61 



WESTERN 



PACIFIC 



REGIONAL 



FISHERY 



MANAGEMENT 



COUNCIL 



GENERAL BACKGROUND 



The Magnusen Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 established US jurisdiction over 

 fisheries in federal waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ, from 3-200 nautical miles offshore) and 

 created eight quasi-federal regional councils to oversee fisheries in their respective areas. The Western 

 Pacific Council is the policy-making organization for the management of fisheries in the EEZ around 

 American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, the Northern Mariana Islands and other US possessions in the Pacific 

 (see map on reverse), an area of nearly 1.5 million square miles. 



Sixteen Council members represent the fishing community and government agencies of the region: Half 

 of the members are designated territorial, state and federal officials with fishery management 

 responsibilities. The others are appointed by the US Secretary of Commerce to represent commercial and 

 recreational fishing interests. Several committees (Scientific and Statistical Committee, Fishery 

 Management Plan Teams, Advisory Panel and diverse ad hoc groups) provide advice on all aspects of the 

 region's fisheries, and suggest management strategies. The Council Staff coordinates the activities of the 

 Council and its advisory committees. Meetings of the Council and its committees are open to the public, 

 and the public is actively encouraged to participate in the policy-making process. Meetings and hearings 

 are held at locations throughout the Council's area of jurisdiction. 



! main task of the Council is to protect fishery resources while maintaining opportunities for domestic 

 commercial and recreational fishing at sustainable levels of effort and yield. To accomplish this, the 

 Council identifies fish species and species groups that are in danger of overfishing, or otherwise need 

 management. With the help of its member agencies, the Council then analyzes the biological; 

 environmental, economic and social factors affecting these fisheries, and prepares and modifies, as 

 needed, fishery management plans and regulations for domestic and foreign fishing in the region. The 

 regulations are enforced jointly by agents of the National Marine Fisheries Service, deputized state agents 

 and US Coast Guard. The Council encourages cooperative fishery management among the island 

 governments throughout the Pacific. 



The Council currently has four fishery management plans (FMPs). The FMP for Crustaceans (lobster) was 

 implemented in 1983, and has been amended seven times as conditions in the fishery have changed. 

 The most important fishery operates in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, targeting spiny and slipper 

 lobster. That fishery operates under a system of limited entry, closed seasons and harvest quotas. The 

 FMP for Precious Corals has also been effective since 1 983, and has been amended twice. At present, 

 there is little or no domestic harvest of precious corals in the region. The FMP for Bottomfish and 

 Seamount Groundfish has been in place since 1986, and has been amended four times. A limited entry 

 program exists for the bottomfish fishery in part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The FMP for 

 Pelagic species was implemented in 1987, and has been amended seven times. The Pelagics FMP 

 originally banned drift gillnet fishing in the EEZ, and placed restrictions on foreign fishing for non-tuna 

 species in the EEZ. There are closed areas for longline fishing around Hawaii and Guam, and a limited 

 entry program for Hawaii-based longliners. Pelagic fisheries in the region are the most important, both in 

 dings and revenues. The Council is working toward regional and international cooperation regarding 

 iery monitoring and research on important pelagic species, so that these fisheries can be properly 

 managed. 



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