Yap's 2011 Trochus Open Season on Yap's main island was closed on August 8th, 12 noon local time. Total gathered trochus on Yap mainland was 98 tons, which is short of the 150 ton quota. A first for Yap to have closed trochus harvesting short of the quota and also a first for Yap to have set its quota so high. The proclamation for Yap's 2011 Trochus Open Season started on July 11, 6 a.m. local time and was extended twice till August 8th, due to shortfall in reaching quota. An interview with Marine Resources acting Division Chief, Mike Hasurmai, on the matter of why Yap failed to meet the quota suggests that the new conditions of the trochus proclamation, that advised all fisherman to refrain from any harvesting activities within the "No-Take" zones of concerned MPAs or LMMAs, may have been a major factor in why Yap didn't meet its quota. This gave the local communities a sense of control over their fishing grounds. Mike explained to me a difference in this year's Trochus Open Season where those who were harvesting had to ask permission from local community members to harvest trochus in their fishing grounds in contrast to the previous trochus open seasons where anyone could harvest trochus anywhere on Yap's fishing grounds without the consent of the resource owners.
Though we did not meet the amount we set at first, I feel that Yap has taken a step towards the right direction. Having the government recognize the MPAs and LMMAs on Yap is a first of many accomplishments for the State of Yap. I hope that from here on out, the government and the local communities who are involved in environmental conservancy projects will continue to work together. Who knows maybe sometimes in the future, if they plan and execute right, we might even be able to surpass this year's 150 ton quota for trochus and still have plenty to keep Yap's Marine biodiversity at an all time high along with many other projects that help manage our natural resources and still have an abundance to commercially export.
/s/ Jonathan
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