Officials on island to discuss marine safety
Yigo mayor Rudy Matanane says marine safety has always been an issue for the fishing community on Guam.
November 10, 2014Updated: November 10, 2014
By KUAM News
By KUAM News by Ken Quintanilla
Guam - Officials from one of the eight regional fishery management councils are on Guam and on Wednesday set to address the fishing community on marine safety.
Yigo mayor Rudy Matanane says marine safety has always been an issue for the fishing community on Guam especially up north, saying, "The first thing is always safety no matter what you do."
Earlier this week, Matanane met with officials from the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council ahead of a meeting with the Yigo community on Wednesday. He says many residents, including several fishing enthusiasts have raised the concern about marine safety up north but did not know how to go about it. He said, "We're trying to make things better and safer for salt water enthusiasts. Most especially people who have boats and come up here in the north and fishermen, or just people having a nice Sunday afternoon and then all of a sudden there is a tragedy when a person gets swept out over the reef or a distressed call from a boat operator. It takes a lot of time, and time is always of the essence for safety purposes," he said.
The council's indigenous coordinator Charles Ka'ai'ai based out of Hawaii says the Yigo community meeting is one of several purposes for their visit to Guam. He told KUAM News, "Everyone should have the opportunity to fish and everyone should be able to fish safely and have safe recreation in the ocean; if there is problem with getting emergency help out in the ocean, then we should address that and we can address through numerous government agencies, regulations, with the federal government, but we're trying to find out how to achieve what the community wants."
The council, which is responsible for fisheries not only on Guam but Hawaii, the CNMI and American Samoa, will also meet with the Fisherman's Co-Op and other village mayors while on island. A similar meeting was held in 2012 when Merizo mayor Ernest Chargualaf hosted the council to discuss fishery management issues, identify community needs and develop potential projects that could benefit the village. Mayor Matanane continued, "Everybody that has a boat here, comes up here to fish, so even if you're from the south you should be concerned about what happens in the north as far as safety concerns because it might just be you that might needs rescue as soon as possible."
The meeting is set for November 12 from 7-9pm at the Yigo Community Center.
Guam - Officials from one of the eight regional fishery management councils are on Guam and on Wednesday set to address the fishing community on marine safety.
Yigo mayor Rudy Matanane says marine safety has always been an issue for the fishing community on Guam especially up north, saying, "The first thing is always safety no matter what you do."
Earlier this week, Matanane met with officials from the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council ahead of a meeting with the Yigo community on Wednesday. He says many residents, including several fishing enthusiasts have raised the concern about marine safety up north but did not know how to go about it. He said, "We're trying to make things better and safer for salt water enthusiasts. Most especially people who have boats and come up here in the north and fishermen, or just people having a nice Sunday afternoon and then all of a sudden there is a tragedy when a person gets swept out over the reef or a distressed call from a boat operator. It takes a lot of time, and time is always of the essence for safety purposes," he said.
The council's indigenous coordinator Charles Ka'ai'ai based out of Hawaii says the Yigo community meeting is one of several purposes for their visit to Guam. He told KUAM News, "Everyone should have the opportunity to fish and everyone should be able to fish safely and have safe recreation in the ocean; if there is problem with getting emergency help out in the ocean, then we should address that and we can address through numerous government agencies, regulations, with the federal government, but we're trying to find out how to achieve what the community wants."
The council, which is responsible for fisheries not only on Guam but Hawaii, the CNMI and American Samoa, will also meet with the Fisherman's Co-Op and other village mayors while on island. A similar meeting was held in 2012 when Merizo mayor Ernest Chargualaf hosted the council to discuss fishery management issues, identify community needs and develop potential projects that could benefit the village. Mayor Matanane continued, "Everybody that has a boat here, comes up here to fish, so even if you're from the south you should be concerned about what happens in the north as far as safety concerns because it might just be you that might needs rescue as soon as possible."
The meeting is set for November 12 from 7-9pm at the Yigo Community Center.