Fisheries of American Samoa and Guam

By applying mathematical equations to characterize processes such as births, deaths, and growth within a population, projection modelling can help decision-makers understand the potential outcomes of alternative management options in both the shorter-term and the longer-term.¹

The Project

Coral reefs of American Samoa and Guam are crucial to marine biodiversity and the local communities that depend on them.² However, these ecosystems face threats from overfishing and environmental changes.² To address these challenges, American Samoa’s Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) and Guam’s Department of Agriculture (DoAg), supported by NOAA Fisheries, have developed a multi-agency, Pacific-wide collaboration to develop plans that protect their fishery resources.

Our Role

Nature Analytics conducted an analysis of management options, evaluating the extent to which each option might be expected to help the territory achieve its management goals. Our team conducted projection modelling of fish population dynamics to evaluate how different management options could affect the coral reef fish populations over time.

Our modelling work focused on five priority species for American Samoa and five for Guam, emphasizing the surgeonfish family. We used mathematical equations to simulate population dynamics, including birth, death, and growth rates, to predict how fish biomass might change under different regulatory scenarios.

Collaborators

K. Reid, P. Moore, W Harford, N. Vaughan

References

  1. NOAA. (2022). Sharing the tools of sustainable fishery management. NOAA. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/sharing-tools-sustainable-fishery-management

  2. Fenner, D. (2023, May 11). The Reefs of American Samoa: A story of hope. Smithsonian Ocean. https://ocean.si.edu/ecosystems/coral-reefs/reefs-american-samoa-story-hope

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