Press Releases
Federal Management Efforts Support Commercial, Subsistence and Cultural Fisheries in the US Pacific Island (3/24/2017)
HONOLULU (24 March 2017) A bill introduced in the US Senate in mid-February to amend the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012 would negatively impact Hawaii’s commercial fisheries. It is generally estimated that 20 percent of Hawaii billfish catch (about 550,000 pounds)...
Federal Managers Seek to Retain US Fishery Access to US Waters (3/23/2017)
HONOLULU (23 March 2017) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council concluded its three- day meeting in Honolulu today with a suite of recommendations, many of which are focused on keeping US fishing grounds open to sustainably managed US fisheries. The...
Federal Managers to Consider Regulating Fisheries in the Expanded NWHI Marine Monument, Designating Thousands of Species as Ecosystem Components (3/20/2017)
HONOLULU (20 March 2017) Developing new fishing regulations for the expanded marine national monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and identifying marine species to be federally managed as components of the ecosystem are two key issues to be addressed...
Feds to Analyze Environmental Impacts of Western Pacific Longline Fisheries for Tuna (Feb. 16, 2017)
HONOLULU (16 Feb. 2017) The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced on Monday its intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to analyze the environmental impacts of U.S. Pacific Island deep-set tuna longline fisheries managed...
Fishery Council Releases Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (Feb. 7, 2017)
HONOLULU (7 Feb. 2017) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is pleasedto announce the release of the 2015 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. Pelagic fisheries are the single...
Fishery Council Sends Letters to Obama on Impacts of Marine National Monuments (15 Dec. 2016)
HONOLULU (15 Dec. 2016) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is hopeful that when President Obama arrives in Honolulu tomorrow, he will acknowledge the $100 million commercial fishing industry in Hawai‘i and the impacts on that fishery by his...
Press Release – Statewide Meetings Being Held on NWHI Marine Monument Fishing Regulations (Dec. 7, 2016)
HONOLULU (7 Dec. 2016) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council yesterday in Hilo began holding a series of public scoping meetings to prepare fishing measures for the newly expanded area of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) in the...
Press Release – No Change Recommended for US Pacific Territories’ Longline-Caught Bigeye Tuna Limits (October 14, 2016)
HONOLULU (14 Oct. 2016) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council yesterday in Honolulu recommended that the US Participating Territory longline-caught bigeye tuna limits remain at 2,000 metric tons (mt) per Territory for 2017. Pending approval by the...
Press Release – Statewide Meetings to Be Held on NWHI Marine Monument Fishing Regulations (Oct. 14, 2016)
HONOLULU (14 Oct. 2016) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, in Honolulu today, agreed to the drafting of amendments and regulations to the Hawai‘i and Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs) to accommodate provisions of the August 26th Presidential...
Press Release – Fishery Managers Consider NWHI Monument Measures, Bigeye Tuna Catch Limits (11 Oct. 2016)
HONOLULU (11 Oct. 2016) Standing Committees of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council are meeting today to consider management measures for fisheries in the expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands...