Workshop report and development of 5-year plan for coral reef management in American Samoa (2000-2004)
Craig P, Wiegman S, Flinn C, Aicher J. 1999. Workshop report and development of 5-year plan for coral reef management in American Samoa (2000-2004). American Samoa Coral Reef Advisory Group. Pago Pago, American Samoa
In May 1999, the American Samoa Coral Reef Advisory Group convened a workshop to develop a 5-year plan for coral reef management in the Territory. The group of local agencies, the public, and specialists from off-island reviewed coral reef issues from a small-island perspective and focused on three topics of local concern: (1) Are reef resources being overfished?, (2) How should reef "health" be monitored?, and (3) How much impact does local water quality have on reef resources? Principal conclusions were that local reefs were already overfished, and that water quality improvements in Pago Pago Harbor need to continue. The workshop and Advisory Group made the following resolutions: Resolved: Overfishing is a serious and urgent problem on coral reefs in American Samoa. A major contributor to this problem is scuba fishing which should be prohibited in all territorial fisheries, as it is on Australia's Great Barrier Reef and several other tropical countries. Additionally, a full recovery plan for fisheries should include a network of marine protected areas, community-based management, monitoring of the total harvest of coral reef resources, and better enforcement of regulations. Resolved: Despite welcome improvements in water quality in Pago Pago Bay, the harbor still does not support coral reef recovery, safe swimming, or fish that are safe to eat. A step-wise recovery plan should be implemented that builds upon the progress made to date. Resolved: Coral reefs surrounding our islands can be directly damaged by land-based activities, and so land and sea environments cannot be viewed as being separate from each other. The Coral Reef Advisory Group strongly advocates that all land developments in the Territory be fully assessed for their potential impacts to coastal waters. The Advisory Group subsequently crafted a set of recommendations for monitoring and research for the management of Samoa's coral reefs. These recommendations were drawn into the framework of a five year plan.