American Tunaboat Association (ATA) executive director Brian Hallman says the loss of fishing grounds for the U.S. flagged purse seiner fleet in the waters of Kiribati and on the high seas makes fishing for the purse seine fleet more expensive.

However, Hallman didn’t have the specific costs for losses to each individual purse seiner boat, which are members of the San Diego-based association.

The U.S. National Oceania and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has already put in place new fishing restrictions — from June 15 to the end of the year — which have closed fishing within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and on the high seas for the U.S. purse seiner fishing fleet.

Among the concerns which have surfaced from the closure of these fishing grounds, is a shortage of fish supply for both StarKist Samoa and Tri Marine International, whose local operations include Samoa Tuna Processors Inc., cannery and a U.S. flagged purse seiner fleet.

Responding to Samoa News inquiries, Hallman confirmed that all member vessels of ATA, which represents all of the US flag purse seine vessels fishing in the western Pacific Ocean, are affected by this closure implemented by NOAA.

“All 37 US flag purse seine vessels fish on the high seas,” he pointed out.

Asked where the ATA member vessels are now fishing due to the closure, Hallman said the vessels are fishing in the waters of Pacific island countries — except for Kiribati.

“These other waters…  are open to US vessels under the South Pacific Tuna Treaty between the US and the Pacific island nations,” he said. However, he noted that “some of these areas are far away from American Samoa.”

Asked if any ATA purse seiner vessels fish for the local canneries, Hallman said approximately one half of the ATA member vessels fish out of American Samoa and land their catches here.

Samoa News also asked Hallman for any information on how much a boat owner spends on outfitting the purse seiner — with crew and supplies — before heading out to fish. Additionally, how much a boat owner now spends to fish elsewhere instead of the usual fishing grounds that are now closed to the U.S. purse seiner fleet.

Hallman said he was not in a position to answer the questions regarding vessel costs, “but I can say that the loss of the fishing grounds in Kiribati and the high seas makes fishing more expensive for the US fleet.”

“How much more expensive will depend on the operating strategies and situations facing each individual vessel,” he said.

Tri Marine has already petitioned NOAA to, among other things, issue a rule exempting from the new fishing rules any US flagged purse seiner vessel which, pursuant to contract or declaration of intent, delivers or will deliver at least 50 percent of its catch to tuna processing facilities based in American Samoa.

Tri Marine chief operations officer Joe Hamby also told Samoa News that the two local canneries are facing “a potential shortage” of fish supply and may be forced to import expensive fish from refrigerated cargo ships, due to NOAA’s new fishing restrictions. (See Samoa News edition on July 23 for details.)