Results for fisheries

Aquaculture equipment from Japan, including diving computers, underwater cameras and tally counters, was handed over to the Ministry of Fisheries to assist the fisheries sector in its recovery, after the natural disasters in Tonga on 15 January.

For years, WTO members have failed to forge an agreement to limit fishing subsidies, thereby allowing the continuation of ecologically devastating fishing operations that would otherwise be economically unviable. Now an agreement is within reach – if the political will is there to deliver it. The comprehensive draft now on the table combines measures to curb harmful subsidies with specific exceptions for developing countries. Governments have given their word that they will curb destructive fisheries subsidies. This week’s 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva (30 Nov.-3 Dec.) will test the credibility of that pledge. By Helen Clark, et al.

King Tupou VI opened the Ha'apai Royal Agriculture, Fisheries, Tourism and Trade Show 2019 at Lea’aetohi grounds in Pangai, where an abundance of the island group’s seafood was displayed on July 16.

The New Zealand Defence Force has taken part in a multi-national fisheries patrol that covered an area 22 times the size of New Zealand. The operation, from 19-31 May involved seven members of the Forum Fisheries Agency, including Tonga. Some 57 vessels were boarded by authorities during the operation in the exclusive economic zones.

Pacific tuna is under threat from the world’s largest fishing nations including China, Japan and South Korea, warned Fiji’s Fisheries Minister, at the 14th Tuna Commission Meeting in Manila, which began on December 3.

Illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing as well as environment degradation are some of the severe challenges the fishing sector is facing, especially in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) region, further hurting their economies, particularly in their efforts to cut poverty and sustain growth.

Efforts to reach an agreement between Pacific parties and the US on the fishing treaty is still ongoing. The US request for fewer fishing days was discussed at a Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) meeting in Nadi, Fiji, last week.

Five days of exhaustive talks at the annual meeting for the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) have yielded mixed results for Pacific Island states, in Bali this week. Among the major successes, members were able to agree on a target reference point for skipjack tuna - the Pacific’s most valuable stock. However, other important and fragile fish stocks like albacore tuna will have to wait another year for development of harvest strategies

Indonesia’s fisheries minister has called on the Pacific Tuna Commission to ban transhipment at sea and end human rights abuses rife in the tuna fishing industry. By Helen Greig