WESPAC ends Saipan meeting with no action on recommendations

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council wrapped up the second and last day of its 153rd Council meeting session on Saipan on Tuesday without taking any action on its recommendations regarding fishing regulations for the three marine national monuments in the region, among other important things.

Council members were joined by National Marine Fisheries Service acting administrator Sam Rauch and met with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial who just arrived from a three-week meeting in the U.S. mainland.

The council, which is responsible for drafting fishing regulations in the Rose Atoll, Marianas Trench, and Pacific Remote Islands marine national monuments, said in a statement that it was able to listen to presentations and public comments for the Marianas Trench marine monument during its stay on island.

It said that assurances from the Bush administration, particularly by Council on Environmental Quality chair James Conaughton, “are not being honored.” Senior policy adviser John Joyner and CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources Secretary and council member Arnold Palacios maintain that the Commonwealth was informed that it would have management authority, rights to access, and be allowed traditional indigenous fishing in the Marianas Trench monument.

“Joyner and Palacios postulate that these promises are not being honored due to the fact that they were not included in the presidential proclamation that created the monument. CNMI residents compared this to the U.S. taking of the marine waters around the CNMI because “waters” was not specifically mentioned in the Covenant between the then sovereign Northern Mariana Islands and the [U.S.],” the council added.

Council executive director Kitty Simonds, in an interview on Monday, also pointed out that one consideration in these marine monument talks is the advice of the federal government on capping the expenses for their “customer exchange” system, which refers to having the subsistence fishing catches exchanged for other products such as fuel to cover expenses for the fishing trip.

But Simonds said a survey conducted by the National Fisheries Resource Center showed that those who are fishing in the monument area are not doing it to make money. “As it turns out, most of the motivation is people fish because they want to fish,” she told Saipan Tribune.

Citing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Simonds assured that recommendations not just from the scientists but also from the local communities will be taken into account in their decision-making process.

When it reconvenes on March 8 and 9 at the Hilton Guam Resort and Spa, the council is expected to discuss the annual catch limits or ACLs for the Marianas archipelago, which covers both the CNMI and Guam.

All federally managed fish are required to have ACLs by 2012 but the lack of catch data and life history information of fish species have made the 2012 ACLs for the Marianas fisheries “artificially low,” which may harm fishing communities, according to the council.

The council is also looking at helping the CNMI develop its aquaculture industry and the possibility of easing the measures restricting vessels greater than 40 feet in length from fishing for bottomfish in waters from 0 to 50 miles from shore around the southern islands.

Issues on sharks and military activities affecting fishing communities in the Marianas will also be part of the council’s agenda during its meeting in Guam.

For more information, visit www.wpcouncil.org, email info.wpcouncil@noaa.gov or call (808) 522-8220, (671) 287-9482 or (670 688-6400.