William Gibbons-Fly
114:49 - 115:51
"Within two years of the expansion of the monument, one of the two canneries operating in American Samoa at the time closed, resulting in the loss of 800 jobs."
“Within two years of the expansion of the monument, one of the two canneries operating in American Samoa at the time closed, resulting in the loss of 800 jobs.”
- Speaker
- William Gibbons-Fly
- Timestamp
- 114:49 – 115:51
- Source
- House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries (Begich): Legislative Hearing
- Community
- Alaska News
- Location
- Alaska
- Captured at
- June 3, 2026
From the transcript
In this short oral statement, with the remaining time available, I will focus on the economic impact of the Pacific Marine Monuments on the fishing industry in both Hawaii and American Samoa. The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument was established in 2009 and expanded in 2014 to include the entire use around Wake Island, Johnson Atoll and Jarvis Island. Within two years of the expansion of the monument, one of the two canneries operating in American Samoa at the time closed, resulting in the loss of 800 jobs. Moreover, Jarvis island shares an extensive maritime boundary with the Republic of Kiribati. Excluded from the USCEZ around Jarvis Island, US vessels must pay $12,000 per vessel per day for access to the Kiribati EEZ, which is just across an imaginary line in the ocean from where they are prohibited from operating in the US eez.
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