House panel advances bill to restore fishing in marine monuments

A House Natural Resources subcommittee heard testimony Wednesday on legislation that would shift fishing regulation inside marine national monuments from presidential authority to the regional council process that governs U.S. fisheries.

The bill, H.R. 8904, sponsored by U.S. Representative Uifa'atali Amata Radawagon of American Samoa, would move monument fishing decisions from the Antiquities Act to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Alaska fishing industry representatives testified that monument designations have bypassed the regional council process that has governed U.S. fisheries for 50 years.

William Gibbons-Fly, executive director of the American Tuna Boat Association, told the subcommittee that monument expansions have harmed Pacific fishing communities without clear conservation gains. He said banning commercial fishing from 50 to 200 miles puts "very significant strain on the fishing industry, putting people out of business, harming the economy of American Samoa with very little conservation benefit."

The U.S. tuna purse seine fleet has shrunk from 34 vessels to 15 in recent years, Gibbons-Fly said. One of two American Samoa canneries closed within two years of a monument expansion, costing 800 jobs.

Dr. Timothy Petty, assistant secretary for oceans and atmosphere at the U.S. Department of Commerce and deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, testified that NOAA supports the bill. "NOAA believes fishery management should continue to be carried out through the transparent science based process established under the Magnuson Stevens Act," Petty said.

Dr. Alan Friedlander, a marine ecologist and retired chief scientist from National Geographic Pristine Seas, testified in opposition. The protected areas represent "some of the most extraordinary and intact marine ecosystems remaining anywhere on Earth," Friedlander said. He said the Hawaii longline fleet has operated successfully without access to monument waters. "The simple fact is these fisheries prospered without access to these waters in the past and they do not need them today," he said.

The subcommittee also heard testimony on three other bills. H.R. 2406 would strengthen sexual harassment and assault prevention at NOAA. H.R. 8401 would allow the sale of northern sea otter pelts and handicrafts from subsistence harvests in south central and southeast Alaska. H.R. 8542 would extend state jurisdiction to nine nautical miles for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

U.S. Representative Nick Begich of Alaska testified in support of H.R. 8401. Sea otter populations have grown unchecked and are stripping coastal resources that Alaska Native communities and fishermen depend on, Begich said.

The House Natural Resources Committee has not announced a vote schedule for the bills.