HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, MONDAY 29 JUNE 2009: Fisheries and compliance officers from Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu are in Honiara this week to learn more about monitoring, control and surveillance of illegal fishing.
The Week 5 FFA Component of the National Fisheries Officers’ Surveillance Course opened today in Honiara at the FFA Conference Centre. This is the final week in the 5-week course, the rest of the course being conducted by AMC Search Ltd in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
The Course is an annual event funded by the Australian Department of Defence and facilitated by staff of the Australian Maritime College and the FFA. The course is aimed at developing expertise and capacity of national officers responsible for monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing in the region.
Tonga
Officers learn about monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing
FFA High Level Delegation in Tonga this week
NUKU’ALOFA, THURSDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2008: A high level delegation from the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) met with Tongan leaders this week to discuss Tongan fisheries.
The FFA Director General Su'a N.F. Tanielu, accompanied by the Director of Fisheries Management, development adviser and legal officer from FFA, met Acting Minister of Agriculture and Food, Forest and Fisheries Hon. Lisiate ‘Akolo, the department’s Director and Deputy Director and a project consultant to discuss Tonga’s national priorities for fisheries and how FFA can assist with expertise, services and other support.
FFA assists countries to board and prosecute fishing vessels
NUKU’ALOFA, TONGA, MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2008: The FFA Director General Su’a N.F. Tanielu opened the Prosecution and Dockside Boarding Workshop in Tonga today. This workshop will assist local officers to board and inspect fishing vessels for offences.
In Tonga this week, fisheries officers, police and maritime navy at the workshop will learn more about International law, National laws, Regional and Sub-regional Fisheries Agreements, Fishing Vessel Boarding & Evidence Collections and Court Procedures.
FFA members make gains at WCPFC committee
POHNPEI, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, WEDNESDAY 8 OCTOBER 2008: At the Fourth Regular Session of the Technical and Compliance Committee (TCC4) of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), in Pohnpei this week, Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) members advanced recommendations to increase effectiveness of fisheries management in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
The Technical and Compliance Committee of WCPFC makes recommendations to the annual meeting of the Commission, to be held in this year in December in Korea. WCPFC membership consists of the 17 members of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency plus 9 other fishing nations.(1) Decisions at WCPFC so far have been made by consensus although there is also provisions for voting that have not yet been used (under WCPF Convention Article 11 [4] which includes decision making of subsidiary bodies of the Commission).
FFA members support Tonga’s bid to list vessel for illegal fishing
POHNPEI, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, SATURDAY 04 OCTOBER 2008: At the Fourth Regular Session of the Technical and Compliance Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), in Pohnpei this week, Tonga pursued its bid to get Taiwanese fishing vessel F/V Chu Huai No.638 prosecuted for illegal fishing in Tongan waters.
It was generally agreed by the Technical and Compliance Committee that the vessel would be listed on the provisional Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Vessel list (pending further development of this decision). This technical committee makes recommendations but not decisions about which vessels should be added to the WCPFC Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Vessel List. Decisions will be made about whether or not to accept these recommendations at the 5th session of WCPFC in December this year in Busan, Korea.
Operation Kurukuru Staff
Read new feature articles about staff from FFA members and their work on regional cooperation. Staff from Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu are profiled. Please read staff profiles to see stories and download photo files (free to use by downloading with a right click of mouse button)
Operation Kurukuru Photos
Click on the files below to download photos of Operation Kurukuru. These are free to use but please let us know when you use them in newsletters and media by emailing anouk.ride@ffa.int
Solomon Islands hosts region’s biggest maritime surveillance operation this week
HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, 12 SEPTEMBER 2008: Operation Kurukuru 2008, a coordinated maritime surveillance operation in which countries cooperate to detect activities such as illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, smuggling and people trafficking, was hosted by the Solomon Islands this week.
Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management
Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management assists FFA member countries to use a process of management for their fisheries. EAFM reports have been done for Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Tonga and Vanuatu.
The process is similar to risk management and involves four overall stages:
i. determining the scope of the assessment – develop a clear description of what is to be managed/assessed;
ii. given the scope, identifying all the issues that need to be assessed; preferably across the five key areas of EAFM and agreeing on the values wanted to be achieved for each of these;
iii. determining, using risk analysis, which of these issues needs to be managed directly; and
Fisheries Trade Guidebook
This Guidebook, Pacific Islands Countries, the Global Tuna Industry and the International Trade Regime, outlines the major trade-related elements of the tuna fishing industry in the Western Central Pacific Ocean. In particular, it is meant to be a reference guide to assist government officials (particularly fisheries, trade and foreign affairs officials) and tuna industry operators to better understand the rules and requirements of international and regional trade agreements, and how they impact the fisheries sector. This information is supplemented with insights into the trends and structure of the global tuna industry. Drawing from the conclusions of the analysis within, this Guidebook provides a range of policy options available to Pacific Island governments.
