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Limits for longline-caught bigeye tuna in 2022

Nat'l Marine Fisheries Service logo
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has specified a 2022 limit of 2,000 metric tons of longline-caught bigeye tuna for each U.S. Pacific territory of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)/

NMFS said it will allow each territory to allocate up to 1,500 tons in 2022 to U.S. longline fishing vessels through specified fishing agreements that meet established criteria.

The overall allocation limit among all territories, however, may not exceed 3,000 tons.  And as an accountability measure, NMFS will monitor, attribute, and restrict - if necessary - catches of longline-caught bigeye tuna, including catches made under a specified fishing agreement. These catch limits and accountability measures support the long-term sustainability of fishery resources of the U.S. Pacific Islands.

The final specifications are effective Jan. 28, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022, according to the NMFS notice, which released yesterday and posted with more details on the government portal (www.regulations.gov).