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Wespac Science Advisors Caution Against Repercussions From Fishing Regulations

6Dec

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Wespac Science Advisors Caution Against Repercussions From Fishing Regulations

Science advisors to the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC, Wespac) are expressing concern about what they view as potential negative unintended consequences of adding more fishing limits in the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands (PRI). Wespac issued its comments in a Nov. 29 statement after the council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) was tasked with evaluating current fishing regulations in the PRI. SSC members reaffirmed their recommendation from the September meeting that existing regulations are sufficient to meet objectives of the proposed PRI National Marine Sanctuary. The SSC found no scientific evidence to support additional fishing regulations and cautioned that further limits on the U.S. fleet could have negative impacts on the region. SSC member...

WPFMC Voices Concerns Over Pacific Remote Islands Sanctuary

A proposed marine sanctuary in the Pacific Remote Islands (PRI) is being strongly criticized by the chairman of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) as potentially devastating to the economy of American Samoa. “This top-down approach to regulating fisheries is wrong,” Council Chair Will Sword told the Council Coordination Committee (CCC) during its Oct. 11-13 meeting in Alexandria, Va. “It is completely opposite of the [Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act] process where the bottom-up approach is mandatory.” Sword said the Biden administrations executive orders on equity and environmental justice goals “are rubbish if this sanctuary proposal becomes a reality, for there will be no commercial fishing.” The WPFMC, commenting in an Oct. 23 s...

Ocean-Based Climate Policies Under Fire

Commercial fisheries entities, including the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) and Alaska’s Coastal Villages Region Fund are voicing new opposition to new marine sanctuaries, citing potential adverse impact to current commercial fisheries. Testimony presented to the WPFMC in Honolulu in mid-September contends that the conservation plan for the new sanctuary is already satisfied by existing fishing regulations, the publication Seafood Source reported. Rep. Paul Gosar, R- AZ, chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said that the marine protected sanctuaries plan was done without due consideration to negative consequences for the economy, environment and thousands of working Americans. The Biden administrati...