U.S. Fights for American Fishing in the Pacific, Leads Electronic Monitoring of International Fleets

Tuna and technology took top priority-and top wins-for the United States at the 22nd Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting. It was held December 1-5, 2025, in the Philippines.

Led by Andrew Lawler, NOAA's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Fisheries, the U.S. delegation:

• Protected American Samoa and U.S. troll interests in the South Pacific albacore fishery
• Fought for the economic viability of Hawaiʻi's long line fleet targeting bigeye tuna
• Secured the lead to develop an electronic monitoring measure for adoption at next year's meeting

"The U.S. delegation worked very hard together to achieve these wins and, quite frankly, knocked it out of the park," Lawler said. "We ensured a robust opportunity for our commercial fishing interests while enhancing conservation of our shared fishing resources."

Strengthening U.S. Tuna Competitiveness

South Pacific Albacore

Albacore tuna is one of the most in-demand species for canned tuna. In the Pacific region, South Pacific albacore tuna reigns as a key economic driver and the target catch for the American Samoa longline fleet.

At this year's Commission meeting, the United States, with critical engagement from the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, led the adoption of an important milestone management procedure for South Pacific albacore.

This management procedure, or harvest strategy, is the framework for keeping the stock and our fisheries healthy. It establishes a precautionary and stable approach that maintains robust fish stock populations. With lots of fish to catch, American Samoa fishermen can maximize the catch they deliver to the American people and their economic returns. This will contribute to prosperous communities and healthy food supplies.

"This is a huge win for American tuna consumers, American Samoa fishermen, and local communities who depend on albacore harvesting," Lawler said. "The albacore tuna fishery is a cornerstone of the American Samoa economy, and we made sure its economic success can continue well into the future."

Commission members will discuss the procedure's implementation details in 2026, alongside joint working group meetings with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.

Bigeye Tuna

Bigeye tuna is one of the most economically valuable stocks under the Commission's management, and one that is critical to Hawaiʻi.

This year's meeting marked a major milestone for the bigeye tuna harvest strategy workplan. The U.S. delegation played a key role encouraging the Commission to adopt recommendations to advance the bigeye tuna management procedure.

"U.S. scientists led the charge to produce a really forward-leaning and creative plan for developing candidate [management procedures]," said Dr. Alex Kahl, acting division chief, International Fisheries, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office. "Our plan uses cutting-edge science to maximize fishing opportunities while ensuring the bigeye stock stays healthy."

The Commission formally requested development of additional candidate management procedures that include controls for both the tropical longline and tropical purse seine fisheries. This action will ensure meaningful progress toward a dual-fishery harvest strategy for bigeye tuna.

Driving International Technology Adoption for Accountability

The use of electronic monitoring is increasing at a fast pace. It's driving improvements, efficiency, and cost savings in the monitoring of catch, bycatch, and compliance in regional fishery management organizations, like the Commission. Electronic monitoring also combats illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

At this year's meeting, the United States offered a bold new proposal to establish an electronic monitoring program to govern its use in Commission-managed fisheries.

The U.S. proposal complements hard work we led over the last year to define the critical components of electronic monitoring systems used in these fisheries.

Together, this work sets the stage to dramatically increase member nations' abilities to use electronic monitoring for their fleets. The Commission embraced the U.S. proposal for an electronic monitoring program and committed to working on a draft program in 2026, with the goal of adopting it in December 2026.

Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing

One of the greatest threats to healthy fish stocks and fishing opportunities is illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing . It robs law-abiding fishermen of economic opportunity and creates a haven for illicit activity, such as forced labor.

The Commission's High Seas Boarding and Inspection Scheme is critical to combatting IUU fishing on the high seas. It allows inspection authorities from one member to board fishing vessels of other members to assess compliance with conservation and management measures in the Commission's Convention Area .

The United States led the Commission to agreement on the need to develop specific questions for boarding teams to ask during boardings. These questions will assist in identifying forced labor situations.

"Forced labor is a major human rights concern. It's also a major contributor to global overfishing. By asking questions related to labor during boardings, we can ensure that fisheries are conducted fairly and humanely," Lawler said.

In addition, the United States proposed multiple measures to ensure transparency and efficiency in compliance cases. These measures would ensure vessels that violate Commission management measures are swiftly prosecuted and compelled to abide by those measures in the future. Members agreed to develop these measures further in 2026, with the goal of adopting them in December 2026.

Ensuring Equity for American Interests

The United States has the most well-regulated fishery fleets in the world. Our efforts allow for abundant harvests-without overfishing or jeopardizing non-target fish species, like sharks, turtles, dolphins, and whales.

Commission members adopted the United States' proposal to lead an informal 2026 review on reducing sea turtle bycatch in the WCPFC. Our goal is to bring international standards into alignment with U.S. standards that minimize and reduce sea turtle interactions and impacts.

Other proposals the Commission adopted to drive sustainable and abundant fisheries include:

• A harvest strategy workplan for Southwest Pacific swordfish
• Measures to mitigate fishing impacts on South Pacific seabirds
• Continuing to develop measures to reduce marine pollution associated with fishing activities in the Commission's Convention Area

Following the meeting, Sarah Malloy, NOAA Fisheries' Pacific Islands regional administrator, reflected, "The close collaboration between science, policy, industry, and the Western Pacific Region Fisheries Management Council-including strong engagement from the U.S. Pacific territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands-strengthened the U.S. voice at the Commission and allowed us to deliver key outcomes for our regional fishermen."