Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

CHAPTER 7: COORDINATION OF ECOSYSTEM APPROACHES TOFISHERIES MANAGEMENT IN THE HAWAII ARCHIPELAGO FEP7.1 IntroductionIn the Western Pacific Region, the management of ocean and coastal activities is conducted by anumber of agencies and organizations at the federal, state, county, and even village levels. Thesegroups administer programs and initiatives that address often overlapping and sometimesconflicting ocean and coastal issues.To be successful, ecosystem approaches to management must be designed to foster intra andinter-agency cooperation and communication (Schrope 2002). Increased coordination with stateand local governments and community involvement will be especially important to the improvedmanagement of near-shore resources that are heavily used. To increase collaboration withdomestic and international management bodies, as well as other governmental andnongovernmental organizations, communities, and the public, the Council has adopted themultilevel approach described below. This process is depicted in Figure 21.7.2 Council Panels and CommitteesFEP Advisory PanelThe FEP Advisory Panel advises the Council on fishery management issues, provides input tothe Council regarding fishery management planning efforts, and advises the Council on thecontent and likely effects of management plans, amendments, and management measures.The Advisory Panel consists of four sub-panels. In general, each Advisory Sub-panel includestwo representatives from the area’s commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries, as wellas two additional members (fishermen or other interested parties) who are knowledgeable aboutthe area’s ecosystems and habitat. The exception is the Mariana FEP Sub-panel, which has fourrepresentatives from each group to represent the combined areas of Guam and the NorthernMariana Islands (see Table 37). The Hawaii FEP Sub-panel addresses issues pertaining todemersal fishing in the PRIA due to the lack of a permanent population and because such PRIAfishing has primarily originated in Hawaii. The FEP Advisory Panel meets at the direction of theCouncil to provide continuing and detailed participation by members representing variousfishery sectors and the general public.Table 37: FEP Advisory Panel and Sub-panel StructureRepresentative AmericanSamoa FEPSub-panelHawaii FEPSub-panelCommercialrepresentativesRecreationalrepresentativesMariana FEPSub-panelPelagic FEPSub-panelTwo members Two members Four members Two membersTwo members Two members Four members Two members215