MARIANA ISLANDS RANGE COMPLEX ... - Guam Legislature

MARIANA ISLANDS RANGE COMPLEX FEIS/OEIS MAY 2010
cent contribution (or multiplier) to GDP is the sum of direct, indirect, and induced effects of defense
spending (Pula 2008). In 2003 the major revenue sources in Guam were 60 percent in tourism, 30 percent
in military and Federal spending, and 10 percent defined as “other” (GEDCA 2008). While federal
expenditures represent an important element for the Guam economy, the per-capital level of total federal
expenditures as of Fiscal Year 2007 in Guam was barely above the national average. As of that fiscal
year, 21 states and the District of Columbia had higher per capita total federal expenditures than did
Guam. However, Guam was higher for “Procurement” (including military contracts) and salaries and
wages, indicating that the military and federal presence does play an important role in the Guam
economy.
3.16.2.3 Commercial Fishing Management
CNMI’s submerged lands and marine resources in the zone from the shoreline to 200 miles (mi.) are
owned by the Federal government (WPRFMC 2005a). Guam manages the marine resources in the zone 0
to 3 mi. from their shorelines. Marine resources 0 to 3 mi. off of Department of Defense (DoD) property
on Guam are managed by the appropriate Service. Both CNMI and Guam are members of the Western
Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC). The WPRFMC is tasked by Congress to
monitor, develop, and regulate fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone 1 (EEZ) (WPRFMC 2005b). In
the Western Pacific (WestPac) Region, the management of coastal and ocean activities is conducted by a
number of agencies at the Federal, state, county, and even village level. These activities’ representatives
provide the WPRFMC input into the development and management of planning efforts, management
plans, amendments, and management efforts for commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries. Since
the 1980s the WPRFMC has managed fisheries through the following fishery management plans which
regulate gear types, seasonal closures, monitoring, and reporting:
• Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Management Plan
• Crustaceans Management Plan
• Precious Corals Management Plan 2
• Coral Reef Ecosystems Management Plan
• Pelagic Management Plan
Since 2005, the WPRFMC has been transitioning to a system of Fishery Ecosystem Plans that are
designed to provide a comprehensive approach to fisheries management while restructuring the
management of the ecosystems to ensure a “collaborative and adaptive” management process (WPRFMC
2005c).
3.16.2.4 Commercial Fisheries
The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center published data for the year 2005, compiled by the CNMI
Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) and the Western Pacific Fishery Information Network, in July 2007.
Data are collected for these statistics through a dealer invoicing system that is collected on a monthly
1 Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) are seazones that were established by the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982.
Part V, Article 55 of the Convention establishes that the EEZ is “an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, subject to the specific legal
regime established in this Part, under which the rights and jurisdiction of the coastal State and the rights and freedom of other States are governed
by the relevant provisions of this Convention.” (UN 1982). The EEZs extend 200 nm from the coastal baseline (the baseline usually follows the
low-water line). Within the EEZ, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources; however, foreign nations have the
freedom of navigation and over-flight, subject to the regulation of the reigning coastal state. The EEZ was established by Presidential
Proclamation in 1983 (NOAA 2008a/b).
2 The precious coral fishery consists of one industry but two distinct and separate fisheries. The first is the harvest of black coral by scuba divers
from depths of 30-100 m. The second is a fishery for pink and gold coral at depths between 400 and 1500 m. Precious corals are managed
separately because of their widely separated, patch distribution and the sessile nature of individual colonies.
REGIONAL ECONOMY 3.16-6