Regional
HONOLULU — (March 25, 2026) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WestPac) today advanced follow-up work on fisheries science and management priorities, reaffirmed its seafood Executive Order recommendations from its September 2025 meeting, and took action on shark depredation...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — In an unsurprising move, given the Trump administration’s Presidential action comprising Executive Order 14276, "Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness”, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WestPac) has taken final action to restore commercial...
HONOLULU — (March 18, 2026) At its meeting yesterday, the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council reviewed a preliminary National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) risk/value matrix intended to align science and management priorities under...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Pacific Island governments are urging their citizens not to panic about the supply of fuels amid the conflict in the Middle East between Israel, the United States and Iran.
The conflict has resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Overnight and early Wednesday morning, Hawaiian Electric restored power to more than 1,500 customers across Maui County, Hawaiʻi Island, and Oʻahu who were impacted by the powerful Kona low storm.
Power restoration is taking longer in areas hit by heavy downpours that...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A new sailing program is helping Pacific and Māori reconnect with traditional voyaging knowledge while building confidence on the water.
The Tagaloa Sailing Project is run by Moana Wayfinders Trust and trains participants to become sailing instructors using a mix of...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — New Zealand police will work more with counterparts in Samoa and Tonga to try and stop the flow of cocaine and methamphetamine through the region.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon raised the problem during his visit this week to Samoa where both countries have signed a...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attempted to call off the bestowal of the chiefly title Tuisinavemaulumotootua in Apia after late-night concerns and social media backlash, Samoa’s Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt revealed on Monday.
According...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — New Zealand and Samoa have vowed to do more to combat the flow of drugs through the Pacific, which prime minister Christopher Luxon says has become a "super highway".
Luxon and his Samoa counterpart La'aulialemalietoa Polataivao Leuatea Fosi Schmidt have signed...
HONOLULU — (March 13, 2026) From monument fishing regulations to false killer whale science and Hawai‘i fishery catch limits, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will take up several key issues at its March 17 to 19, 2026, meeting in...