By Leanne Jorari – EMTV News, Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu 8 December 2018 – Tuna caught in the waters of PNG and other members of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) is a rich resource but that resource depends on the waters of 200-mile exclusive economic zones (EEZ). If islands are lost to the sea, the EEZ will shrink, and so will the income it provides.
PNA CEO, Ludwig Kumoru, stated that while climate change may result in member countries losing their land, the PNA’s goal is to ensure that they don’t lose their exclusive economic zones.
Mr. Kumoru said the bid to secure the boundaries of PNA country EEZ’s is one of the most important priorities in the PNA’s 5-year strategic plan which was approved by Ministers in here in Honolulu.
An electronic monitoring proposal for the Longline Fishery, budget plans for 2019 and regional fisheries issues for the upcoming WCPFC meeting were also discussed.
Papua New Guinea’s Fisheries Minister, Patrick Basa, reminded parties that the strategic plan is an important guide to achieving the objective of the PNA, which is to increase economic value and derive greater benefits from the regions tuna resources.
Next week PNG and other Pacific countries will attend the Tuna Commission or WCPFC, which includes powerful distant water fishing nations such as China, Japan, Taiwan.
For Minister Basa, the PNA meeting before next week’s WCPFC is important for building the solidarity needed to protect Pacific interests.
The Parties to the Nauru Agreement control the world’s largest, sustainable tuna purse seine fishery. Members include Papua New Guinea, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
