At least 80 species of sharks and rays occur within the Pacific Islands region. Around half of these species are considered to be highly migratory, therefore fishing impacts upon them must be internationally managed. Due to their low productivity and long life span, these species are particularly vulnerable to overexploitation. Sharks and rays are also of cultural significance to many Pacific Island communities.
NADI, FIJI & HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS OCTOBER 2009: FFA participated in a number of key meetings this month, outcomes from which are detailed below.
US TREATY
The regional headquarters of FFA, Honiara, Solomon Islands, hosted the Special Pacific Islands Parties Internal Meeting on 28 October and the 1st Renegotiation Session of the Multilateral Treaty on Fisheries Between Certain Governments of the Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America (commonly referred to as the "US Treaty") from 29-30 October 2009.
Initial exchange of views and discussions were positive. The Pacific Island Parties and the US expressed a shared interest in renegotiation on three key elements - licensing arrangements including financial and economic aspects, the fishing opportunities available to US flagged vessels and the duration of an extension of the Treaty arrangements which are due to expire in June 2013.
CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA, MONDAY 26 OCTOBER 2009: As the 5th Biennial GEF International Waters Conference hosted in Cairns opened today, participants heard about the remarkable achievements of Pacific Island countries in fisheries management.
Even though Pacific Island countries have limited resources spread over a marine area 30 million square kilometers, they have been at the forefront of developing innovative measures to manage fishing including the establishment of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).
BIKENIBEU, TARAWA, KIRIBATI, THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER 2009: The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), met this week and agreed to actions to advance their interests in securing greater economic benefits from the tuna resources and co-ordinate and harmonise the management of common fish stocks for the benefit of their peoples.
PORT VILA, VANUATU, 10-21 AUGUST 2009: At the annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Scientific Committee, scientists are discussing the state of tuna and other migratory fish stocks and associated fisheries issues.
PORT VILA, VANUATU, 25-30 July 2009: The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) has been raising awareness of fisheries issues with media attending the conference. At a pre-conference workshop, FFA presented an overview of fisheries including fisheries management, development and control of illegal fishing and the important role of DEVFISH (www.ffa.int/devfish) and the Oceanic Fisheries Management Project (www.ffa.int/gef/) in providing assistance to Pacific Island countries.
HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, MONDAY 20 JULY 2009: Ever wondered how countries negotiate the rules on tuna fishing? How international decisions between the Pacific Islands and the world’s biggest fishing countries are made? What is the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)? Who are its members and what it has done so far? How the WCPFC seeks to control fishing and illegal fishing?
FFA is coordinating subregional workshops so that all its 17 members have information and informal discussions to prepare for their participation in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and at its next meeting in December in French Polynesia. The workshops are an important part of FFA’s ongoing efforts to increase national capacity and strengthen regional solidarity so that member countries can manage their fisheries for the benefit of people today and for future generations.
This year there will be 2 subregional workshops:
HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, MONDAY 15 JUNE 2009: Fisheries officers from Australia, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Indonesia and Philippines are in Honiara today to discuss options, positions and negotiation strategies for the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting in December 2009.
ALOFI, NIUE,WEDNESDAY 19 MAY 2009: Ministers from the members of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) attended the Forum Fisheries Committee meeting and agreed on some key strategies for fisheries in the region.
Speaking at the meeting FFA Director General Su’a N.F. Tanielu said: “The importance of what we do here at this meeting is underlined by the challenging times we live in. The global economic crisis has created scarce resources and economic pressures which will impact on the sustainable development, management and control of tuna.”