About 50 to 70 attendees came out each day in a series of townhall meetings to share their input on proposed regulations to better manage Guam's fisheries, according to Guam Department of Agriculture Director Chelsa Muña.

The department’s Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources and University of Guam Sea Grant wrapped up three townhall meetings last week, where they shared more details on the draft measures as part of the Guam Fisheries Management Plan.

Research shows once abundant fish in Guam's waters have been gradually decreasing for over two decades, and the director said it’s clear something needs to be done. There are little to no regulations for Guam, which is the least managed island in Micronesia.

“If we want to ensure that there’s fish for our children, for our grandchildren and for our grandchildren’s children, then these are actions that are necessary now,” Muña said. “Doing nothing really is not an option. But we don’t want to make that decision for the community, we want to make it with them.”

But she said the changes won’t be happening overnight. The fisheries management plan has been a work in progress since 2020.

The proposed measures are a result of scientific data and suggestions from local fishermen through numerous conversations, community meetings and surveys the past five years.

“The species that we are focusing on came directly from that participation, that engagement and that information,” Muña explained.

Nine species are being proposed to have minimum size limits “to ensure that the fish are able to reproduce before they’re caught.” Bluefin trevally, blusespine unicornfish, ember parrotfish, big-eye bream, filament-fin parrotfish, longnose parrotfish, tanface parrotfish and steephead parrotfish must be 12 inches while napoleon wrasse (tangison) must be 24 inches.

Other measures include a ban on harvesting atuhong– or bumphead parrotfish, mandatory licensing and catch reporting to ensure comprehensive data is collected, and a ban on the commercial sale of six species. Those include napoleon wrasse, steephead parrotfish, longnose parrotfish, tanface parrotfish, filament-fin parrotfish and ember parrotfish.

In perspective, Muña says that’s just ten fish species out of one hundred. The majority of the fishermen in attendance were supportive of the measures, though they certainly had questions.

“Our team feels really great about the townhall meetings we had. It doesn’t mean that they were easy. We spent, in some cases, nearly two hours answering questions from the community,” Muña said.

Officials also touched on strategies to tackle overexploitation due to spearfishing at night, offering three options. Those include prohibiting commercial nighttime fishing only, seasonal moratorium, or a moratorium on nighttime fishing for all sectors. More than half of those surveyed said they want both sectors to be regulated, but with stricter regulations for commercial fishers than for subsistence fishers.

Meantime, feedback from the townhalls will be used to refine the proposals. For those who missed out, more community meetings are in the works.

“Then we will create a report, come up with a draft of the plan and come back to the community to say ‘hey, is this what you meant, is this what you expect, is this what you will support us with as we try to support you so there’s mutual support,” she said.

Officials say it’s an ongoing conversation to make the Guam Fisheries Management Plan a “reflection of both the needs of our community and the needs of our reef.”