Page 23 - IB June July 2024

The Pledge of Allegiance ends with the ments in the Western Pacific, the United
phrase “with liberty and justice for all.”
U.S. fishermen, who, as children, would recite U.S. EEZ, almost reaching its goal, but it has
this every morning before starting school,
have come to question this phrase. Today,
“justice for all” seems to have forgotten the
U.S. Pacific Is ­
Justice? land fishermen.
Between the con­
stant shrinking of people of the Pacific Islands.
Or the U.S. exclusive
Equity in Fisheries:
economic zone
Balancing Conservation
(EEZ) by the fed­
and Livelihoods in the
eral government
Pacific Islands
Just Us? decreasing the
waters available
for fishing, the
ever­increasing
foreign fishing
presence on the
seas and in the markets, and using the
Pacific Islands to shoulder the burden
of the American conservation ethos,
justice has turned into
“just us.” As the pledge of
allegiance binds us to the
principles of unity and
fairness, so too must the
U.S. approach to fisher­
ies by providing justice
for equitable access, fair
treatment of fishing com­
munities and preservation
of sustainable fishing.
In 2021, President Biden
issued Executive Or­
der (EO) 14008, also known as
“America the Beautiful,” which
contains a mandate to conserve
30% of the ocean by 2030. In
addition, the President issued
EO 13985 that requires the fed­
eral government to provide equity
and environmental justice (EEJ) to
the American people. The two EOs
should work hand­in­hand when it
comes to fisheries, but in the Pacific
Islands, they tend to be mutually
exclusive. By creating monu­
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States has conserved more than 26% of the
done that at the expense of U.S. fishermen in
the islands. Nearly 53% of the U.S. EEZ in
the region is closed to commercial fishing
due to monument designations, leaving
fishermen to wonder if the drive to conserve
outweighs the equity and justice for the
EEJ is not a new term or buzzword born out
of this administration. The federal govern­
ment has a long history of seeking fairness in
the way people are treated and resources are
distributed. In fisheries, the Magnuson­
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage­
ment Act (MSA), enacted in 1976, encoded
for underserved indigenous communities
this equity into the Act itself by providing
in section 305. As part of this section, the
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Manage­
ment Council has developed projects and
programs aimed at addressing disparities in
fisheries policies, practices and opportunities.
These efforts seek to recognize and rectify
structural inequalities, while giving commu­
nities the necessary support and resources to
ensure equitable outcomes. The Community
Development Program allows underserved
communities to have access to federal fish­
eries that would otherwise be unachievable
without exceptions to federal regulations. The
Community Demonstration Project Program
has provided funding to seed fishery project
ideas and engage communities in fishery ac­
tivities. The Council has continued these and
other efforts throughout its tenure, including
offering opportunities for training, building
capacity in fisheries science and management,
and addressing protocols for meeting with
indigenous communities. But, while the
Coun cil continues to work on advancing EEJ,
the barriers to providing it keep mounting.
Efforts to promote sustainable fishing in the
Western Pacific have faced challenges due
to increasing regulatory hindrances. While
measures like the Shark Finning Act and
Billfish Conservation Act aim to protect