Commercial fishing remains irrelevant in the CNMI

The majority of the people who have heard of the proposed Mariana Trench Marine Monument (MTMM) are happy to sign the petition in support of it. Many people and volunteers, who are taking an active interest in the well-being of their island and not sitting and waiting for the CNMI to collapse in on itself, are coming to the MTMM office in Garapan (across from Winchells) to learn more about it and to volunteer and collect signatures in support. The economic, scientific, environmental, and educational benefits are the greatest opportunity to drop into the lap of the CNMI. There are no economic trade-offs. There simply is no economic activity in the waters around the top three northernmost islands, except for the Taiwan fishing boats finning sharks. The idea of commercial fishing in the top three northern islands is an absurd excuse to oppose this great chance.

Let’s examine the rationale to maintain commercial fishing in those waters, far, far away. In 2001, a report was prepared for the National Marine Fisheries Service by Scott Miller, entitled: Economic Assessment of the Domestic Fisheries Development Potential of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. A reasonable person would have thought that the Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council (Wespac) would have concentrated its efforts in assisting the local small boat pelagic fisheries, as recommended in the report; and that they should have ignored commercial fishing. Commercial fisheries is simply not feasible, as costs are too high, the infrastructure is not there, and fish processing are obstacles competing with tourism. They do not catch enough fish to pay their electric bills.

This is an excerpt from the Executive Summary:
“. . .
Development of larger-scale domestic pelagic fisheries in the CNMI does not appear to be likely at this time. The primary constraints on such development are that the available infrastructure is not oriented toward commercial fishing and it is not cost competitive with the Port of Guam. Further, locally based pelagic vessels must compete with imported fish landed in large volumes in Guam. Any locally based transshipment operations would also have to be competitive with Guam operations. Large-scale fish processing development is not seen as a potential for development due to potential conflicts with the tourism sector, environmental concerns, and the fact that such operations are currently struggling in the region.

In light of the limited potential for development of larger-scale pelagic fisheries, it seems prudent that the CNMI government should focus its efforts on promoting the existing small boat pelagic fleet. Vessels operating in the existing pelagic fleet are generally profitable at this time. Increased activity, participation, and harvests in that fishery do not appear to be constrained by regulations, finance, infrastructure, or labor. The primary constraint on the local small boat pelagic fishery is its limited local market, which may have been negatively affected by a decline in the local economy. Significant import competition also limits that market and will likely continue to do so. The existing fishery could also be negatively affected if foreign fishing were allowed in the EEZ adjacent to the CNMI. However, the potential for development of foreign fishing is limited and the potential revenues that might be earned from foreign fishing do not warrant risking the viability of the existing small boat pelagic fishery. Thus, efforts to develop the pelagic fisheries of the CNMI should focus on improvements in the existing small boat pelagic fishery.”

The CNMI government ignores the report, listening to their Wespac advisors. They ignore the small boat operators and go for the commercial fishing at the expense of passing up a marine monument they could call their own.

In another report written in November 2002 for Wespac by Eleanor Kleiber, The Impact of the Regulations Resulting from the Events of September 11th on the Transshipment of Fresh Fish in the American Pacific.

Page 11 of the report discusses the value of fisheries to the CNMI:
“. . .
Northern Marianas

Fishery

Fishing is certainly not one of the major contributors to the economy of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Tourism and garment production compete for CNMI’s small amount of land while the seas remain largely undisturbed by large commercial fishing ventures.

Most of those who fish in CNMI do so from smaller boats that stay within 20 miles from land. The main take by the commercial, subsistence and recreational fishers is skipjack tuna, which is found relatively near the shore at certain times of the year. However, there are also some larger operations that target bottom fish (WpacFIN).

Despite the local fishers, CNMI must import fish so that the hotels and restaurants may guarantee its supply for tourists (Gourley, 2002). In 2000 CNMI imported almost 411 thousand pounds of fish, mostly from Guam and the FSM. (Central Statistics Division, CNMI, 2001, 153). If a local fisherperson has a good catch, they may not have any customers due to the previous agreements with importers (Gourley, 2002)

There is little incentive for Asian longline fishing vessels to port in Saipan because Guam is closer to the southern fishing grounds, and has better facilities as well as cheaper fuel and re-supply costs. At the moment there simply is not an adequate infrastructure for the transshipment of fresh tuna. (Gourley, 2002)

There have been a few attempts at transshipment in the past. In 1992 R/V SUN longline tried the transshipment business, but according to Gourley there was not enough experience or capital invested in the project, and they were unable to catch enough fish to make it profitable. . . .”

Times change and the garment industry is gone for all practical purposes, but commercial fishing, except for small pelagic boat fisheries, remains what it is in the CNMI: Irrelevant. All the fish are in the south and Guam is a better port. “Fishing is certainly not one of the major contributors to the economy of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.” Funny, how Gourley’s stance changes with the tides.

Let’s look forward to a bright new future for the CNMI with an economic, scientific, educational, and environmental stimulus package in the form of the Mariana Trench Marine Monument that may bring us worldwide positive media attention, tourists, jobs, and economic prosperity.