Pacific fishing communities confront gaps in disaster recovery

By Ron Rocky Coloma

A Saipan marina left in ruins, Guam fishers struggling with fuel, ice and dangerous currents and American Samoa waiting six years for disaster assistance all point to the same problem across the U.S. Pacific: fishing communities can lose their livelihoods much faster than they can rebuild them.

That concern emerged during the U.S. Pacific Islands Fishing Industry Resilience & Recovery Workshop held Sept. 11 and 12 at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa, where fishers and officials from across the region discussed how disasters disrupt fishing and where recovery systems fall short.

Three presenters showed how different disasters can produce the same long-term pressure on island fisheries.

For John Gourley of the Northern Mariana Islands, the issue is repeated destruction.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku was the latest in a series of major storms to strike Saipan and Tinian over the past decade.

The storm, which made landfall in April, caused a power blackout, disrupted water and sewer systems and damaged marine infrastructure already vulnerable to powerful typhoons.

At Outer Cove Marina in Saipan, piers disappeared, vessels were pushed ashore and docks were destroyed.

“The marina is probably not worth repairing,” Gourley said. “The marina is going to probably have to be completely demolished and start again.”

He said the CNMI has learned how to prepare for typhoons because residents have endured so many, but preparation has limits when local governments and residents lack the money to harden homes, utilities and marine facilities before the next storm.

“We know better. We’re experienced, but we don’t know how to fix it because we don’t have the money,” Gourley said.

In the CNMI, major repairs often depend on federal assistance and materials shipped from outside the territory.

Gourley said the CNMI has gradually strengthened its infrastructure, including replacing wooden power poles with concrete ones, adding backup generators, and exploring underground power lines for critical facilities.

But he also questioned a recovery cycle in which vulnerable structures are rebuilt in much the same form after each storm.

He pointed to homes with tin roofs that are repeatedly torn away by typhoons and later replaced with tin roofing, leaving residents exposed to the same problem again.

Marine facilities face similar concerns. Gourley said Outer Cove Marina, used by larger vessels, is not adequately protected from storms and should be treated as a priority.

The destruction also carried a human cost. Gourley said six people were lost aboard the MP Uriana after the vessel attempted to outrun the storm and later capsized.

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Audrey Toves, owner and captain of One Love GUd Vibes Charters, said fishers and charter operators begin losing income before a typhoon arrives because vessels must be secured in advance.

Afterward, trailer boat owners may be unable to move until roads are cleared and downed power lines are addressed.

Experienced fishers may also wait days before launching because debris can remain in marinas and offshore waters.

“Vessel insurance is also very limited in Guam and often does not meet the needs of small boat owners,” Toves said.

The problems continue once fishers get back on the water.

Three weeks after Typhoon Dobby, Toves said she went deep-bottom fishing near Rota Banks and Ritidian for Guam's independent bottomfish survey. Surface conditions looked manageable, but the current was far stronger than expected.

“At 600 feet, the reel released three-quarters of the line at a 45-degree angle, forcing me to keep the boat in reverse to retrieve the line and reach the bottom,” she said.

Toves said strong currents, warmer water and other environmental conditions can push fish away from familiar fishing grounds, forcing operators to change lures, alter routes and travel farther.

That means higher fuel costs at the same time fuel itself may be harder to obtain after a storm.

Ice and cold storage can also become scarce during power outages, creating another obstacle for fishers who need to preserve their catch and for customers who may not be able to store large quantities of fish at home.

“Even when stores have ice, purchases may be limited per customer,” Toves said.

For charter businesses, the combined effect is lost trips, higher operating costs and uncertainty over when normal fishing can resume.

Mary Cheung-Fuk, former disaster relief coordinator for American Samoa, explained the lingering impact of disruptions when recovery assistance arrives years later.

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She recalled the tsunami, which killed 34 people and devastated coastal communities in American Samoa on Sept. 29, 2009.

Cheung-Fuk, who was a high school student at the time, recalled the destruction in her village of Leone and the death of her cousin after the tsunami.

Years later, she became the disaster relief fund coordinator for the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, working on the same disaster that had affected her family and community.

“Fishing is more than an industry; it provides food and income, supports family and cultural obligations and carries knowledge passed from one generation to another,” Cheung-Fuk said.

She said the tsunami damaged or destroyed 17 bottomfish vessels, about half the fleet. Bottomfish landings fell from about 70,000 pounds in 2009 to about 15,000 pounds in 2010.

But the timeline for assistance extended far beyond the disaster itself.

Cheung-Fuk said the tsunami occurred in 2009, the federal fishery disaster determination came in 2012, disaster relief funding was awarded in 2014 and implementation began in 2015.

“That meant six years passed between disaster and recovery assistance,” she said.

By then, fishers had already adapted on their own. Some repaired equipment, fishing effort changed, participation declined and some fishermen may never have returned.

The delay created a mismatch between the help designed after the disaster and what the community needed years later.

“What a fishing community needs immediately after disaster may not be exactly what it needs six years later,” Cheung-Fuk said.

She said implementation can be slowed by permitting, procurement, eligibility rules, personnel changes and limited local capacity.

It also means restoring the conditions that allow people to fish, sell catch, operate businesses and pass fishing knowledge to the next generation.

Cheung-Fuk said the real measure is whether the community itself comes back.

“We are building a fishing community,” she said.

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