American Samoa Governor Lolo Moliga is calling on the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to reconsider the 9 October closure of the tuna purse seine fishery in the "Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine" (ELAPS), or risk hurting the purse seiners and tuna processors based in American Samoa “who depend on the catch from those boats.”
In letter dated 3 October and sent to Michael Tosatto, the regional administrator for NMFS, Moliga said the move was “regrettable” and should be corrected. Moliga requested in the letter that NMFS consider the negative impacts it would impose on those who rely on the fishery’s catch for their livelihoods.
NMFS closed off the purse fishing in the ELAPS after vessels reached the 2019 limit. The agency said the action was in accordance with the provisions of a conservation and management measure adopted by the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
Moliga argued that the closure should have also provided a remedy for American Samoa to avoid severe impact on its economy. In his letter, the governor noted several alternatives NMFS should consider, including utilizing the small islands development state (SIDS) designation of American Samoa to exempt U.S.-flagged purse seiners delivering 50 percent or more of their catch to American Samoa from the ELAPS limits.
“Why can’t American Samoa use its SIDS status for relief? Why is American Samoa being treated differently from the other SIDS?” Moliga wrote.
He also pointed out that an earlier Supplemental Information Report (SIR) on National Environmental Policy Act Analyses stated that NMFS “will consider proposing regulations that mitigate adverse economic impacts of purse seine fishing restrictions on the U.S. territories, to the extent consistent with U.S. obligations under the Convention, and that it is considering proposing regulations that recognize that in the context of implementing Commission decisions, fisheries associated with the U.S. territories are distinct from the purse seine fisher of the United States.”
Moliga cited that, because of the closure, the remaining regional cannery will be forced to buy fish from China because the U.S. flagged fishing vessels are prohibited from fishing the high seas and fishing grounds closer to American Samoa.
“China’s dominance over the fishing industry is becoming pervasive throughout the Pacific and American Samoa is feeling the worst negative impact of NOAA’s and NMFS’s policy decisions,” he said.
Photo courtesy of the American Samoa Government website
