U.S. Pacific Islands Fishing Industry Resilience & Recovery Workshop

Welcome to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Workshop:

For participants attending virtually please use the below links to access the workshop.

Participant Links:

To access the Webex (audio & visual) click link below:

https://wprfmc.webex.com/wprfmc/j.php?MTID=m61bb2191f68a0f960d53989f4f47ea7f

Agenda: Link

Tabletop Exercise Packet: Links

Background: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council has managed commercial and non-commercial fisheries in the U.S. Pacific Islands over the past 50 years. While fish continue to sustainably be harvested, an emerging threat is the growing impact of disasters and have increased significantly in the past decade. Since 1994, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce has made 138 fishery disaster determinations, resulting in over $2.1 billion in Congressional relief. Total direct revenue losses over this span are estimated conservatively at over $3.2 billion. While the Pacific Islands have attempted to access disaster recovery funds, there has been limited success in accessing relief to our fisheries. The U.S. Pacific Islands Fishing Industry Resilience & Recovery Workshop brings together fishers, community leaders, emergency managers, and partner organizations to strengthen disaster recovery and long-term recovery across Pacific Island fisheries. Through presentations, facilitated discussions, and collaborative tabletop scenario planning, participants will identify challenges, share lessons learned, and develop practical strategies to improve the resilience of fishing communities  and governance frameworks for a changing future.

Vision: This workshop will bring together fishermen, managers, scientists and industry leaders from the U.S. Pacific Islands, U.S. mainland, and international locales to strengthen governance in disaster resilience and recovery in the fisheries industry.