Fisheries and Climate Change officials from member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agencies (FFA) met for a three-day Inaugural Regional Meeting on Climate change in the context of tuna fisheries recently at Honiara.
The key focus of the meet was to discuss effective regional responses to the impacts and potential impacts of climate change on Pacific offshore fisheries, a key step in the forum’s climate change strategy.
General Director for FFA, Dr. Manu Tupou Roosen, a speaker at the meet stressed on the importance of the off-shore fisheries sector in the pacific, and the potential alarming threat that the warming trajectory of climate change poses to it.
“This is quite significant given that the Pacific is the only region where all four major tuna stocks are at sustainable levels,” the general director said.
“10 out of 17 of our member countries are tuna dependent,” he added.
Matters discussed at the meet included: National boundaries delineation processes, Innovative climate financing instruments and Potential partnerships and opportunities for support are to name a few.
Including Papua New Guinea, the meeting saw attendance of representatives from 13 Pacific Island countries along with Australia and New Zealand, and 9 partners including the Pacific Community and UNDP.
