The 5th Pacific Tuna Forum 2015 began today at the Sofitel Resort in Nadi, Fiji, with Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) CEO, Dr Transform Aqorau, calling for the support of the PNA fisheries management framework.
In his keynote address, Dr Aqorau spoke of the fisheries policy developed by PNA highlighting significant issues in the tuna fishery sector and the PNA-driven management of the purse seine industry.
Dr Aqorau also informed the forum of reviews of the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) and improvements to its management and rollout to control a crucial aspect of the fisheries sector that is seen as being unsustainable.
Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Palau, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia and Tuvalu are Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and control the world’s largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery. The PNA nations supply a major portion of the world’s skipjack tuna; used widely for tuna canned products.
The Head of PNA described skipjack tuna as being in a “healthy state”, adding that the challenge was to expand opportunities to maximise economic gains.
Dr Transform Aqorau’s keynote address at the 5th Pacific Tuna Forum 2015 can be found here.
