PACIFIC ISLANDS FISHERY NEWS
Newsletter of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council / Summer 2022 ISSN 2151-2329 (PRINT) ISSN 2151-2337 (ONLINE)
Sustainable Take of Sea Turtles: A Global Perspective
Estimated annual legal marine turtle take by country or territory (data from 1 January 2010 to 1 January 2013). Data for the Caribbean (CAR) and Pacific (PAC) regions have been grouped and are shown in further detail in Fig. 4a,b. No take = no known legal or illegal take; Unquantified take = illegal take data found only or take known to occur but no data available. *Country with moratorium. Country abbreviations (countries in brackets indicate dependency): ALB = Albania; AND = Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India); AUS = Australia; BOS = Bosnia and Herzegovina; CHI = Chile; COP = Colombia (Pacific coast); GUY = Guyana; IND = Indonesia; JAP = Japan; KIR = Kiribati; MAL = Maldives; MAR = Marshall Islands: MIC = Federated States of Micronesia; MXA = Mexico (Atlantic coast); MXP = Mexico (Pacific coast); PAL = Palau; PAP = Papua New Guinea; PIT = Pitcairn Islands (UK); SAO = Sao Tome and Principe; SYR = Syria. Take is also shown for countries with unverified legislation (ALG = Algeria; NKO = North Korea; SOM = Somalia). Note: Position of symbols is not representative of locations of take data. Source1.
Sustainable use of sea turtles may seem like a foreign concept today, especially in the United States where sea
turtles have been federally protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for more than four decades. But across the Pacific Islands and throughout the world, sea turtles have been utilized as important natural and cultural resources for millennia. Much of the unsustainable “take” can be attributed to commercial-scale exploitation and trade that peaked in the early- to mid-1900s, which led to the prohibition of take under the ESA in the United States and restrictions on trade through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the 1970s. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IN THIS ISSUE 1 Sustainable Take of Sea Turtles: A Global Perspective
9 New Book Reviews the 44-Year History of the Council
4 191st Council Meeting Highlights, June 21-23, 2022
9 Congressional Corner
6 The Return of Fishing to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
11 Highlights from the Pacific Region
7 Essential Fish Habitat: An Uku Case Study 8 Kaua‘i ‘Ohana Continue the Work of ‘Aha Moku
10 Pain at the Pump in the Marianas 12 Science and Management 101: Community Engagement 14 Striped Marlin Research Results in Tantalizing Surprises 16 Get to Know Your Council Members: Dr. Judith P. Guthertz
17 New Outreach Resources 17 Council Family Updates 18 Recipe 19 2022 Council Calendar 19 Upcoming Events 20 Summary of Action Items at the September 2022 Council Meeting 20 Western Pacific Bottomfish Fisheries Not Likely to Jeopardize Oceanic Whitetip Sharks