The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Insight section on April 28 presented a “Fishing for a Future” package — with viewpoints by a prominent fisheries scientist contrasted against two advocates for expanding the “no take” prohibition on commercial fishing in an area from 50-200 nautical miles around four islands in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM).

In the former, fisheries scientist Ray Hilborn pointed out empirical studies showing limited conservation benefits from such large-scale “no take Marine Protected Areas” (MPA). In the latter, expansion-zone advocates Rick Gaffney and William Aila argued that the American Samoans should accept the potential severe negative impacts on the tuna industry, the main economic driver in the territory and consider small-scale tourism as an alternative to a “dying” cannery business and related infrastructure.

What is needed here is recognition that American Samoan voices need to be heard as they have legitimate concerns, and they express strong opposition to the proposed expansion.

It’s easy to assume that there are real benefits to conservation from such measures but hard to demonstrate them scientifically. Open ocean fish move! Static, politically imposed closed areas will not be able to adapt to any future climate changes and fish distribution.

There is a significant difference between being a “firm believer” in MPA and a “true believer” in MPA as a management tool.

A firm believer sees MPA as a useful tool when there is good baseline data, effective monitoring, ability to make adjustments, and strong community support, i.e., bottom up. MPA may indeed work well in nearshore areas when there is community support and compliance.

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A “true believer” is convinced that they are correct, know better than others, are resistant to questioning, and are likely to advocate for top-down “set ’em and forget ’em” approaches that leave them a personal legacy.

Here, the potential legacy includes strong resentment being voiced by the “affected community”: the Territory and people of American Samoa. The Monument is in the process of being reviewed for transition to a National Marine Sanctuary.

Designating National Marine Monuments using the Antiquities Act and presidential executive order, as has been done for a large portion of the U.S. Western Pacific Exclusive Economic Zone is a way of circumventing doing any comprehensive social, economic and cultural impact assessment on the most affected communities.

Yet such impact assessment is required by the three national laws that apply here: The National Marine Sanctuaries Act; the Magnuson Stevens Act, which guides the regional Councils and requires them to regulate fishing sustainably; and the National Environmental Protection Act.

Fishing regulations are not yet finalized in the sanctuary designation process, though hearings have been held. What is needed is respect for the Samoan voices, recognition of the legitimacy of their expressed concerns, and as an affected community giving them recognition and adequate say in the process.

The recent sanctuary program hearing in American Samoa did not fully follow Samoan cultural protocols and cut many speakers off.

The American Samoan governor and the congressional representative have both expressed strong resistance to the proposed monument regulations and the sanctuary designation, as well as resentment for the lack of initial consultation and for the top-down approach, which smacks of neocolonialism.

They and other Samoans have pointed out that these proposals fly in the face of recent President Joe Biden executive orders on equity and environmental justice, and on giving Pacific Islanders a voice.

Fair and effective fisheries management requires flexibility in the tools chosen, the need for monitoring, affected community consultation, and giving members of fishing communities a real voice. Let Samoan voices be heard.

Craig Severance is a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Hawaii-Hilo and a member of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Social Science Planning Committee.