Results for Fishing

To ensure sustainable high-seas fishing in the Pacific region, the New Zealand Defence Force recently inspected 23 foreign-flagged fishing vessels as part of a joint maritime patrol operation with Australia, France, and the United States.

A new Tropical Tunas Bridging Measure was adopted in the early hours of this morning, after a marathon session by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting in the Philippines this week. The Chair and the Executive Director today issued a joint statement on the outcomes of the 14th annual meeting of the Commission, which also include a Conservation and Management Measure on Pacific Bluefin, bycatch mitigation strategies and conservation measures on marine pollution.

A 50.8kg sailfish caught by Rehan Razak on the Hustle and Flow was the heaviest fish caught during a two-days fishing tournament, June 3-5 run by the Nuku’alofa Fishing Club.

Ioana Sugar was the highest scoring angler at the Billfish Bar Steinlager Tournament held on 18 March.

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.

Ways to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Tonga’s waters to protect tuna resources were discussed at a three day workshop held by Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) officials in Tonga from 25-29 January 2016, when a new monitoring strategy was implemented.

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

Aquaculture plays a vital role in providing nutrition and jobs in developing nations but more aquaculture is needed. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says that the amount of farm-reared fish must increase from 66 million tons annually to 93 million tons by 2030 to maintain current levels of per capita global fish consumption.

There is a urgent need for Pacific nations to rise above national agendas and act regionally, to respond effectively to the economic crisis in the Pacific’s albacore long line fisheries, warns the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency Director-General James Movick. Pacific countries will also need to confront distant water fishing nations to reconcile their narrow fishing interests with their broader role as key strategic and development partners of this region, he said.