Although Japan, South Korea, China, the United States and other countries agreed in 2013 to catch less big-eye tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, U.S. long-line fishermen are raising their catch quotas through side agreements with Pacific island territories, says Civil Beat. Many environmentalists argue big-eye tuna is facing collapse.
Federal regulations allow U.S. fishermen to buy quota shares from other Pacific islands including the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam and American Samoa — none of which fish bigeye commercially. Combined, these contracts have the ability to double the annual U.S. bigeye limit of 3,554 tons, which Hawaiian boats already reached back in July. Japan, China and South Korea all have far higher quotas than the United States.
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Westpac), a 16-member international group, is also meeting this week to discuss whether to expand the quotas, says Civil Beat.
At the meeting, Westpac representatives will debate three options: Either they can stick with the current agreement of allowing the U.S. to use up to 1,000 tons of the three territories’ (CNMI, Guam and American Samoa) allotment; permit the U.S. to take all 2,000 tons allotted to each territory; or raise the quotas for the three territories and the U.S., which could dramatically increase the overall catch.
Environmental groups and others are alarmed that the Council is even considering the raising quotas. “Basically, they’re ignoring reality, and they seem to be motivated by greed alone,” Rick Gaffney, a Big Island fisherman and former Wespac member, told the Civil Beat. “There doesn’t seem to be any conception that bigeye tuna in the Pacific are clearly being fished out.”