By Haidee V. Eugenio, Reporter. Reprinted here from the Saipan Tribune, March 15, 2011.
House minority leader Diego T. Benavente (R-Saipan) is asking his fellow lawmakers to consider not supporting the lifting of a net fishing ban on Saipan as proposed by House Bill 17-136, citing its negative impacts on the CNMI people, the economy, and sustainability of the islands' natural resources.
“Contrary to HB 17-136's intentions for providing assistance in an economically stressed time, passage of this bill would only hurt our economic conditions even further,” Benavente said in his three-page “dear colleague letter.”
He asked his colleagues to return HB 17-136 to the Natural Resources Committee for further investigation, allow for proper public comment and presentation of scientific input before allowing the bill to be placed on the agenda for vote.
Benavente, a fisherman for over 20 years, said that lifting the net fishing ban is a step backward for the CNMI's efforts to increase its fish stock since banning net fishing more than 10 years ago.
“Adding any increased fishing pressure now will only send us backwards, further reducing the stocks and resulting in fewer fish very fast. Until scientific data shows us that we are clear from the dangerous impact of surround net or any type of net fishing, we cannot in good conscience allow this to resume,” Benavente said, citing a January 2011 report on the Marianas Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan.
Benavente is also the author of the law that bans shark finning in the CNMI, earning the Commonwealth international accolades for its shark conservation efforts.
HB 17-136, introduced by Rep. Sylvester Iguel (Cov-Saipan), said that, although the net fishing ban was created for conservation purposes, it is necessary to take into consideration the economic crisis that people now face.
His proposal is to lift the net fishing ban on Saipan for only five years, and only for subsistence purposes and not for commercial fishing.
“Any sales or distribution beyond one's immediate family shall be a violation of this law,” said Iguel.
Iguel said many government employees are now subjected to unpaid holidays and 16-hour cut per payroll, while private sector employees are also faced with similar work hour cuts and even furloughs. He also cited the increasing utility costs and fuel prices.
But Benavente said surround net and other net fishing are, by design, a way to catch large volumes of fish.
“It is an insult to the intelligence of our people to suggest that these volumes would not be sold commercially and only be allowed for non-commercial, subsistence purposes. In fact, allowing the passage of 17-136 will only benefit a handful of people and potentially open our resources to further exploitation by outside sources, even if unintentionally,” he said.
Benavente said being a fisherman since his younger years, he can personally attest to the decline in the fish population. He said when he was a boy, there was an abundance of fish and all forms of fishing were permitted.
His father was the first to introduce the Okinawan style of gill net fishing and to bring Okinawan fishermen to Saipan to work for him.
“Using the Okinawan fishermen and hiring local fishermen, he was able to run his market successfully seven days a week. In fact, I followed in his steps buying boats, running a market’ and selling our daily catch for more than 20 years. Today, our fish stocks are depleted, my boat is sold and my fish market is closed,” he said.
Over 10 years ago, Benavente supported the passage of the original Fair Fishing Act, which banned net fishing and Scuba spear fishing “because we could plainly see the obvious decline in our fish populations” and the damage in coral reefs and the lagoon.
The CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife conducted a study in 2004 to 2007 with data results showing that the number of fish is increasing and their sizes are bigger compared with data from the time before the Fair Fishing Act was implemented.
Benavente said he would also counter any reports or suggestions by the Western Regional Fisheries Management Council that the CNMI's fishing resources are underutilized.
He said WRFMC's model or their use of mathematics is based on total resources from Rota all the way to Uracas, which cannot provide accurate information by which to gauge the individual islands' resources.
“Perhaps some of our neighboring islands can withstand additional fishing pressure, but the scientific evidence is clear for Saipan and that we cannot afford to allow a return to any type of net fishing practices at this time,” he added.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Pacific Fisherman Lawmaker: World Needs Moratorium on Shark Fins
Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands – Before he was the Speaker of the House and Lietenant Governor, Diego T. Benavente was a fisherman. Today Benavente is the minority leader in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, and is making a name for himself for his conservation efforts.
“Twenty years ago I could go out in my boat and catch enough fish to stock my market,” explains Benavente. “I can’t do that anymore. My market is closed and I’ve sold my boats.”
Benavente believes the disappearance of fish is partly due to a severe decline in global shark populations. The issue was first brought to his attention by a fellow fisherman and confirmed by State Senator Clayton Hee of Hawaii as well as global shark conservation groups such as WildAid and Shark Savers.
Benavente is now championing shark conservation efforts in the Northern Mariana Islands and introduced the Shark Fin Prohibition Act last year, which prohibits the sale, possession, and distribution of shark fins. Governor Benigno R. Fitial signed the bill into law on January 27, 2011. The shark fin ban is only the second of its kind and is modeled after a similar shark ban implemented in Hawaii in 2010.
Rob Stewart, producer and director of Sharkwater, was on Saipan to film the signing of the legislation as part of an upcoming documentary. According to Stewart, sharks are targeted globally for their fins, which are used as an ingredient in shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy.
He says that 73 million sharks per year are killed to supply the global shark fin trade.Stewart says, “Sharks have been on earth for over 400 million years and have survived five major extinctions. As the apex predator, they ensure the health of the ocean ecosystems, keeping fish stocks healthy, maintaining balance on coral reefs, and ultimately safeguarding the future of the oceans upon which we depend.”
“The world’s oceans are in trouble,” says Benavente. “All nations, small and large, have a definite role to play in our oceans recovery.”
Benavente would like to see more governments, from national legislatures to local municipal councils, tackle the issue of shark finning and has made a challenge to governments across the world.
“A global moratorium on the sale of shark fins is a good place for all of us to start,” he says.
“Twenty years ago I could go out in my boat and catch enough fish to stock my market,” explains Benavente. “I can’t do that anymore. My market is closed and I’ve sold my boats.”
Benavente believes the disappearance of fish is partly due to a severe decline in global shark populations. The issue was first brought to his attention by a fellow fisherman and confirmed by State Senator Clayton Hee of Hawaii as well as global shark conservation groups such as WildAid and Shark Savers.
Benavente is now championing shark conservation efforts in the Northern Mariana Islands and introduced the Shark Fin Prohibition Act last year, which prohibits the sale, possession, and distribution of shark fins. Governor Benigno R. Fitial signed the bill into law on January 27, 2011. The shark fin ban is only the second of its kind and is modeled after a similar shark ban implemented in Hawaii in 2010.
Rob Stewart, producer and director of Sharkwater, was on Saipan to film the signing of the legislation as part of an upcoming documentary. According to Stewart, sharks are targeted globally for their fins, which are used as an ingredient in shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy.
He says that 73 million sharks per year are killed to supply the global shark fin trade.Stewart says, “Sharks have been on earth for over 400 million years and have survived five major extinctions. As the apex predator, they ensure the health of the ocean ecosystems, keeping fish stocks healthy, maintaining balance on coral reefs, and ultimately safeguarding the future of the oceans upon which we depend.”
“The world’s oceans are in trouble,” says Benavente. “All nations, small and large, have a definite role to play in our oceans recovery.”
Benavente would like to see more governments, from national legislatures to local municipal councils, tackle the issue of shark finning and has made a challenge to governments across the world.
“A global moratorium on the sale of shark fins is a good place for all of us to start,” he says.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Rob Stewart of Sharkwater to speak at AMP on Monday!
Rob will be showing some of the footage he has accumulated on sharks on his world-wide travels filming them, as well as discussing shark conservation efforts, how the CNMI community can get more involved, and the work on his upcoming film (part of which he is filming here in the CNMI!)
Please join us for this exciting and rare event at AMP this Monday, and please help us spread the word to others that may be interested.
The event is free and open to the public; seating is limited, so come early to ensure admittance. For planning purposes, the event is expected to last between 60 and 90 minutes.
Monday, December 6, 2010
A message from APASEEM:
In early November the Asia Pacific Academy of Science, Education, and Environmental Management (APASEEM) issued a Call For Presentations and twelve groups of researchers have expressed their interest in speaking. Once again, this year’s conference will host speakers traveling here at their own expense from Hawaii and from Guam, as well as presentations by on-island scientists and science students. On this coming Wednesday, December 8th and on Thursday, December 9th, at the American Memorial Park Auditorium, APASEEM will hold its annual Science, Science Education, and Environmental Management meeting, as well as its Annual General Membership meeting. The time for the presentations will be from 3:30pm until 6:30pm, both days. As recommended, this year the Academy has moved the talks from the evening to a day-period time slot. Six to seven talks are scheduled for each day and each talk is planned for about a 20 minute period with another 5 minutes for questions.
Interested members of the general public and resource agencies are strongly encouraged to attend and ask questions following each talk. Note that Wednesday is a CNMI holiday, thus many interested government employees, as well as the general public and interested school students should be able to attend. The timing, from 3:30 to 6:30pm, is to further encourage public and private school science teachers to attend both days. Public resource management agency directors and private firm managers are encouraged to allow interested employees flexibility in work hours in order for them to attend and participate in this, our island’s sole science, science education, and environmental management best practices supportive body.
The APASEEM nonprofit organization was begun in April 2004. To date it has held 13 formal meetings with 54 formal and informal talks given by 96 individuals presenting their projects and findings, mostly involving studies and projects done here in our islands. General membership meetings are held just prior to or shortly following each day’s presentation.
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 afternoon presentations, starting at 3:30pm, are planned to include:
1. - Dr. Gary Denton, University of Guam Water and Environment Research Institute, “Mercury and Lead Contamination Case Studies in Saipan Lagoon: Good News, Bad News!”
2. - Mr. James Stanford, US Geological Survey Biological Resources Division, “Preliminary Report on Small Non-Volant Mammals Surveys, Pagan Island.”
3. - Mr. Dave Bucher and Kagman High School Advanced Biology Organization, in cooperation with Dr. Robert L. Schlub, Extension Plant Pathologist, University of Guam and Dr. Dilip Nandwani, Plant Pathologist/Agronomist, NMC CREES, “Studies on the Decline of the Tree Species Casuarina equisetifolia in the Marianas Archipelago.”
4. - Ms. Judy Amesbury, Micronesian Archaeological Research Services, Inc., Guam, "Pelagic Fishing in the Mariana Archipelago: From the Prehistoric Period to the Present."
5. - Ms. Andrea Bruner and Dr. Phil Bruner, Brigham Young University (BYUH), “Who's Your Daddy? Extra-pair Paternity in Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) and Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) at Woolley Lagoon, Nome, Alaska.”
6. - Mr. Richard Seman, “A Report on Three Year’s Work Re: Conducting Summer Camps on Marine Fisheries and Resources at Marianas High School.”
Thursday, December 9th, 2010 afternoon presentations, starting at 3:30pm, are planned to include:
7. - Mr. Michael Trianni, Mr. Michael Tenorio, CNMI DFW Fisheries Program and Mr. Steven McKagan, NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office, “Evaluation of the Gill Net Fishery in the Saipan Lagoon”.
8. - Ms. Amanda Hansen, Mr. Daniel Scott, Mr. Mark Cannon, Dr. Roger Goodwill, BYUH. 2010. “Trace metal contamination in the sea anemone, Edwardsianthus gilbertensis (Carlgren, 1931).”
9. - Mr. Valrick Welch, San Vicente Elementary School, “A Short Report with Graphs of the Science and Math Improvements for San Vicente School as Well as the Specific Improvements from the Students Who Participated in the Summer Camp and the Highly Involved Students from the Young Farmers Club.”
10. - Mr. James Stanford, USGS, “Focus on the Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis) Issue in the NMI (Causes for Concern, Recent Developments, Etc.).”
11. - Roger Goodwill. BYUH 2010. “Monsters without Backbones - the Strange Invertebrates Inhabiting the Saipan Reefs.”
12. - Ms. Lael Prince, Ms. Mollika Graham, Mr. Michael Schsenbaugh, Dr. Dave Bybee, and Dr. Roger Goodwill, BYUH, “Reproductive Studies on a Sabellid Polychaete (Sabellidae: Fabriciinae) from the Kahuku Reef Flat, Oahu Hawaii, 2010.”
13. - Ms. Lauren Fielding, Dr. Oscar Johnson (Montana State University), Dr. Roger Gold, Dr. Roger Goodwill, Ms. Lael Prince, Ms. Patricia Johnson, Mr. Paul Brusseau, and Ms. Nancy Brusseau, BYUH. 2010. “New Insights of the migration patterns of Pacific Golden-Plovers.”
APASEEM reserves the option to alter the order and days of speakers as circumstances warrant. We hope to see everyone who’s interested at the park auditorium from 3:30 to 6:30 on the 8th and the 9th.
For more information, contact John Furey via email at jfurey@saipan.com or by phone at 234-5103 (please leave a voice message after 7 rings).
In early November the Asia Pacific Academy of Science, Education, and Environmental Management (APASEEM) issued a Call For Presentations and twelve groups of researchers have expressed their interest in speaking. Once again, this year’s conference will host speakers traveling here at their own expense from Hawaii and from Guam, as well as presentations by on-island scientists and science students. On this coming Wednesday, December 8th and on Thursday, December 9th, at the American Memorial Park Auditorium, APASEEM will hold its annual Science, Science Education, and Environmental Management meeting, as well as its Annual General Membership meeting. The time for the presentations will be from 3:30pm until 6:30pm, both days. As recommended, this year the Academy has moved the talks from the evening to a day-period time slot. Six to seven talks are scheduled for each day and each talk is planned for about a 20 minute period with another 5 minutes for questions.
Interested members of the general public and resource agencies are strongly encouraged to attend and ask questions following each talk. Note that Wednesday is a CNMI holiday, thus many interested government employees, as well as the general public and interested school students should be able to attend. The timing, from 3:30 to 6:30pm, is to further encourage public and private school science teachers to attend both days. Public resource management agency directors and private firm managers are encouraged to allow interested employees flexibility in work hours in order for them to attend and participate in this, our island’s sole science, science education, and environmental management best practices supportive body.
The APASEEM nonprofit organization was begun in April 2004. To date it has held 13 formal meetings with 54 formal and informal talks given by 96 individuals presenting their projects and findings, mostly involving studies and projects done here in our islands. General membership meetings are held just prior to or shortly following each day’s presentation.
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 afternoon presentations, starting at 3:30pm, are planned to include:
1. - Dr. Gary Denton, University of Guam Water and Environment Research Institute, “Mercury and Lead Contamination Case Studies in Saipan Lagoon: Good News, Bad News!”
2. - Mr. James Stanford, US Geological Survey Biological Resources Division, “Preliminary Report on Small Non-Volant Mammals Surveys, Pagan Island.”
3. - Mr. Dave Bucher and Kagman High School Advanced Biology Organization, in cooperation with Dr. Robert L. Schlub, Extension Plant Pathologist, University of Guam and Dr. Dilip Nandwani, Plant Pathologist/Agronomist, NMC CREES, “Studies on the Decline of the Tree Species Casuarina equisetifolia in the Marianas Archipelago.”
4. - Ms. Judy Amesbury, Micronesian Archaeological Research Services, Inc., Guam, "Pelagic Fishing in the Mariana Archipelago: From the Prehistoric Period to the Present."
5. - Ms. Andrea Bruner and Dr. Phil Bruner, Brigham Young University (BYUH), “Who's Your Daddy? Extra-pair Paternity in Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) and Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) at Woolley Lagoon, Nome, Alaska.”
6. - Mr. Richard Seman, “A Report on Three Year’s Work Re: Conducting Summer Camps on Marine Fisheries and Resources at Marianas High School.”
Thursday, December 9th, 2010 afternoon presentations, starting at 3:30pm, are planned to include:
7. - Mr. Michael Trianni, Mr. Michael Tenorio, CNMI DFW Fisheries Program and Mr. Steven McKagan, NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office, “Evaluation of the Gill Net Fishery in the Saipan Lagoon”.
8. - Ms. Amanda Hansen, Mr. Daniel Scott, Mr. Mark Cannon, Dr. Roger Goodwill, BYUH. 2010. “Trace metal contamination in the sea anemone, Edwardsianthus gilbertensis (Carlgren, 1931).”
9. - Mr. Valrick Welch, San Vicente Elementary School, “A Short Report with Graphs of the Science and Math Improvements for San Vicente School as Well as the Specific Improvements from the Students Who Participated in the Summer Camp and the Highly Involved Students from the Young Farmers Club.”
10. - Mr. James Stanford, USGS, “Focus on the Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis) Issue in the NMI (Causes for Concern, Recent Developments, Etc.).”
11. - Roger Goodwill. BYUH 2010. “Monsters without Backbones - the Strange Invertebrates Inhabiting the Saipan Reefs.”
12. - Ms. Lael Prince, Ms. Mollika Graham, Mr. Michael Schsenbaugh, Dr. Dave Bybee, and Dr. Roger Goodwill, BYUH, “Reproductive Studies on a Sabellid Polychaete (Sabellidae: Fabriciinae) from the Kahuku Reef Flat, Oahu Hawaii, 2010.”
13. - Ms. Lauren Fielding, Dr. Oscar Johnson (Montana State University), Dr. Roger Gold, Dr. Roger Goodwill, Ms. Lael Prince, Ms. Patricia Johnson, Mr. Paul Brusseau, and Ms. Nancy Brusseau, BYUH. 2010. “New Insights of the migration patterns of Pacific Golden-Plovers.”
APASEEM reserves the option to alter the order and days of speakers as circumstances warrant. We hope to see everyone who’s interested at the park auditorium from 3:30 to 6:30 on the 8th and the 9th.
For more information, contact John Furey via email at jfurey@saipan.com or by phone at 234-5103 (please leave a voice message after 7 rings).
Friday, December 3, 2010
Congrats, William Aila Jr.!
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| The Friends of the Mariana Trench Monument (from left to right): Mike Tripp, Ike Cabrera, William Aila Jr., Angelo Villagomez, and Ken Kramer. |
On behalf of the Friends of the Mariana Trench Monument, Congrats William!
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