Foreign Fishery Developments Note: Unless otherwise credited. material in this section is from either the Foreign Fishery Information Releases (FFIRl. compiled by Sunee C. Sonu, Foreign Reporting Branch. Fishery De­ velopment Division. Southwest Region. NMFS. NOAA, Terminal Island. CA 90731, or the Inter­ national Fishery Releases (IFR) or Language Ser­ vices Daily (LSD) reports produced by the Office , Japan of International Fisheries, NMFS, NOAA, Okay Fisheries Agreement Washington. DC 20235.

to purchase the first 10 vessels. Chan said that the optimum annual yield for Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Japan agreements. Appl ications for fishing tuna inside the PNG 200-mile zone has concluded a provisional agreement last licenses are handled by the Ministry for been estimated at 150,000 metric tons year permitting Japanese fishing in the Primary Industry. (t) and that PNG-based vessels were 1 PNG 200-mile fishing zone , excluding catching only from 20,000 to 40,000 t Fisheries Policy the Torres Strait and the 12-mile terri­ (Table I), leaving a sizeable potential torial sea. The agreement, the only On the eve of declaring PNG's new harvest for foreign fishermen. The foreign fishing agreement concluded to 200-mile fishing zone, Julius Chan, majority of tuna caught in PNG waters date, was effective from I May 1978 to PNG Deputy Prime Minister and Minis­ will be processed in joint venture proj­ 31 January 1979 and provided for Japan ter for Primary Industry, stated that his ects with foreign investors. Toward to pay a lump sum of 260 million yen Government, for the time being, would this end the Government of PNG also 2 ($1.2 million ) for access to the PNG encourage foreign interests to operate contemplated a joint venture with a fishing zone. in the new fishing zone. The Govern­ U.S. tuna company to develop a major In addition, each vessel was charged ment's long-term policy is to harvest fishing port on Manus Island which a quarterly entry fee of 7.5 kina the country's fishery resources with a would include an ice plant, freezing ($10.503 ) per meter of vessel length (30 national fleet within 10 years. Foreign facilities, a fish meal plant, and a can­ kina per year). Japanese vessels were fishermen would eventually be phased nery. That construction was expected to allowed to call at the ports of Rabaul, out from PNG waters. cost about $28 million. Kavieng, , and . The Government also planned to ask The initial PNG ownership would be There were no restrictions on catches or the Asian Development Bank for funds 40 percent of the total number of number of vessels allowed to operate within the fishing zone, suggesting that Table 1.-Papua New Guinea fisheries catch, 1972-76'. the PNG government was more in­ Catch in metric tons terested in revenue than in conservation Species 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 of resources. Further consultations be­ Fish tween the two governments to reach a Tilapia 9,000 10,000 10,000 11,000 12,000 Giant sea perch 400 89 300 longer-term agreement were held later Anchovy 1,000 750 '950 last year. It is estimated that Japanese Tuna Mackerel tuna3 250 30 100 vessels catch approximately 50,000 t of Skipjack 13,100 28,500 40,350 15,884 24,379 skipjack a year in PNG waters with Longtail 30 20 20 Yellowfin 1,420 1,743 8,556 large yearly variations. Tuna, total 13,100 28,500 42,050 17,677 33,055

Licensing Procedures Other marine Ii sh 16,000 19,000 5,000 15,000 15,000 Fish, total 38,100 57,500 58,450 44,516 61,305 While the PNG Government has ap­ Crustaceans parently not developed a permanent Shrimp licensing procedure pending compila­ Freshwater 100 100 100 100 100 Banana prawns 300 100 422 297 551 tion of more definitive catch statistics, "Kuruma" prawns 11 8 it is reasonable to assume that the Greasy back prawn 100 162 68 169 Tiger prawn 35 35 75 32 144 PNG-Japan fishing fee arrangements - - Shrimp, total 435 335 770 497 972 will set the pattern for other such Mud crab 350 450 450 Spiny lobster 340 265 290 Freshwater crayfish 3 --12 Crustacean, total 435 335 1,560 1,212 1,712 I PNG established a 200-mile fishing zone on 30 March 1978. Grand total 38,535 57,835 60,010 45,731 63,029 2 At the 30 June 1978 exchange rate of US$I = lSource: Papua New GUinea, Fisheries Department. 221.3 yen. 'The estimated weight is based on average net weight of a buckef of 2.3 kg. 3At the August 1978 exchange rate of I kina = 'In FAO statistics this is given as "Kawakawa" (Euthynnus affinis); the figures also US$I.4. include Auxis thazard catches.

January-February /979 77 shares. The U.S. tuna:';company would caught commercially are shrimp and I) The fisheries' pol icy mu st be adapted have the other 40 percent, while the spiny lobster, Panulirus ornatus, in the to exploit the marine resources poten­ International Finance Corporation Gulf of Papua. Freshwater fisheries, tial; 2) be developed in the light of its (IFC) of the World Bank would hold the principally for tilapia, as a relatively significance for certain areas of the rest. The Government plans to eventu­ inexpensive fish for domestic consump­ country; 3) be guaranteed comparable ally acquire majority control by pur­ tion for which a potential annual har­ income levels with other industrial sec­ chasing the IFC's 20 percent of shares. vest of 20,000-30,000 t may exist, are tors; and 4) also, that the catches are The new plant, employing approxi­ becoming increasingly significant. explotied in such a manner as to ensure mately 1,000 persons at full capacity Most of the tuna and crustacean catch optimum coverage of the world's nutri­ will be capable of processing 60 to 80 t is exported. Nearly half of the total tional needs. The most difficult task in of raw tuna per day. Tentative plans amount of fish consumed domestically, the domestic fisheries pol icy is to en­ were also being made for building pro­ however, is imported (mostly canned sure the balance between the fishing cessing plants in and East mackerel from Japan) at a cost almost fleet's capacity and production, and the . equivalent to the fishing industry's ex­ available resources of fish. These two Chan also wants to develop an effec­ port earnings. regulatory measures must run parallel, tive surveillance and enforcement cap­ notes Norinform. South Pacific Regional ability, improve fisheries data collec­ The Norwegian Government was to Fisheries Organization tion and processing, and increase the appoint a committee to examine all as­ coordination between national and pro­ PNG Government has played an ac­ pects of the concessions policy in the vincial fisheries agencies. The Gov­ tive role in the establishment of the fisheries in order to obtain a full view of ernment will have total control over South Pacific Regional Fisheries Or­ these problems and to seek the best so­ fishery resources, but will encourage ganization which aims to facilitate, lution. particiaption and cooperation of the promote, and coordinate cooperation The establishment of a 200-mile provincial governments. and mutual fisheries assistance among economic zone by Norway and other coastal states in the region. Member­ countries whose sea areas are contigu­ Fish Catch ship in the organization will also be ous with Norway's, has, in many ways, Skipjack and yellowfin tuna are the open to distant-water fishing nations clarified the situation for this interna­ main species caught in PNG waters (primarily Japan and the Republic of tional industry and has created a better (Table I). Other significant species Korea). The organization will conduct foundation for both national and inter­ research studies, provide technical ad­ national fisheries policy in the years vice and assistance, propose conserva­ ahead. Although the provisional"gray tion measures, and coordinate licensing zone" agreement with the Soviet Union Japan's 1977 Fisheries and surveillance arrangements. Mem­ has its disadvantages, the transitional Landings Set New Record ber nations who claim their sovereign period provides a viable basis, both for right to explore, exploit, conserve, and carrying on fishing operations in the Japan's annual landings in fisheries manage the living resources in their North, and for conserving the fish and fish culture for 1977 totaled 200-mile zones including highly migra­ stocks until a permanent solution can be 10,698,000 t, an all time high, but near tory species will be required to go on reached, says Norinform. the same level as the 1976 figure, ac­ record with the organization to this ef­ Later, at a national meeting of the cording to data released by the Ministry fect. An Advisory Committee on Norwegian Fishermen's Association in of Agriculture and Forestry. That Highly Migratory Species may be es­ early September, in Trondheim, the Di­ marked the fifth consecutive year that tablished under the new organization. rector of Fisheries, Knut Vardal, annual Japanese fish landings exceeded warned that the basic stocks of many of 10 million t. Landings by types of Norway's fisheries would be far less in fisheries are shown below. (Source: NORWAY EYES ITS 1980 than was originally estimated FFIR 78-10.) FISHING FUTURE when the present long-term plan was drawn up. The Director warned that The Norwegian Prime Minister, shortfalls must be expected with regard Japan's annual fish production, 1976 and 1977. Odvar Nordli, stated at the August 1978 to previous estimates concerning Nor­

Landings (1,000 t) b~~; Labour Party meeting at Kvalsund in wegian-Arctic cod, saithe, capelin, and Fisheries 1976 1977 1976 Finnmark, that there are limits to the mackerel, with the greatest divergence Marine fisheries future expansion in the fishing industry, between prognosis and final figures oc­ High seas 2,949 2,643 90% according to the Norwegian Informa­ curring in the case of cod. Offshore 4.656 4,873 105 Coastal 2,000 2,133 107 tion Service, Norinform. According to the latest research re­ Marine culture 850 841 99 Inland fisheries 124 126 102 The Government's Long-Term Pro­ ports available, the spawning stock is Inland culture 77 82 106 gramme for the Fisheries has been now down to a level of some 500,000 t, Total 10,656 10.698 100% drawn up along four basic guidelines: about half the amount assumed for

78 Marine Fisheries Review 1980. Capel in stocks have also been were deemed abundant and ajoint ven­ Fishing Industry severely diminished, added to which, ture called SoIomon-Taiyo, Ltd. was The geographic location of the Sol­ the Soviet claim to half of the total formed in 1972 between the Taiyo Fish­ omon Islands on the western fringe of quota presents the capel in fishermen ing Company, Ltd. of Japan and the the Pacific Ocean, an area that is influ­ with a particularly difficult situation. In Solomon Islands Government. Com­ enced by the convergence of the Coral, contrast to this depressing prospect, mercial fishing operations for skipjack South China, and Solomon Seas, en­ Vardal pointed out that stocks of North tuna and other tuna-like species began ables it to enjoy a richness of sea re­ Sea and Atlanto-Scandinavian herring in 1973. The president ofTaiyo report­ sources which is not typical of tropical have been building up as a result of edly visited the Solomons in 1976 to Pacific waters. Although the skipjack strict protection measures, which ifsus­ discuss the expansion of the Solomon­ tuna resources in the Western Pacific tained, give rise to the hope of being Taiyo fishery. Shortly thereafter, in are not known, studies by the Food and able to record gradual increases in these January 1977, the fisheries develop­ Agriculture Organization (FAO), of the stocks during the 1980's. ment project was proposed to the ADB. United States, the Japanese, and the It was concluded, however, that the An ADB appraisal mission made an National Marine Fisheries Service indi­ protective measures in respect of Nor­ evaluation in July and approved the cate that abundant skipjack stocks exist way's most important fish species have loan in late 1977. in the western Pacific and that skipjack been introduced too late and have been The project will include new ship­ offers the best prospects for commer­ inadequately dimensioned. If the yard equipment and facilities, commu­ cial fishing. On the basis of these moves had been introduced at an earlier nications and transportation equipment, studies and the annual catch of the Sol­ juncture, their extent need not have and local construction of 10 skipjack omon Islands over the past 5 years (Ta­ been so great, thus making them more pole-and-line vessels and 20 bait-catch­ ble I), some observers believe that the palatable to fishermen. It was further ing vessels. The services of three con­ Solomon Islands' 1976 skipjack catch emphasized by the Director, that re­ sultants will also be provided to assist in of almost 16,000 t could be doubled. sources and species which are shared vessel construction and the initial man­ The fishing industry plays an impor­ with countries other than Norway, agement and fishing operations of Na­ tant role in the economy of the Solomon complicate the introduction of suitable tional Fisheries Developments, Ltd., Islands. In 1976, fishery products ac­ preventive measures, but that there is the company which will act as the counted for 35 percent of total exports. still much more which can be done by executing agency for the project. Until The catch of the Solomon Islands has Norway unilaterally. Vardal expressed the company is establ ished, all corres­ increased from about 6,000 t in 1973, the hope that the issue of resource pro­ pondence should be directed to the valued at US$2.0 million, to 16,000 t in tection would remain a central theme in Permanent Secretary, Ministry of 1976, valued at about $8.0 million. Norwegian fishing. Natural Resources, Honiara, Solomon About 95 percent of the skipjack is ex­ Islands. ported frozen, canned, or smoked. The 10-pole-and-line skipjack ves­ Skipjack prices have increased sharply sels will be constructed for operation Solomon Islands Reports during 1977 due to the proliferation of throughout the Solomon Islands. To­ Fishery Development Plan 200-mile economic zones, U.S. regula­ gether, the vessels are eventually ex­ tions limiting porpoise mortality as­ The Asian Development Bank pected to catch at least 7,800 t of skip­ sociated with tuna fishing, and declin­ (ADB) has approved a $3.6 million jack tuna annually for local sale and ing catches of large tuna in international loan to the Solomon Islands to finance export. Delivery will be made to the waters. Although during 1973-77 60 percent of a $5.9 million develop­ four processing plants of Solomon California ex-vessel price for skipjack ment project. The aim of this project is Taiyo, Ltd. located at Tulagi on Florida averaged $575 per metric ton, in July expanded catch and increased local par­ Island in the Central District, and at 1977 California importers paid $800 ticipation in the skipjack tuna fishery Noro, located on New Georgia Island in per metric ton for frozen skipjack. Es­ which is now conducted principally by the Western District. A provisional timates indicate that after the comple- a joint veQture with the Japanese. The plant is situated aboard a vessel off 40-year loan has a grace period of 10 Shortland Island while permanent land years, with an annual service charge of facilities are being completed. A fourth Table 1.-S010mon Islands catch of skip­ jack tuna and other tuna-like species, I percent. plant is to be built in an unspecified 1975-76. Source: FAO, "Yearbook of location. Fishery Statistics, 1976," Rome, 1977. Development Project In addition to the present ADB loan, Skipjack tuna Tuna-like As a prelude to expanded tuna fishing the Government of the Solomon Islands Year catch (t) species Total operations in the Solomon Islands, an has requested the European Develop­ 1971' 4,500 200 4,700 1972' 6,800 200 7,000 exploratory survey was conducted in ment Fund to finance equipment and 1973' 5,800 200 6,000 1971-72 by an unidentified private firm provide consultants for a comprehen­ 1974 10.000 250 10,250 1975 7,055 113 7,168 hired by the Government of the Sol­ sive fisheries training program at an 1976 15,600 500 16,100 omon Islands. The resources found existing marine training school. ,Estimates.

January-February 1979 79 tion of the development project, skip­ Z$9,000 -<'lJ.S$9,270) per year; 6) Enforcement jack would sell for about $700 per met­ License for a' fish carrier, NZ$2 All information on fishing activity in ric ton, FOB Solomon Islands. (US$2.06) per ton of the fish-carrying New Zealand's 200-mile zone is coor­ capacity of the vessel for each voyage Project Impact dinated by the newly established Na­ in the EEZ; 7) License for a support tional Fisheries Control Center in the According to the U.S. Embassy in vessel, N7.$1 (US$I.03) per gross-reg­ MAF headquarters in Wellington. The Manila, the Fisheries Development istered-ton of the vessel for each voy­ center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a Project is not only commercially via­ age in the EEZ. week. According to Philip Whitley. ble, but it will also enhance the impor­ Commander of the Control Center, tance of the fishing industry to the Regulations ew Zealand does not have enough economy of the Solomon Islands. The New Zealand regulations require vessels to adequately patrol its EEL project will employ 275 people on a every foreign fishing vessel (FFY) in Information on the location ofFFY's is full-time basis and about 50 more dur­ New Zealand waters to report its posi­ supplied by civilian airline pilots and ing the initial4-year construction phase tion daily to the Fisheries Control coastal vessels, as well as the New Zea­ of the project. Annual earnings of $2.5 Center in Wellington. Captains of land Air Force and Navy. million in foreign currencies are ex­ FFY's are required to keep a log in New Zealand's enforcement pro­ pected after die first year of full-scale English of every communication re­ gram also relies heavily on an observer commercial operations. Tax revenues ceived from the Ministry of Agriculture program. Fifteen "observers" (trained from the skipjack fishery are expected and Fisheries (MAF) or a fisheries en­ fisheries officers) were available in to exceed $600,000 a year, about 10 forcement officer. Each vessel must early April for duty aboard FFY's. The percent of all taxes the Solomon Islands have on board a person who can trans­ observers report daily to the Fisheries government collected in 1976. Also, late English into the captain's lan­ Control Center through the ship's radio the necessity of having live bait for guage. The countries authorized to op­ to give their position. The observers skipjack fishing is now opening up an erate fishing vessels in the New Zealand spend several weeks on a foreign ves­ auxiliary industry. Live bait farms are Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are sel, after which they are debriefed and expanding to complement the catches required to appoint a local national complete a detailed report. of the 20 bait-catching vessels provided fisheries representative (NFR). The for in this project. (Source: IFR-78/99.) NFR is required to notify the MAF Bilateral Negotiations when his country has completed its al­ New Zealand was negotiating sepa­ loted fishing quota for a specified area rate agreements with each country New Zealand Reports in ew Zealand's 200-mile EEZ. wishing to fish in its 200-mile EEZ. Each year, the national fisheries rep­ Agreements were concluded with Fishing Fees, Rules resentative must submit to the MAF a Korea (ROK) and the U.S.S.R. The fishing plan for the country he repre­ 1978 catch quotas alloted to these two The Government of New Zealand sents. The plan must indicate areas to countries were 32,000 t for the ROK has published licensing fees for foreign be fished, estimated number of vessels, and 60,000 t for the U.S.S.R. Both vessels fishing in New Zealand's 200­ estimated times of arrival and departure quotas were considerably lower than mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). of the vessels, duration of the fishing the 1977 catches of the two countries in These fees, effective earl ier in I978, plan, likely calls into New Zealand New Zealand waters: ROK, about are administered by the Ministry of ports, proposed transfers of fish from 50,000 t, and the U.S,S.R. 120,000 t. Foreign Affairs. vessels in the zone inc! uding time and Negotiations between Japan and place of the transfer, proposed landings New Zealand were complicated by Fees of fish in New Zealand, and proposed trade issues. Press reports indicated that The fee schedule is as follows: I) operations of support vessels. The NFR at least some of the issues between License to fish for squid by jigging or may submit a proposal to the Minister Japan and New Zealand had been re­ trawling, NZ$80 (US$82.40)1 per of Fisheries to alter the fishing plan and sol ved. Japan's Minister of Agricul­ (metric) ton offish; 2) License to fish by the Minister may alter, suspend, or ture, Forestry and Fisheries Ichiro trawling, Z$17 (US$17.51) per ton of cancel any approved plan. Nakagawa and Prime Minister Mul­ fish; 3) License to fish by bottom-lin­ These regulations are the result of doon on 30 June 1978, reported prog­ ing, NZ$25 (US$25.75) per ton of fish; extensive studies by various govern­ ress concerning the dispute over ex­ 4) License to fish for albacore and yel­ ment departments working jointly with ports of New Zealand's agricultural lowfin tuna by longlining, Z$I,500 the Fishing Industry Board. The MAF products to Japan. They also an­ (US$1 ,545) per year; 5) License to fish formed a planning team, which began nounced that negotiations on a fisheries for southern bluefin tuna by longlining, work in October 1977, to investigate agreement were scheduled to begin in fisheries management used by the Unit­ July. Japanese officials hoped that a

I At 31 March 1978 exchange rate of US$I = ed States and Canada in their 200-mile fisheries agreement could be reached by Z$O.9713. zones. November. (Source: IFR-78/126.)

80 Marine Fisheries Review