Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The director of the Department of Marine & Wildlife Resources, Taotasi Archie Soliai has written to the Deputy Ass’t Administrator for Regulatory Programs of NOAA, Samuel Rauch III on his concerns about American Samoa not being included in NOAA’s “Fisheries of the United States” Annual Report, pointing to “a longstanding pattern of marginalization for our community.”

DMWR director’s concerns comes on the heels of the 200th Meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council held in Honolulu, last month, where an Indigenous Committee to provide recommendations to federal authorities on cultural fishing rights and related issues was established.

“The exclusion of the port of Pago Pago in recent editions of the report is a disservice to the importance and significance of our local fisheries, both regionally and nationally,” Taotasi wrote in his letter dated Oct. 1, 2024.

“Historically, the port of Pago Pago has ranked highly in both landings and value. In fact, a 1999 Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council report identified American Samoa as the top port in the nation in both categories.

“At the time, there were two canneries in operation in the territory, which highlighted the critical role of our fisheries sector. This distinction, however, has not translated into consistent recognition in NOAA’s national fisheries reports.”

The DMWR director pointed out in “2018 and 2019, Council members from American Samoa emphasized this oversight to the NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) Administrator, which prompted the inclusion of Pago Pago in the 2020 Annual Report.”

He says that “unfortunately, this marked the only time our territory was acknowledged. As a result, the people and industries of American Samoa remain underrepresented in federal assessments, despite the fact that our port ranks third among state and territorial jurisdictions — behind only Alaska and Massachusetts.”

Taotasi notes this continuous exclusion of the American Samoa from the report, “despite its status as a significant and productive U.S. fisheries port, perpetuates a longstanding pattern of marginalization for our community.

“Moreover, it highlights an alarming lack of equity for underserved Pacific Island territories like ours.

“Given the critical role that fisheries play in our economy, culture, and livelihood, it is imperative that American Samoa is accurately represented a fairly assessed in all future reports.”

The DMWR director urged NOAA “to ensure that the port of Pago Pago is consistently included in NOAA's annual fisheries reports moving forward.”

He concludes, “The recognition of our contributions is not only a matter of accuracy but also an issue of fairness for the people and industries that depend on this vital sector.”

Review of the Fisheries of the United States Fisheries Report 2020 shows that the Port of Pago Pago, AS Commercial Fishery Landings and Value at Major U.S. Ports for 2019- 2020 was:

In Weight

2019 — 165 million lbs

2020 — 170 million lbs

In Value

2019 — $93 million

2020 — $108 million

In the 2020 report, Pago Pago Port is listed in 7th place as to how much U.S. commercial fish landed, while 5th place in U.S. dollar value.