Press Releases
Press Release: Council Offended by Removal of Last Vestiges of US Ocean Waters Open to Fishing (23 June 2022)
HONOLULU (23 June 2022) The Council supported permitting non-commercial fishing and prohibiting commercial fishing in the Monument Expansion Area of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) (50 to 200 nautical miles). Council members were infuriated because...
Press Release – Western Pacific Federal Managers Support Conservation Definition and Request Better Coordination with NOAA on ESA Biological Opinions (22 June 2022)
HONOLULU (22 June 2022) Today, the Council requested NOAA and the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) adopt a Council Coordination Committee (CCC) area-based management subcommittee’s proposed definition of “conservation area” to identify qualifying regions in...
Press Release: Council Concerned With Lack of Support for Western Pacific Fishing Communities (21 June 2022)
HONOLULU (21 June 2022) On the first day of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council meeting, members learned that while the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) FY2022 budget increased this year, the Council’s annual request was reduced by $343K....
Press Release: Western Pacific Scientists Support No Jeopardy Determination for Oceanic Whitetip Sharks Caught in Region’s Bottomfish Fisheries (17 June 2022)
HONOLULU (17 June 2022) The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) supported part of a draft bottomfish fishery biological opinion (BiOp) that concluded fisheries in Hawai‘i, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam are not likely to...
Press Release – Fishery Management Council to Consider Area-Based Management Issues and Draft Fishing Regulations for Proposed NWHI Sanctuary (17 June 2022)
HONOLULU (17 June 2022) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will meet June 21 to 23, 2022, to discuss President Biden’s “30x30” initiative and a proposed marine national monument expansion, draft fishing regulations for the proposed Northwestern...
Press Release – Scientists Advise Fishery Management Council on Area-Based Management and Development of a University of Hawaii Fisheries Program (15 June 2022)
HONOLULU (15 June 2022) The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee discussed a report written by the area-based management subcommittee of the Council Coordination Committee (CCC) to address the Biden Administration’s America the Beautiful initiative. The...
Press Release – Western Pacific Scientists Discuss 2021 Fishery Reports and Bottomfish Fishery Management Changes (14 June 2022)
HONOLULU (14 June 2022) The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) at its meeting today discussed highlights from the 2021 Annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Reports. The reports cover the performance of Council-managed fisheries in...
Press Release – Scientists to Discuss 2021 Fishery Status, Protected Species Studies and Deep-Sea Mining in the Western Pacific (9 June 2022)
HONOLULU (9 June 2022) Scientists across the Western Pacific Region will meet June 14 to 16, 2022, to provide advice and comments to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council on the 2021 fishery status reports, Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations,...
Press Release – Federal Fishery Managers Continue Reducing Impacts to Protected Species in the Pacific with Required Gear Change (24 May 2022)
HONOLULU (24 May 2022) An industry-led conservation measure to reduce impacts to oceanic whitetip sharks is the latest example in a long history of bottom-up federal fishery management through the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. Starting May 31,...
Press Release – Western Pacific Council Supports Protection of False Killer Whales, Leads US Fisheries Interests in Pacific (23 March 2022)
HONOLULU (23 March 2022) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council discussed today its position on the future direction for the False Killer Whale (FKW) Take Reduction Plan and agreed to not support adoption of weaker hooks under the Plan due to the...