The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission WHAT PACIFIC ISLANDS ARE DOING TO MANAGE TUNA FISHING?

TREATIES AND SURVEILLANCE: REGIONAL COOPERATION THE KEY PACIFIC POSTCARD: A Pacific success story— For the Pacific Islands to have sustainable management measures at WCPFC the regional observer tuna fisheries that their people, meetings, program (ROP): Care is governments and industries can benefit • Developing local fishing businesses and taken to ensure Pacific from, they are working on three things. other business that can increase the Firstly, they are aiming for effective Islanders are the bulk of value and jobs created by tuna such as management of fishing and any other around 150 observer staff loining and canning operations, human impacts on the habitat of tuna. in the region. Training and Secondly, they are working to develop the • Securing regional and international recruitment helps all fishery so people gain jobs, income and agreements that can benefit local businesses of value from tuna, and finally fishing industries, observers, whether male they are improving monitoring, control or female, cope with and surveillance to make sure that fishing • Creation of a Vessel Monitoring System at the Pacific Islands Forum fisheries long stretches of being vessels comply with the rules and illegal at sea and being objective fishing does not occur. Agency which tracks all licensed vessels in the region and supplies this and neutral in their work. Examples of what the Pacific Islands have information to member countries, The information gathered done to manage, develop and control their tuna include: • Creation of a regional observer from observers in their programme to supply observers on catch and effort reports • National tuna management plans, fishing vessels, are cross-checked with • Regional tuna management decisions • Cooperation in Regional Surveillance data about length of fish through participation in Pacific Islands Operations, Forum fisheries Agency meetings caught, a vessel activity and decisions of the Forum Fisheries • Negotiation of treaties and other report (provided by the Council, agreements to secure more financial benefits for Pacific Island countries and vessel operator) and the • Participation in setting fishing limits regional cooperation to manage and Vessel Monitoring System and taking other conservation and control tuna fishing. (VMS). Regional maritime surveillance exercises, such as this exercise by FFA members in 2008, are an example of how countries cooperate to detect, board and prosecute illegal fishing.

US Treaty, 1988 Nauru Agreement, 1992 FSM Arrangement, 1994 Enables US purse seine Sets terms and conditions for Provides access for

fishing vessels to fish in the tuna purse seine fishing licences signatories to fish in each http://www.pacificpublications.bizQUOTE HYPERLINK: waters of Pacific signatories, amongst signatories. Has three other’s waters and promotes and is renewed as needed ‘implementing arrangements’ greater participation by with the current period setting out specific rules for Pacific Islanders to develop With the growing running until 2013. fishing in these countries, such as national fisheries industries. PIPs are Cook Islands, measures to restrict fishing in the Signatories are Federated importance of Federated States of high seas, the vessel days scheme, States of Micronesia, Marshall sustainable Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, and 100% observer coverage of Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, purse seine vessels. The Parties to New Guinea and Solomon development Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Nauru Agreement, or PNA, are Islands. Samoa, Solomon Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, of tuna to the Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, national economies Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. of some FFA Member Countries, it would be unrealistic not to A NEW ERA IN FISHERIES expect national REGIONALISM interests to be at The Vava’u Declaration on Pacific Fisheries Resources 2007 named after the forefront of the island where Forum Leaders met when they endorsed it. It commits decision-making. Pacific governments to provide sufficient national resources to the fisheries However, regional sector, and asks the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and SPC to supplement national capacity and support regional action with a particular cooperation is also focus on Pacific fisheries development and the WCPFC. vital to fulfil national aspirations to Palau Arrangement, Niue Treaty, 2007 capture more 1995 Sets out to combat illegal fishing, and wealth from Complements the Parties to agrees on cooperation between Pacific the Nauru Agreement and Islands Forum Fisheries Agency members fisheries. sets license limits by fleet on about monitoring, control and surveillance the number of purse seine of fishing - it includes provisions on Su’a N.F. Tanielu, vessels that can be granted exchange of information such as Director-General, position and speed of vessels at sea, and by the signatories, or parties. Pacific Islands Forum Signatories are Federated which vessels are without licences, plus States of Micronesia, Kiribati, procedures for cooperation in monitoring, Fisheries Agency Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua prosecuting and penalising illegal fishing New Guinea, Palau, Solomon vessels. Signatories are all 17 members of Islands, Tuvalu. the Pacific Islands FFA.

MORE INFORMATION: Oceanic Fisheries Management Project: www.ffa.int/gef or email [email protected] Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency: www.ffa.int or email [email protected] and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission: www.wcpfc.int or email [email protected].