Honolulu, HAWAII — The 205th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will convene by web conference on December 16-17, 2025.
Host sites for Webex include 1164 Bishop St., Ste. 1400, Honolulu, HI; Tedi of Samoa Bldg., Ste. 208B, Fagatogo Village, AS; BRI Bldg., Ste. 205, Kopa Di Oru St., Garapan, Saipan, CNMI; Cliff Pointe, 304 W. O'Brien Dr., Hagatfia, Guam.
The Webex link is https://tinyurl.com/205Counci1Mtg (if prompted, enter event number: 2864 005 8179; password: CM205mtg).
Specific information on joining the meeting, instructions for connecting to the Webex and providing oral public comments during the meeting will be posted on the Council website at: www.wpcouncil.org/event/205th-council-meeting-virtual-2.
The Council will consider and may take action on the issues summarized below, including any public comments on them. Written public comments on final action items should be received by the Council's executive director by 5 p.m. (HST), Thursday, December 11, 2025, via postal mail, fax or email as indicated at end of the end of the article.
Summary of Action Items at the 205th Council Meeting
1. ACL Specifications for CNMI BMUS for 2026 to 2029 (Final Action)
At its 203rd meeting in June 2025, the Council received the 2025 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) bottomfish management unit species (BMUS) stock assessment update (Bohaboy and Matthews 2025) that found the fishery was not overfished or experiencing overfishing. The stock assessment was updated with boat-based creel survey interviews from 2018 to 2023. The Council accepted it as the best scientific information available on the status of the fishery and directed staff to develop potential acceptable biological catches (ABCs) and annual catch limits (ACLs) for initial action at the 204 t h meeting.
The current ACL and annual catch target (ACT) for fishing years 2024 to 2025 were specified at a 39% and 34% risk of overfishing, respectively. This accounts for the assessment information, uncertainty characterization, stock status, productivity and susceptibility and the social, economic, ecological and management uncertainties related to the CNMI BMUS fishery. The catch associated with the ACL and ACT is 82,000 pounds and 75,000 pounds, respectively. The average catch from the commercial and non-commercial sectors in fishing years 2021 to 2023 was 44,054 pounds, which is 54% of the ACL.
At its 205th meeting, the Council will consider taking final action on an alternative to specify ACLs and accountability measures (AMs) for the CNMI BMUS fishery for fishing years 2026 to 2029. The Council will consider the following alternatives:
No Action, do not specify ACLs and AMs
2. Status quo, specify an ACL and ACT of 82,000 lbs and 74,000 lbs (Langseth et al. 2019)
3. Specify ACL (72,000 lbs) and ACT (66,000 lbs) based on the revised P* and SEEM scores (P*=40% and 35%) ( Preliminary Preferred )
4. Specify ACL (<72,000 lbs) and ACT (<66,000 lbs) below the revised P* and SEEM scores (P*<40% and 35%)
Recommendations for Commercial Fishing Regulations in the Pacific Islands Heritage
On April 17, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 10918,
“Unleashing American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific,” in which the President found that
“managed commercial fishing would not put objects of scientific and historic interest within the PRIMNM at risk” and that “a prohibition on commercial fishing is not, at this time, necessary for the proper care and management of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument
(PRIMNM, since changed to Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument via Presidential Memorandum January 2, 2025) or the objects of historic or scientific interest therein.” The Proclamation states that the Secretary of Commerce shall not prohibit commercial fishing within 50-200 nm of the boundaries of the monument. It also directs the Secretary of Commerce, through NOAA, to expeditiously publish new proposed rules in the Federal Register to amend or repeal all burdensome regulations that restrict commercial fishing in the PRIMNM.
In order to meet the Proclamation, NOAA will need to publish new proposed rules regarding commercial fishing in the expanded areas of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIHMNM) including Wake and Johnston Atolls and Jarvis Island. Fishing regulations are promulgated through the process described in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and therefore the Council may provide recommendations on RAMNM, PMNM, and MTMNM in order to expedite the process. The Council will review options that may include:
1. No Action - Do not remove commercial fishing prohibitions;
2. Restore commercial fishing by removing existing prohibitions;
3. Revising existing fisheries management measures to restore commercial fishing and include new or additional measures.
Mail: Ms. Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Driector
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council
1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400
Honolulu, HI 96813
FAX: (808) 522-8226
E-mail: [email protected]
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