Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Concerned with the proposed federal bottomfish rebuilding plan for American Samoa, which will reduce this local fishery, the governor is seeking U.S National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) assistance to develop an economic plan that includes compensation due to loss of income to ease the burden on local fishermen.

Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga’s made the request in a Mar. 21 letter, to Mike Tosatto, the Regional Administrator of NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office in Honolulu. The governor reiterated his concern of the NMFS bottomfishing rebuilding plan that proposes very low catch limits for local fishermen.

“As Governor of the people of American Samoa, it is my duty to promote the economic and cultural well-being of my people and I am very concerned how this plan is going to impact our fishing community and our way of life,” the governor wrote.

Last month, NMFS issued a notice, which proposes to implement a rebuilding plan that includes the Annual Catch Limit (ACL) and accountability measures for the “overfished bottomfish stock complex in American Samoa.”

NMFS said this action is necessary to end overfishing and rebuild the overfished stock consistent with the requirements of the federal Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

Public comments were accepted by Mar. 21 and the proposed ACL plan of 5,000 pounds is significantly lower than the average of 13,000 pounds per year.

In his comment-letter, the governor recalled a special meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council last October, where he expressed support for the 5,000 pounds catch limit as it was shown to be the best option to rebuild bottomfish stocks.

“However, it was a support loaded with concerns of its impacts for the immediate present. I reiterate my serious concern on stock status as assessed by federal scientists in contrast to our fishermen who have daily, intimate knowledge of our fisheries,” the governor wrote.

Lemanu noted that “coming out from the rebuilding mode would be a priority direction” and he looks forward to the 2023 stock assessment. He noted that a bottomfish data evaluation of the fishery had been conducted by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) in coordination with the ASG Marine and Wildlife Resources Department.

“This is an important step in the right direction,” he said and noted that what’s even more important were the data evaluation workshops conducted with the fishermen in Tutuila and Manu’a by the Council, PIFSC and DMWR.

He commended this “great initiative as this incorporates local fishermen perspectives and apparently has provided initial rectifications of our creel surveys” The governor claims that local workshops have been the first of its kind in the bottomfish fishery.

“This is the kind of local and federal collaboration that had been lacking for a long time,” he said. “Rectifications on the bottomfish data would hopefully provide a healthier picture of our stocks.”

According to the governor, “we must prepare for the impending economic hurt for the local fishermen given the prescribed low catch limit for bottomfish” set for American Samoa.

“We need to ease the economic burden of the bottomfish rebuilding plan to the fishing community. We seek NMFS assistance to develop a community economic development plan that would ease such burden,” he pointed out.

He explained that such an “economic plan would include financial compensation due to loss of income, alia boat repair assistance, fishing infrastructure assistance, improvement of boat and fishing technology and fisheries diversification.”

Lemanu told Tosatto that “bottomfish has been integral to our Samoan culture for thousands of years. It has nourished our family, our village and our community. It is an important part of our cultural identify and ceremonies that bind our families and communities together.

“For these reasons, we need the support of your office so that bottomfish can continue to maintain our families, community and our culture,” the governor concluded.

DMWR director Taotasi Archie Soliai also submitted a comment letter to NMFS saying that the proposed ACL plan will have a big negative impact on local fishermen who depend on this fishery.

And he outlined five issues in American Samoa’s request asking that NMFS — among other things —  nullify the rebuilding plan of 10 years if the next stock assessment provides a healthier outlook of our bottomfish stocks and assist DMWR in developing a bottomfish community development plan to cushion the impact of fishery economic and cultural loss.  (See Samoa News edition Mar. 24 for details.)

Specific details of the NMFS proposal is on the federal portal at (www.regulations.gov).

One local fisherman, involved in bottomfishing told Samoa News last Friday that he agrees with the governor and Taotasi’s argument that the proposed ACL limitation is low for “a fishery that has limited number, small number of participants” – and the NMFS said there are only 20 of them.

“I’m hopeful that NMFS and the federal government will provide some incentive for this fishery under the new restrictions,” said the long time fisherman, who only agreed to a brief Samoa News phone interview, as long as he is not quoted by name. (Samoa News had contacted the fisherman.)