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talking chiefs as selected. Together, these matai govern the affairs 

 of the village. 



The village matai and tautai are responsible for wise manage- 

 ment of their marine resources. Traditional Samoan reef manage- 

 ment is rich in customs and taboos which control who may fish on 

 the reef, how much fish may be taken, when they may occur, and 

 so on. These measures have many parallels to the precautionary 

 approach underlying the Magnuson Act, they just work on a local 

 level. 



Since before Western contract, and until the late 1950's and 

 1960's, American Samoa fishermen pursued tuna in offshore waters 

 using specialized canoes and gear custom-fitted to the crew and 

 tautai. Mahi-mahi, wahoo, and Dillfish were also caught in the open 

 sea with handlines and trolling gear. Additionally, sharks were 

 noosed as recently as 1968 and continue to be caught with contem- 

 porary gear, which has come to dominate most of Samoa's fisheries. 

 Upon returning from offshore sharkfishing expeditions, the fisher- 

 man are still met by villagers who have prepared for the culturally 

 important ceremony cutting and distribution of sharks. 



Handlining for bottomfisn has been, and still is, a culturally im- 

 portant practice of American Samoan fishermen. Bottomfisn are 

 culturally important species for formal presentations and events. 

 Lobsters are also still caught by Samoans and still have important 

 cultural and historic value both for consumption and presentation 

 at various ceremonies. 



Present fishing is sound in practice. Our bottomfish fisher, for 

 example, had in 1994 a catch per unit of effort statistic known as 

 CPUE of 89 percent of the estimated CPUE of a virgin stock. Our 

 pelagic fishery has had a stable CPUE in the past few years. Many 

 of our Samoan fishermen feel concerned that the crustacean fishery 

 should be protected and that all commercial exploitation of lobster 

 should remain small scale and limited to Samoan residents. 



Full-time commercial fishermen often target specific species for 

 certain feasts and ceremonies, distributing fish to relatives and 

 other villagers when needed. Large fish when caught are often pre- 

 sented to the village by commercial and recreational fishermen. Sa- 

 moan cultural values related to the competitive expression of 

 strength, bravery, and service continue to be displayed in the effort 

 and catch distribution by all types of fishermen. Chiefs of various 

 rank continue to receive formal presentations of management spe- 

 cies in a number of villages. Management species continue to be 

 targeted and purchased in local markets for culturally and reli- 

 gious important events. 



The great majority of active commercial, quasi-commercial, and 

 recreational fishermen in Samoa are native Samoans. We feel very 

 strongly that the offshore fish in our waters are our fish, to be used 

 as we decide. We would like to see our fisheries carefully devel- 

 oped, yet we would also like them to follow traditional and modi- 

 fied cultural rules and customs that will ensure proper conserva- 

 tion and management of our fish stocks. We do not want outside 

 profit-taking fishing to damage our fish stocks, destroy current 

 wise-use practices, or prevent sound management of our stocks. 



With commercialization and the introduction of motorboats, and 

 large canner boats with accommodations so small and uncomfort- 



