Press Releases
Press Release – Nation’s Fishery Management Councils Recommend Ways to Support American Seafood, Improve Coordination with National Marine Fisheries Service (25 September 2020)
HONOLULU (25 September 2020) Leaders of the nation’s eight Regional Fishery Management Councils concluded their second biannual meeting in 2020 yesterday by videoconference. The Council Coordination Committee (CCC) meeting provides the Councils and heads of the NOAA...
Press Release – Federal Fishery Managers Agree to Longline Electronic Reporting, Preliminary Hawai’i Grey Snapper Limits (18 September 2020)
HONOLULU (18 September 2020) Yesterday, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council concluded its 2020 third-quarter meeting with the following recommendations and actions, among others. The Council is mandated by Congress to manage the fisheries offshore...
Press Release – Council Identifies Priorities for US Pacific Island Fishery Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief (16 September 2020)
HONOLULU (16 September 2020) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, meeting virtually this week, recommended actions the Trump Administration could take to promote seafood competitiveness and economic growth and to provide regulatory relief to...
Press Release – Recommendations Advance from Scientists to Federal Fishery Managers on Hawai’i Small Boat, Hawai’i Grey Snapper, Hawai’i and American Samoa Longline Fisheries (11 September 2020)
HONOLULU (11 September 2020) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and its Standing Committees will meet virtually by web conference (Webex) Sept. 14-17, 2020, to discuss management of federally regulated fisheries in offshore waters surrounding...
Press Release – Scientists to Set Acceptable Biological Catch for Main Hawaiian Islands Uku and Consider Hawaiʻi Small-Boat Fisheries Management Options (2 September 2020)
HONOLULU (2 September 2020) Scientists from throughout the Pacific will convene Sept. 9-10, 2020, to discuss fishery management issues and make management recommendations for fisheries in the Western Pacific Region. The meeting of the Scientific and Statistical...
Press Release – Council Holds First Virtual Fishers Forum Highlighting Fishermen Contributions to Science and Management (31 August 2020)
HONOLULU (31 August 2020) More than 100 people participated in the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council's first virtual Fishers Forum and review of Hawaiʻi small-boat fisheries management Aug. 27, 2020. The theme for the forum was fishermen,...
Press Release – Feds Advance Management of Main Hawaiian Islands Uku, Rebuilding Plan for American Samoa Bottomfish (25 June 2020)
HONOLULU (25 June 2020) During the months of May through July, Hawai'i fishermen and seafood consumers can rely on uku (grey snapper). While available year-round, this flavorful pink to white flesh fish, is most abundant during this time, which is when it spawns....
Press Release – Federal Fishery Managers Weigh-In on Marine National Monument draft plans, COVID-19 Impacts to Fisheries and More (24 June 2020)
HONOLULU (24 June 2020) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council concluded the first day of its three-day virtual meeting yesterday with discussions and recommendations regarding the work of partner agencies and program planning. Topics ranged from...
Press Release – International Fishery Experts Agree on Key Area-Based Management Concepts (19 June 2020)
The participants agreed that simply closing large sections of the ocean is not a silver bullet for managing blue water fisheries and their ecosystems and that marine protected areas (MPAs) are merely a single element within the tool box of area-based management....
Press Release – Feds Set to Address Management of Main Hawaiian Islands Uku, American Samoa Bottomfish and Longline Interactions with Protected Species (19 June 2020)
The uku (Aprion virescens, grey snapper) stock in the main Hawaiian Islands is not overfished nor subject to overfishing according to a NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. The fishery is considered to be data-rich, using a fishery-independent measure of...