Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has proposed listing 10 giant clam species as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

This proposal follows lengthy discussion after a 2016 petition. NMFS’s status review suggests listing five species as endangered (Hippopus porcellanus, Tridacna derasa, T. gigas, T. mbalavuana and T. squamosina), one as threatened (H. hippopus) and four more as threatened due to similarity in appearance (T. crocea, T. maxima, T. noae and T. squamosa).

Public comments are open until Oct. 23, 2024, and NMFS announced in-person listening sessions and public hearings in American Samoa, CNMI and Guam between September 4 and 19. If adopted, the rule will prohibit the take of the five endangered species and the one threatened species. For the four species listed due to similarity in appearance, NMFS proposes banning the import and export of their parts or products.

According to NMFS’s status review, several giant clam species are native to American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands but are now rare or extirpated due to overexploitation. Each jurisdiction has undertaken efforts to reintroduce or culture giant clams to rebuild populations and provide a food source for local communities.

In 2023, American Samoa received 500 giant clams (T. derasa) as a gift from the neighboring Samoan government, as part of the Atoa-o-Samoa Talks held the same year. The clams signified the exchange of food security methods and expertise between the fishery management divisions of the two Samoas. Guam also has an active project to establish village-owned clam farms, with clams supplied from Palau (T. maxima).

SANCTUARIES IN THE PACIFIC

In an “Island Voices” column published in the Honolulu Star Advertiser June 20, 2024, Council member Taotasi Archie Soliai, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, pointed out inaccuracies about the territory’s economy that were used to support closing U.S. waters in the central equatorial Pacific to commercial fishing.

Contrary to claims published April 28, 2024, titled “American Samoa deserves to thrive as fishing shifts,” American Samoa’s economy relies heavily on the tuna fishing and processing industry, with StarKist Samoa providing significant employment and economic stability.

At the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s 199th meeting in June, Taotasi said, “The Council’s spring newsletter included a commentary on the current situation of the Biden Administration’s proposed sanctuaries called ‘Justice? Or Just Us?’ The Administration continues to promote equity, but fails to extend the same considerations to its Pacific Territories. The United States can’t talk about promoting domestic industries, fishing, marketing, exporting, importing and food security but fail to act on it in the Pacific.

 Council members lamented the influx of foreign-caught fish flooding U.S. markets, undermining local fishermen. This issue affects Hawaii and U.S. territories, where local fisheries struggle with profitability due to cheaper foreign imports.

Fishermen are frustrated by the lack of price adjustment after retailers replace locally caught fish with lower-cost foreign alternatives. As one Hawaii fisherman put it: “It’s not like we can’t catch fish or that fresh fish is scarce — buyers and retailers have simply decided to buy foreign products, making it hard to find local buyers.” (See story elsewhere in today’s issue about the Fishery Council’s concerns about unfair trade practices.)