The proponents of the monument expansion have it backward. The WPRFMC is using verified information from NOAA and NMFS to set its policies. Meanwhile, the people who are pushing for the expansion continue to make unsubstantiated claims that are mathematically refutable, such as saying the expansion will protect tuna stocks by restricting Hawaii's longline fleet.

The fact is that Hawaii's longline fleet harvests less than 2% of the total amount of bigeye tuna in the Pacific. If protecting the stocks are truly a concern, then the people who want to provide greater protection for bigeye tuna have to go after the countries that take the other 98%. 

Making fishing harder for the people who catch less than 2% of the fish will only hurt Hawaii's ability to become less dependent upon imported food. It will do nothing to protect bigeye tuna in the Pacific.

That's simple math.