(January 29, 2026) As Chairman of the Republican Party of American Samoa, I wish to address the growing national conversation surrounding fishing at Rose Atoll National Monument (RANM) or Muliava.

The American Samoa Republican Party categorically rejects the Democratic Party’s assertion that opening fishing at the RANM as placing profit over people or threatening the environment.

That narrative does not reflect the facts.

Assertions that this request is driven by profit misunderstand the reality of American Samoa. This issue is about people first.

Fishing and seafood are the backbone of our economy, supporting jobs, food security, and the livelihoods of families across the territory.

The American Samoa longline fleet is owned and operated by American Samoans, and we should be supportive of and be proud of the men and women who have invested in this industry, sustained it through difficult years, and contributed directly to our community and economy.

Supporting locally owned fishing businesses means supporting the primary industry that sustains our villages, public services, and long-term economic stability.

Our longline families provide fish for our community. The fish and chips and sashimi you order at your favorite restaurant comes from these fishermen. While much of the catch may end up in cans, it is also the fish served at our funerals, weddings, and church functions.

These are not industrial foreign fleets. These are our neighbors, our cousins, our people providing fish to the community and supporting the cannery.

Just as importantly, the cannery is important to our economy. It accounts for over 99% of all outgoing shipping containers. Because of that scale, everyone in the territory benefits from roughly a 40% subsidy to the cost of electricity, fuel, and shipping costs.

It is evident that if our forefathers were afraid to bring in a cannery in 1954 because it would pollute the harbor, we would be nowhere today.

It was Senator Heinz of StarKist that turned on the federal spigots in1962 to build our airport, schools, roads and infrastructure that we enjoy today.

When the longline fleet and cannery remain viable, the economic ripple effects extend far beyond the waterfront and directly reduce costs for every family in American Samoa.

Claims that the request weakens protections for Rose Atoll are incorrect.

The request maintains the existing 12 nautical-mile commercial restriction around the atoll. American Samoa’s longline vessels operate under one of the most stringent fisheries oversight frameworks in the world.

These fisheries are managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and are fully subject to the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and binding international conservation measures adopted through the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

Collectively, these requirements impose rigorous monitoring, mitigation, and reporting standards, ensuring that interactions with sea turtles, seabirds, marine mammals, and other protected species are carefully monitored and responsibly managed.

The Democratic Party conveniently ignores the fact that interactions with protected species have not been a documented problem in the American Samoa longline fishery, including during periods prior to the Rose Atoll monument designation when more than 60 longline vessels were permitted to operate in the territory’s EEZ. T

oday, fewer than five locally based vessels remain.

Suggesting that these few boats now pose an environmental threat is not supported by science or historical evidence.

The Democratic Party’s messaging also overlooks that this request follows President Trump’s Executive Order and Proclamation on seafood competitiveness and unleashing responsible Pacific fishing.

Those actions recognized the importance of domestic seafood production and the need to avoid unnecessary constraints on U.S. fishing communities like American Samoa, particularly where strong regulatory oversight already exists.

American Samoa should value and be thankful for the continued operation of our longline fleet.

Over the past two decades, hundreds of thousands of dollars in fisheries development funding have come to the territory through longline quota sales. Funding has gone to alia fishing development and scholarship programs in Manu‘a.

Benefiting from these contributions while dismissing the fleet that made them possible is fundamentally inconsistent.

Restricting local fishermen does not protect the ocean — it endangers the ocean. It increases reliance on foreign-caught fish from fleets that often operate with weaker conservation standards and troubling labor and human rights records.

Supporting well-regulated U.S. fisheries remains one of the most effective ways to protect marine resources while maintaining accountability.

Lastly, responsible stewardship requires balance.

Safeguarding critical habitats and supporting the people who depend on the ocean are not opposing goals.

The false choice presented by the Democratic Party does not serve American Samoa.

This request reflects a science-based, responsible approach aligned with the long-term interests of our territory and its people.

We hope this clarifies why we need to support our longliners and open Muliava to fishing up to 12 miles.

Fa’afetai tele lava.

Taulapapa William Sword

Chairman, Republican Party of American Samoa