The plan for deep sea mining in waters near American Samoa is still in the area identification stage which includes an environmental review of the area identified for potential leasing.

A virtual presentation by Nancy Sumait of the Pacific Islands Office of the US Bureau for Ocean Energy Management at the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting on Wednesday gave an update on the lease proposal for the Northern Marianas and American Samoa.

The surveys of the ocean floor being carried out by NOAA and the US Geological Survey are part of the environmental review.

The BOEM representative explained the next steps in the process.

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During the public comment period at Wednesday’s council meeting, Pago Pago Representative Trude Ledoux-Sunia said that while the Council plays a critical role in advising and guiding discussions, American Samoa must continue to have a strong voice and seat at the table in Washington DC where many of the ultimate decisions affecting our island will be made.

She said Fono members, cabinet members, business owners, village council members and a collective of community members should have the opportunity to voice our concerns in front of respective subcommittees on Capitol Hill in person. She emphasized that people who live closest to the ocean and depend on it every day deserve meaningful representation in the decision making.

Representative Luaitaua Gene Pan, Vice Chair of the American Samoa Advisory Panel to the Council, has called for assistance from the council to attract US purse seiners to return to American Samoa. He said that the purse seiners used to provide job opportunities for our people and buoyed the economy, but there are hardly any locally based purse seiners today.