Project Closure

Economic benefits and development reports

How do small island developing states maximise the economic benefits from their fisheries? The below reports provide more information and analysis on economic benefits of fishing and lessons learnt from economic development initiatives in the Pacific.

Gender issues in Pacific Islands fisheries

This report examines national, regional and international articles, documents, field reports and books written on women in development, gender in development, women in fisheries, and the assessment, management and development of Pacific Islands tuna fisheries.

Studies show that men and women are both involved in all aspects of the tuna industry with most women found in the processing (small scale and commercial) and marketing for the domestic market. Most men are found in the capture and commercial marketing areas.

More information about the positive and negative impacts of fisheries on women and suggested actions to improve gender equity are found in the two parts of the report, downloadable below.

Introduction to DEVFISH

The Development of Tuna Fisheries in the Pacific ACP Countries Project (DEVFISH) is a European Union funded regional project, with the objective of increasing the economic benefits to Pacific Island countries from tuna fisheries. It aims to do this by creating the right policy and economic environment for the further development of fishing and processing operations, with emphasis on the private sector.
FFA’s Strategic Plan has two work programmes – Management and Development. DEVFISH is the lead donor-funded project in the Development area.

Timing and staff
The Project is now in the final year of its four year duration. It has three permanent staff: Mike Batty is the Team Leader and Fisheries Development Policy Specialist, and is based at FFA in Honiara;

Jonathan Manieva is the Fisheries Development Officer, based in Noumea with SPC; and

Leonard Paia is the Project Coordinator, also at FFA.

In December Mike will move to a new job with SPC, and the project will be supervised by Peter Philipson, Fisheries Economics Adviser, at FFA.

Approach
The Project is designed to support regional thinking and national action. The regional component supports analysis, consultation and training at the regional level on shared and common aspects of tuna development. The national component can support a range of activities, from strengthening fish producers’ associations and improving consultation between private sector and Government, to helping with seafood safety requirements for access to European markets. The Project is helping countries to develop national action plans, and implement them. Reports and results are being widely distributed - many can be downloaded from this web page.

Coordination
The third meeting of the project steering committee was held just before the FFC meeting in Palau in May 2008. This reviewed project reports, and discussed the work plan for 2008/09. At the national level, requests to the project for help can be made by a representative of the private sector, normally a fishing industry association, endorsed by FFA's Government contacts. Most countries have now identified a suitable mechanism and requests have been actioned from most FFA member countries.

Current activities
By mid 2008, Project staff had visited all of the 14 Pacific ACP countries, in some cases several times, for consultations and to advance the work programme. Regional reviews of the economic benefits derived from different development strategies for the major tuna export fisheries and processing industries have been completed, as well as studies on other small-scale export fisheries.

Two major studies on development strategies for the region were completed in early 2008 and follow-up work is now in progress.

Twelve Pacific ACP countries have now received assistance including technical studies, training, equipment and support for fisheries associations. A tuna industry development action plan was prepared in Papua New Guinea, as well as a fisheries development master plan for Tuvalu. Assistance with development planning is in now progress.

Value-Adding to Fish - Business Manual

This business report provides practical guidelines to assist existing entrepreneurs in the Pacific Island fishing business community with the setting up of sustainable and profitable seafood value-added businesses making value-added products from target species and the by-products of tuna fisheries. Download chapters below.

DEVFISH project operations

The below reports detail the operations of the DEVFISH project including the work of the Steering Committee, feedback on priority issues to inform the DEVFISH project, reports and reviews of the DEVFISH project and a concept note for a second phase of the project.

Fishing vessel safety

SPC and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), through the EU-funded DEVFISH project, are reviewing international tools for improved fishing vessel safety and provides assistance to members on these matters.

This work relates to 2 international conventions:

1)    The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel sets out the regulatory framework for the training and certification of fishing vessel personnel. The convention is the first attempt to make safety standards for crews of fishing vessels mandatory internationally.

2)    The Torremolinos Protocol established a safety regime for fishing vessels of more than 24 m including safety provisions of the protocol cover construction, stability, machinery, fire protection, protection of crew, lifesaving equipment, emergency procedures, radio communication, navigation equipment, vessel certification and port state control.

Some of the likely impacts of the Torremolinos Protocol and 1995 STCW-F Convention on the Pacific Islands were discussed during a regional seminar held in Fiji in March 2006. The following points were noted:

• The Pacific is well ahead of other regions in that it already has training and certification standards for fishing vessel personnel. In the mid 1990s, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) developed a common certification structure for trading and fishing vessels, which is regularly revised by a subcommittee of the Pacific Islands Maritime Association (PacMa). Most Pacific Island countries have adopted it.

• A number of model training programmes for fishing vessel personnel are available and used throughout the region (e.g. SPC Safety Certificate, SPC/Pacific Island Qualified Fishing Deckhand Certificate, etc.). The pre-sea induction training system
used in Papua New Guinea is also aligned with the requirements of STCW-F for basic pre-sea safety training for all fishing vessel personnel.

• While the protocol and convention apply to large fishing vessels (>24 m), it is possible for national laws to extend their applicability to smaller classes of vessels.

• National administrations and the regional fishing industry need to be familiar with the provisions of the protocol and convention and prepare for their entry into force. The current status of requirements and standards in the region means that their
effective implementation should be relatively straightforward.

• Due to the current limited number of signatories, ratification of the protocol and convention by Pacific Island countries could drive their entry into force.

• SPC could underpin a regional mechanism and be the focal agency in assisting countries with the implementation of the protocol and convention.

The attached brochure contains more information about relevant protocols, their impact on Pacific islands and the work of the DEVFISH project on these issues.

DEVFISH Videos

The DEVFISH project produced the following videos