Honolulu, HAWAII — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is pleased to announce the availability of the 2022 traditional lunar calendars for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam and Hawaiʻi.

The Council has produced traditional lunar calendars for American Samoa since 2007. These calendars follow the traditional Samoan calendar months and are designed to be a resource for the community to learn about the moon phases and their relationship with the tides.

The 2022 Amerika Samoa Lunar Calendar features 13 pelagic and bottomfish species managed under the Council’s Fishery Ecosystem Plans. Each month gives common, Samoan and scientific names for each species, along with life history and fishery information, current regulations, management and stock status, and a delicious recipe to enjoy.

The stock status assessments provide information where a stock is experiencing overfishing when more fish are being removed than is sustainable, and is overfished when the stock population size is too low and may not be able to recover.

BACKGROUND

The calendars aim to raise awareness about traditional ecological knowledge and enhance community involvement in fishery management. Council staff and regional Advisory Panels collaborated to highlight the 13 species managed under the Council’s Fishery Ecosystem Plans.

For more information or to request a printed version of a calendar (available in limited numbers), please contact the Council at info@wpcouncil.org. Tell us the name and quantity of your requested calendar, along with your mailing address.

Calendars are also available to download and print by linking to them from samoanews.com or visiting 

www.wpcouncil.org/educational-resources/lunar-calendars