Guam Coastal Fisheries Management Plan public comment period extended

Guam Department of Agriculture Director Chelsa Muna stands indoors speaking into a microphone, gesturing toward a large digital display screen that reads "Guam Coastal Fisheries Management Plan Community Meeting" next to an audience member. — Guam Department of Agriculture Director Chelsa Muna discusses the potential impacts of the Fisheries Management Plan updates with local fishers during the group’s second set of town hall meetings held in May. The meetings were open to all fishers and looked for feedback for the FMP.

Leilani Sablan Naden stands at the front of a room speaking into a microphone during a community meeting, with a projector screen behind her displaying information about a draft plan to a seated audience. — Local fisher and UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant’s Guihan for Guahan Program Associate Leilani Sablan Naden was on hand to support the planning and execution of the community meetings held throughout the island in May. Three meetings were held with one for the northern fishers, one for the central fishers and one for the southern fishers.

The Guam Department of Agriculture Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR) has extended the public comment period for the draft Guam Coastal Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) through July 21, 2026, providing additional time for fishers, community members, businesses, and stakeholders to review the draft plan and submit feedback.

The extension follows a second round of FMP townhall meetings conducted in northern, central, and southern Guam during May 2026. The meetings focused on key management measures designed to address long-term declines in Guam’s reef fish populations while maintaining access to marine resources for future generations.

The draft Fisheries Management Plan was developed through a multi-year collaborative process involving Guam’s fishing community, DAWR, the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability & Sea Grant, the University of Guam Marine Laboratory, NOAA Fisheries, and other partners.

According to Department of Agriculture Director Chelsa Muna, at the townhall meetings, DAWR presented several proposed management measures, including:

• Mandatory fishing licenses and permits to better understand fishing activity and seafood movement throughout Guam;

• Minimum size limits for nine commonly harvested reef fish species;

• Commercial harvest, sale, and import restrictions for six vulnerable reef fish species (the “Big Six”);

• Full protection for humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum);

• Challenges with enforcing restrictions on nighttime spearfishing; and

• Enhanced outreach, monitoring, compliance, and enforcement approaches.

“During the first round of community meetings in 2025, attendees expressed strong support for prohibiting nighttime commercial spearfishing while allowing recreational and subsistence nighttime fishing to continue,” said Muna. “However, DAWR expressed, during the meetings, substantial enforcement challenges associated with distinguishing legal daytime harvest from nighttime harvest and preventing loopholes that could undermine implementation. This motivated community fishers to initiate a community-led petition to put a moratorium on all forms of nighttime spearfishing.”

As a result, community members were asked to reconsider management options during the 2026 townhall meetings. A full nighttime spearfishing moratorium received the strongest support among meeting participants. DAWR will continue reviewing community input before making final decisions regarding nighttime spearfishing management measures.

Throughout the meetings, community members emphasized several recurring priorities, including:

• Strong outreach and education before any regulations are implemented;

• Clear communication regarding licensing requirements and fisheries regulations;

• Practical and realistic enforcement approaches;

• Continued modernization of Guam’s fisheries regulations;

• Protection of culturally, ecologically, and economically important reef fish species; and

• Ongoing collaboration between resource managers and Guam’s fishing community.

DAWR recognizes that successful fisheries management depends on meaningful public participation Community feedback received during the townhall meetings has already helped shape revisions to the draft Plan, and additional public comments will continue to inform refinements before the plan is finalized.

The FMP is intended to serve as a living and adaptive framework that balances sustainable fishing opportunities, cultural traditions, food security, and long-term conservation of Guam’s marine resources.

Community members may submit comments through the online comment form accompanying the draft FMP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJjNtbChNcB76_e2SFhEYDCmhaIOyLgzBfAn5TXhGJk7xKTw/viewform?usp=share_link&ouid=110891595419896070377 or by phone to (671) 482-2749 or (671) 735-0286.

In person comments are also being accepted at the Guam Department of Agriculture Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources. All comments received will be reviewed and considered as DAWR continues refining the plan.

DAWR’s goal is to finalize the Guam Coastal Fisheries Management Plan by the end of 2026.