The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has commended Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga for taking action to improve the local alia fishing fleet by moving forward to find money to construct large alias or super alias.

The Council’s comments was made in a Mar. 24 letter signed by its chairman Ed Ebisui and executive director Kitty M. Simonds, officially informing the governor that the Council has approved the recommendation to allow up to 12 nautical miles seaward for the American Samoa based U.S. longline fleet to fish in the Large Vessel Protect Area of the territory. (See Samoa News edition Mar. 31 for details)

“We are encouraged to hear that you are acting quickly to fund the construction of 10 new alia vessels, an initiative that is based on the vessel design described in the recently completed report by the Council,” the letter says but didn’t give any other details.

Asked for a copy of the completed report, which covers the new alia vessel design project, the Council provided Samoa News with the 2014 ‘Development of a multipurpose fishing boat for American Samoa fishermen’ 20-page report for consideration of the Council and the American Samoa Government.

The report says that while the alia is preferred by most local fishermen, there is need to modify the alia design to provide an improved and more efficient boat for American Samoa fishermen.

Additionally, the new prototype alia iniative is a priority project included under the American Samoa Marine Conservation Plan (ASMCP).

In preparation for the development of the new fishing boat, all local fishermen consulted expressed interest in the fishing boat that has the following features:

• a larger version of the present alia;

• enhanced sea safety of fishermen;

•  facilitates fishing operations;

•  caters for longer fishing trips;

•  increases carrying capacity;

• provides better quality of fish;

• provides easy maintenance;

•  provides cheap operation; and

• affordable to local fishermen.

“These essential features are absent from most if not all alia fishing boats, and those around 30 feet in length presently used by fishermen,” according to the alia report, which includes other issues such as boat building capacity, fishermen training and a fishermen lending scheme.

It also contains the particulars for the protopye of the boat - such as 40.4 feet in its overall length, engine power recommendation, service speed, fish hold volume, and fuel tank capacity.

The boat would be suitable for the following fishing methods - e.g. pelagic long lining, bottom fishing, trap fishing, net fishing and trolling.

According to the report, the boat’s design is based on the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) information, in consultations with local fishermen and regional fisheries experts, and advice from the original alia designer.

It also says that two financing options were examined to facilitate the production of the prototype alia boat. The first option involves the ASG bearing full responsibility for costs with the boat to be eventually owned by the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources.

“This option is costly for the ASG as it contributes $324,200 for the production of the boat,” the report states.

In the second option, it involves a cost sharing arrangement between the ASG and a private fisherman with the boat to be eventually owned by the private fisherman.

“This option is cheaper for the ASG as it contributes $147,000 for production of the boat, while the private fisherman contributes $177,200 for construction materials, equipment and fishing gear,” it says, adding that this option is being recommended.

According to the report, the creation of the new fishing boat project for American Samoa fishermen is seen as the principal project to promote sustainable fisheries development among small-scale fishermen.

Additionally, this can only be possible with Government support and availability of resources.

(The completed report on the new proposed alia is available through the Council’s Office in Honolulu - www.wpcouncil.org for information.)

BACKGROUND

At a cabinet meeting late last month, the governor also revealed that the government is in the process of developing new fishing alias — super alias. “And we hope that we can retain the 50-mile zone so that our people can have access to the fishing grounds within the 50 miles,” he said referring to the Large Vessel Protected Area, which is currently awaiting final word from the feds as to whether longliners will now be able to fish there. The amendment would be subject to yearly review, as consistent data collection will be one of the results of the amendment due to the log books longliners are required to keep while out fishing.

Following meetings in Washington D.C. in late February this year, the governor along with Commerce Department director Keniseli Lafaele stopped at the boat building facility in Seattle — where the Manu’a catamaran was built — to look at a little change in the design of the proposed super alia.

ASG is still working on finalizing the design for the new alia fleet before releasing more information.

Samoa News also notes, the government has not identified a funding source for the proposed super-alia.

Samoa News further understands a super-alia was built in Samoa a couple of years ago, but never went into operation due to the investment being too high compared to projected revenue returns.

A fisheries official told Samoa News that the questions that you have to ask for this type of investment are:

What is the carrying capacity for such a boat?

Will it have its own refrigeration or will it have to take ice?

How heavy with this boat be?

The official said, the last prototype showed 2 x 40hp outboard engines, and this is not adequate for that size of boat and everything that needs to be carried and moved.

The proposed prototype is calling for about 10 tons of carrying capacity, and this would require at least 2 x 90hp engines. This increases the cost of the boat itself and the operating costs as more fuel is required.

Will local fishermen, who are crying ‘poverty’, be able to afford the more than $170K plus needed to buy the super-alia?

The investment is huge and there is not a lot of data or even a feasibility study on fishing in the 50-mile zone of American Samoa, the fishery official said, which could be used to review projected revenue returns versus the fisherman’s investment — is it viable?

Which brings up another issue: Is the super-alia idea to preserve local fisheries, or is this an investment to preserve the “alia” — as a ‘traditional’ Samoan fishing vessel, which in more ancient days would have been the ‘canoe’.