Pacific territories and Fisheries Council oppose new coral designations

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Council), as well as governors and fishery officials at the US Pacific territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) have all voiced their opposition on the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed fishery rule to designate critical habitat for seven threatened corals in U.S. waters in the Indo-Pacific.

The seven Indo- Pacific corals listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) are within U.S. waters in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Area (PRIA), according to the NMFS notice issued late last year.

“The Council believes that the proposed critical habitat designations in U.S. waters published by NMFS are overly broad, and not based upon the best available scientific or economic information,” wrote Council executive director Kitty M. Simonds in her May 24th comment letter to Michael D. Tosatto, administrator of the NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office in Honolulu.

“Furthermore, the Council concludes that existing federal and local mechanisms also provide adequate protections for corals and their habitat, and designation of critical habitat is not likely to provide additional conservation benefits,” she wrote.

Simonds’ 18-page comment letter also provides a lot of background information. For example, she points out that in 2018, the United States Supreme Court held that critical-habitat designations are limited to areas that are “also habitat for the species.”

However, the Court left open the question of whether a currently-uninhabitable area would qualify as critical habitat, she points out.

According to the executive director, government representatives from American Samoa, CNMI and Guam have developed revised maps that exclude habitat features that are not essential, as well as other existing managed areas that do not qualify as containing essential features.

She said the Council requests NMFS to work with the representatives from each area to refine the critical habitat areas within each jurisdiction, should NMFS proceed with the designation.

“The Council requests NMFS to reconsider the proposed designation of critical habitat. NMFS should focus on allocating resources to address the range-wide threats to the ESA-listed coral species, as well as on developing and implementing a recovery plan,” she concluded.

Her comment letter is also copied to other federal officials as well as fisheries and governors of the US Pacific territories.

In a May 25th comment letter, Guam Gov. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero informed Tosatto, “I am greatly concerned with inadequacies in the process of this proposed designation, as it applies to Guam” and that the process was made without the best scientific data available.

And, “of even greater concern” is that the process was “made without any input from or consideration from local regulatory agencies,” Guerrero wrote, and noted that “I and the 36th Guam Legislature believe this rule is erroneous.” (The Guam Legislature submitted its own resolution opposing the proposed rule.)

Identical concerns and oppositions were also raised by CNMI Gov. Ralph DLG Torres as well as the CNMI Legislature.

May 26th was the deadline — after it was extended at least three times since early this year — for public comments. It’s unclear when NMFS will issue a final decision on the proposed rule, which is clearly being opposed by the US Pacific territories. All comments including more details on the proposed rule on federal portal (www.regulations.gov).

Samoa News has previously reported on concerns and oppositions raised by American Samoa’s Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga and ASG Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources director Taotasi Archie Soliai, who is the current chairman of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.