Ending illegal fishing is a priority for Pacific region leaders.

Pacific leaders strengthen fight against IUU fishing

The organisation Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) ensures that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean is being targeted as never before following calls by Pacific Leaders to put an end to this practice.

Member countries of the FFA.

Pacific fisheries managers are using the momentum of calls from Leaders to ramp up work to mitigate IUU fishing while Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Senior Officials are meeting in Honolulu in advance of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) annual meeting, to be held on December 9-14.

“We have implemented a management system for the purse seiners through the vessel day scheme (VDS) that has greatly reduced opportunities for IUU activity in this fishery,” said PNA CEO Ludwig Kumoru.

“Our requirement of 100 per cent fisheries observer coverage on purse seiners and other measures is a big deterrent to illegal fishing,” the executive pointed out.

A report on the impact of IUU fishing prepared for the FFA in 2016 estimated the value of catch associated with illegal fishing at over USD 600 million annually, with the direct economic loss to FFA members of around USD 150 million.

In particular, the FFA and PNA are calling for the support of distant water fishing nations, who are also members of the WCPFC, to eliminate IUU fishing.

At next week’s WCPFC meeting in Honolulu, the 17 FFA member countries, eight of whom are also members of the PNA, will be advocating strongly for the Commission to adopt an “IUU List” for 2019 to include three vessels that have previously been identified for IUU fishing in the region.

A speedboat from the Australian authorities approaching a fishing vessel suspected of illegal fishing and a vessel from the US Coast Guard controlling a suspicious longliner (R).

FFA members have called on all Commission members to actively work together to locate these vessels so that their illegal activities can be stopped.

In another important development, the FFA is progressing work on its “Persons of Interest Strategy” as a tool for combating IUU fishing. FFA members are working to develop the process for identifying the operators behind illegal fishing vessels in the region.

In this regard, FFA Director General Dr. Tupou-Roosen said that The Persons of Interest Project will collect, analyze and share personal information on the people behind rogue vessels, such as the owners, the captains, and the fish masters in order to provide greater information to FFA member authorities that issue licenses and target monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) effort.

Through FFA and PNA regional MCS efforts, national-level activity, and coordination with Australia, New Zealand, the United States and France, the region now has a layered and expanding network focused on identifying and preventing IUU fishing.

FFA operates the Regional Fisheries Surveillance Center based in the Solomon Islands, a unique monitoring and enforcement facility that coordinates MCS work through the 17-member network, including through deployment of two year-round dedicated surveillance aircraft.

A US Coast Guard helicopter patrols over a Chinese-registered fishing vessel. (Photo: US Department of State)

Under PNA’s Fisheries Information Management System (FIMS), there are now 240 purse seine vessels in the FFA region using daily electronic reporting of catch logsheets.

“Eliminating IUU fishing is a core part of our fisheries management work and we look forward to support and participation from our partner nations and the fishing industry in this effort,” pointed out Kumoru.

“Working together to eliminate IUU will enhance sustainable and economically viable fisheries for the benefit of everyone,” he concluded.
 

[email protected]
www.seafood.media

Address:	PNA Office PO Box 3992
City:	Majuro
State/ZIP:	(MH 96960)
Country:	Marshall Islands
Phone:	+692 625 7626
Fax:	+692 625 7628
More about:

Print