Whales on the Line, I: Last year, the Hawai`i-based longline tuna fleet hooked five false killer whales inside the Exclusive Economic Zone around Hawai`i. All of the animals were determined to have been mortally or seriously injured (M/SI) by the … Continued
PRI Planning: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are inviting public input as a first step toward developing a management plan for the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. The monument, which covers almost half … Continued
The 189th meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council convened last month, amid a spate of unfavorable publicity, much of which dealt with the council’s lack of transparency. On the day before the full council meeting, the council’s Executive and … Continued
For years, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council has sought to obtain permission from the federal government to authorize the killing of green sea turtles (honu, in Hawaiian) for cultural purposes. The turtles around the Hawaiian archipelago are classified as a Distinct Population … Continued
By Patricia Tummons Since its passage in 1976, the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) has governed fishing in the federal waters of the United States. This is the law that established the governing framework of eight regional councils that are to recommend … Continued
By Patricia Tummons In comments on proposed changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council has objected to a provision that would have at least one council member be free of any financial ties to fishing interests … Continued
By Patricia Tummons For years, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council has doled out millions of dollars to U.S.-flagged island territories from the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund. But the way in which the funds have been distributed has always … Continued
When the virtual meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council opened on September 21, chair Archie Soliai led off with a Christian prayer. Although the council is a federal body, no one objected. Rather, participants on the WebEx screen … Continued
Bottlenose bullies. That pretty much describes the behavior of some of the bottlenose dolphins that frequent the waters near Makako Bay, just north of the Kona airport. Up until about 2006, most of the dolphins in the area were the much smaller … Continued
As the working group convened by the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the Western Pacific Fishery ManagementCouncil developed its criticisms of measures intended to reduce the bycatch of false killer whales by the Hawai‘i longline fleet, actual interactions between the longliners and … Continued