NOAA rejects Wespac's Fishing Regulations (Letter from NOAA to Wespac)
As part of the sanctuary designation process, fishery councils are allowed to propose regulations for continued commercial fishing in the sanctuary. In the case of the NWHI, the Western Pacific Fishery Council (Wespac) submitted regulations to expand fishing in the proposed NWHI sanctuary. NOAA reviewed this proposal and in an unprecedented move rejected Wespac's regulations because they did not abide by the goals and objectives of the proposed sanctuary that were developed by the community-based Reserve Advisory Council (RAC) and adopted by NOAA.
Under sanctuary regulations, NOAA is now empowered to draft those regulations if fishing is ultimately allowed in a NWHI sanctuary. In a last ditch effort to maintain its grip on the NWHI, Wespac is calling for NOAA to withdraw its rejection. Read the letter NOAA sent to Wespac rejecting the regulations.
Cover_Ltr._NOAA._Wespac_fishing.pdf
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