Posted 08/29/2012 Kitty Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, says she is “girding [her] loincloth” and “sharpening [her] spears” in an effort to get the federal government to consult with a new group she’s helped to form. … Continued
Posted 08/24/2012 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a permit authorizing the Hawai`i longline swordfish fleet to take seabirds. The permit is the first of its kind ever issued by the agency under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. … Continued
Posted 05/24/2012 Earthjustice is suing the National Marine Fisheries Service over the agency’s foot-dragging in protecting false killer whales from Hawai`i-based longline fishing vessels. NMFS’ own studies show that the whales are being hooked, injured, and even killed by … Continued
Posted 05/21/2012 Just days before the NRDC lawsuit, NMFS released its most recent stock assessment reports (SARs) for marine mammals, including those in the Pacific that interact with Hawai`i-based fisheries. At the same time, it responded to the several comments … Continued
Posted 04/09/2012 Kitty Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, has made little secret of her wish to see the protected status of the green sea turtle removed. This legislative session, she found an ally in Rep. … Continued
Posted 11/18/2011 November 18 brought a double whammy to the longline vessels operating out of Honolulu. The National Marine Fisheries Service announced that, beginning November 27, Hawai`i longline vessels will no longer be allowed to fish for bigeye tuna in … Continued
(Posted 11/24/09) A Council Member’s Dissenting View on Bigeye Issue Peter Young, appointed by the governor to represent Hawai’i on the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, has voiced his strong disagreement with the council’s action on bigeye tuna in a … Continued
A federal rule that, for all intents and purposes, does away with bigeye tuna catch limits for the Hawai`i longline fleet is being challenged in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit, filed November 20, was brought by Earthjustice on behalf of … Continued
The following letter was received from the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council’s communications officer, Sylvia Spalding. We reprint it in its entirety. In its December 2014 issue, Environment Hawai`i published an article on the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s meeting with … Continued
The morning of the vote, before the day’s meeting officially began, members and staff of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council huddled with staff from the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Pacific Islands Regional Office. Wespac executive director Kitty Simonds, NMFS … Continued