providing comments on the Proposed Designation of a National Marine Sanctuary for the PRIAs (June 2, 2023)
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council's response to the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Notice of Intent to Conduct Scoping and To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Proposed Designation of a National Marine Sanctuary for...
FR Notice: Marine Conservation Plan for Pacific Insular Areas other Than American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands (May 26, 2023)
AGENCY:National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION:Notice of agency decision. SUMMARY:NMFS announces approval of a Marine Conservation Plan (MCP) for Pacific Insular Areas other than American...
Kaua‘i Small Boat Fishery Diversification Project Report now available (May 23, 2023)
Molly Lutcavage and Clayward Tam, Pacific Islands Fisheries Group, recently completed a Kaua‘i Small Boat Fishery Diversification Project sponsored by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The objective of the project was to identify and evaluate a range of possible...
Request for Comments: MSA National Standard 4, 8, and 9 Guidelines (due September 12, 2023)
AGENCY:National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR); request for comments. SUMMARY: NMFS is publishing this ANPR to alert the public of potential future...
Press Release – Fishery Management Council Recommends NOAA Support Local Communities in Hawai‘i (18 April 2023)
HONOLULU (18 April 2023) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council continues its efforts to persuade NOAA officials to allow Native Hawaiian fishing to recover costs related to their permitted fishing in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). The...
Request for Comments: 2023 U.S. Territorial Longline Bigeye Tuna Catch Limits (comments due by April 28, 2023)
AGENCY:National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION:Proposed specifications; request for comments. SUMMARY:NMFS proposes a 2023 limit of 2,000 metric tons (t) of longline-caught bigeye tuna for each...
Press Release: Issues of Fairness, Equity and Respect Dominate Fishery Management Council Meeting (4 April 2023)
HONOLULU (4 April 2023) Last week, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s completed its 194th meeting in the Mariana Islands. In Guam, the meeting began with a cultural blessing ceremony led by Para I Prubechu’n I Taotao’ta. The members called on...
Letter from Governor Mauga to POTUS Biden opposing the Proposed Designation of Marine Sanctuary for the Pacific Remote Islands, Mar. 30, 2023
Letter from American Samoa Governor Mauga to POTUS Biden opposing the Proposed Designation of Marine Sanctuary for the Pacific Remote Islands, Mar. 30, 2023. Click here for the letter. Get Connected, Stay Involved!
Press Release – CNMI Governor Palacios Urges President Biden to Respect Pacific Island Communities at Fishery Management Council Meeting (28 March 2023)
SAIPAN (28 March 2023) CNMI Governor Arnold Palacios opened the 194th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council yesterday expressing his views on President Biden’s direction to the NOAA secretary of commerce to consider designating a national...