William Gibbons-Fly
127:53 - 128:48
"When you're banning commercial fishing from 50 to 200 miles, there's very, you're, you're putting, you know, very significant strain on the fishing industry, putting people out of business, harming the economy of American Samoa with very little, very little conservation benefit."
“When you're banning commercial fishing from 50 to 200 miles, there's very, you're, you're putting, you know, very significant strain on the fishing industry, putting people out of business, harming the economy of American Samoa with very little, very little conservation benefit.”
- Speaker
- William Gibbons-Fly
- Timestamp
- 127:53 – 128:48
- 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
Yes, thank you for that question. You'll notice on that map that in some of those areas there are yellow areas with a smaller orange area, and then in others, it's the entire eez is the orange area. That's the difference between the original monument designation, which went out to 50 miles, and I'm speaking in particular on the Pacific remote islands, the original boundaries went out to 50 miles. And when I hear Dr. Friedman and others talk about the need to protect these resources, I hear them talk about coral reefs and nesting habitat and unique endemic marine habitats, all of which occur within 50 nautical miles. When you're banning commercial fishing from 50 to 200 miles, there's very, you're, you're putting, you know, very significant strain on the fishing industry, putting people out of business, harming the economy of American Samoa with very little, very little conservation benefit.
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