35 



serving, and utilizing their lands and resources. The Policy is intended to be flexible 

 and dynamic and to allow for variations and adjustments that are necessary with 

 each Native American government. 



The proposed amendment is needed so that Congress can repair a flaw in previous 

 legislation. The flaw is that peoples indigenous to the American-flag Pacific Islands 

 [AFPI] are not considered Native Americans. Yet just like the Alaska Natives, Cher- 

 okee, Leni Lenape, Seminole, Sioux, Apache, and other mainland tribes, the Hawai- 

 ians, Samoans, Chamorus, Carolinians, and other indigenous peoples were 

 unwillingly placed under the trust and authority of the USA. This legislation will 

 allow Pacific Islanders from Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern 

 Mariana Islands to have the same kind of self-determination that the FWS has 

 granted mainland Native Americans. Pacific Islanders deserve to be allowed to use 

 traditional community-based fishery projects to manage their fisheries and have 

 those practices approved and supported by U.S. law, just as they are for mainland 

 Native Americans. 



Fishery management in Samoa today is a form of co-management between the 

 local villages and the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR). The 

 matai system of the village council has responsibility for the affairs of the village. 

 The village matai are responsible for wise management of their resources, particu- 

 larly their reefs and nearshore areas which historically provided a bounty of fish. 

 In addition to the local Samoan style of matai management is the more general re- 

 sponsibility of the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources. DMWR addresses 

 technically complex issues such as, impacts upon reef and offshore fisheries, and 

 habitat restoration. The DMWR works cooperatively with villages to manage reef 

 fisheries and is the principal agent for conservation of offshore fishery resources. 



My extensive experience both at DMWR and the Western Pacific Council (Council) 

 leads me to believe that, iust as the DMWR aids Samoan villages with their fishery 

 management, the Council would be well suited to aid us in co-management of our 

 fishery resources if the Magnuson Act is amended to allow community-based fishery 

 development programs throughout the American-flag Pacific islands [AFPI]. 



If indigenous Pacific islanders intend to manage fishery projects, they will need 

 direct monetary and technical assistance. They will also need aid in developing, 

 managing, and monitoring their fisheries. 



Development of a fishery requires direct financial, training, and management as- 

 sistance. Samoans entering such a contemporary fishery will need specialized train- 

 ing, with equipment obtained through financial assistance and skills derived from 

 the technical assistance. A training program must be created to translate cash and 

 technical manuals into effective, knowledgeable fishermen. The indigenous commu- 

 nity fishery projects must find an appropriate agency to coordinate the technical as- 

 sistance program. 



As the policymaking institution for fishery management within the U.S. western 

 Pacific EEZs, the Council would be an excellent resource, working in cooperation 

 with state or territorial agencies like DMWR, for these developing fisheries. These 

 groups, especially the Council, are equipped with all the necessary fishery informa- 

 tion and background to assist the indigenous fishery development projects. The 

 Council has been always worked toward sustainable development of its fisheries, as 

 mandated by the Magnuson Act. 



The Council will also be helpful to the community fishery with management direc- 

 tion, if this amendment is included in the Magnuson Act. Although it is true that 

 many of the Samoan traditional conservation measures like area and seasonal clo- 

 sures have been in existence much longer than the Council, the Council will be able 

 to provide important assistance in communication and in dealing with contemporary 

 problems. A traditional community-based fishery program certainly will not have a 

 comprehensive communications network. The Council will be able to provide infor- 

 mation concerning sources of additional funding, gear development, and the coordi- 

 nation of important information from other agencies and groups. The communica- 

 tion structure that the Council will provide to these community projects is crucial. 

 The Council, will, for instance, be able to provide the communities with information 

 like an impending fishkill or the recent rise of ciguatoxicity (poisoned fish) in a par- 

 ticular species. It will also transmit information the opposite direction, and be able 

 to inform this Committee on the needs and status of the traditional community fish- 

 eries. 



In short, the Council's resources would be almost as big a blessing to the indige- 

 nous fishermen of the American-flag Pacific Islands as the ocean resources they will 

 be managing. The Council, together in consultation with appropriate local agencies, 

 would be indispensable co-managers. We Samoans are a seafaring people who have 

 always depended heavily on our fishery resources. We have a long history of off- 

 shore and nearshore fishing and fish are important to our culture and its continuity 



