A new film titled 'Oceanic Guardians' (www.youtube.com/pacificislandfish) was launched today by the UNDP-GEF funded Pacific Islands Oceanic Fisheries Management Project (OFMP) at the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands.
Celebrating the success of Pacific Islands' negotiations to establish a tuna commission to set and enforce rules on tuna fishing, 'Oceanic Guardians' is shot in high definition video featuring the world's first underwater footage of longline fishing in the Pacific Islands, traditional canoe racing in the Solomon Islands and Tongan-owned and crewed patrol boats and fishing vessels.
OFMP
New film 'Oceanic Guardians' launched today to celebrate Pacific Island success in establishing rules for fishing
FFA & SPC assist consultative process for fisheries management & legal review
FUNAFUTI, TUVALU 12-21 OCTOBER 2010: The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) in collaboration with the Secretariat of the South Pacific Community (SPC) assist Tuvalu to hold stakeholder consultations and develop a National Tuna Fisheries Management and Development Plan this week.
Meetings that are being held at Funafuti week will progress a consultative process to upgrade Tuvalu’s fisheries laws and develop a new tuna fisheries management and development plan.
Tuvalu launches 4-year roadmap for fisheries
FUNAFUTI, TUVALU, SEPTEMBER 2010: After months of discussion, consultation, and planning, Tuvalu launched a roadmap for how to strengthen its fisheries institutions, manage and develop its fisheries and coordinate activities of government.
The smallest FFA member country, with only nine small atolls and islands and 11,000 people, Tuvalu’s fish are vital. Two out of three households go out fishing for food, while licence fees for foreign vessels have formed 25-50% of the GDP. However it faces a number of challenges including sea rise due to climate change, the global economic crisis and low revenue from fishing compared to foreign profits (an estimated $9 million worth of fish was caught in 2009, while licence fees were only 5 % of this).
FSM Minister says GEF support critical Pacific Islands manage 25 million sq km of ocean
MADANG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, SEPTEMBER 2010: The Minister of Environment in the Federated States of Micronesia has made a strong and urgent statement to support the continuation of GEF funding for the Pacific Islands Oceanic Fisheries Management Project.
Honorable Andrew Yatilman, Director of the Office of Environment and Emergency Management, Government of the Federated States of Micronesia, told fellow Ministers it is critical that ongoing GEF support be provided if the small island developing states of the region are to continue to make gains to control their 25 million square kilometres of ocean.
In thanking the Global Environment Facilty (GEF), he said: “The waters of the Pacific Island countries are home to the world’s largest stocks of tuna and related pelagic species and they are custodians of a significant part of the Earth’s major international waters ecosystems, a significant global responsibility for some of the smallest nations on the earth.
NEWS: Tuna data management and women observer support strengthened in Solomon Islands
The First Solomon Islands National Tuna Data Workshop was held in Honiara last week to reflect on the current practices, identify ways to improve collection and management of tuna data and to make sure the country meets its data obligations to the WCPFC
With tuna as the second biggest export earner in the Solomon Islands, data of tuna catch and other fishing related activities within Solomon Islands EEZ must be recorded and managed in proper systems and procedures to inform the Government to make decisions that ensure the long term sustainability of the tuna industry.
Pacific Islands Oceanic Fisheries Management Project celebrates World Biodiversity Day with the launch of tuna species factsheets
Ever wondered what tuna is found in your country? How long tuna lives? What tuna is overfished and what tuna is sustainable? What other species are caught with tuna?
These questions and more are answered in a set of factsheets produced by the UNDP/GEF-funded Pacific Islands Oceanic Fisheries Management Project.
Written for non-governmental organisations and fishing industry association as well as high schools, universities, government department staff, media and others interested in fishing issues, the Tuna Species Factsheets are presented with photos, diagrams and easy-to-read explanations of the facts about the four species of tuna common in the Pacific Islands and how the region controls bycatch.
Factsheets are freely available and downloadable on www.ffa.int/gef/species
FFA & OFMP assists countries to board and prosecute fishing vessels in Cook Islands
RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS 17-21 MAY 2010: Fisheries officers, police and legal staff in Cook Islands learnt more about how to board, inspect and prosecute fishing vessels at an FFA Dockside and Boarding Inspection Workshop which closes today.
Officers were taught subjects including International law, National laws, Regional and Sub-regional Fisheries Agreements, Fishing Vessel Boarding & Evidence Collections and Court Procedures.
FFA has provided these workshops for all its member countries and territories to strengthen monitoring, control and surveillance in the Pacific Islands region. In addition to fisheries and police or navy officers, crown law office staff and public prosecutions staff, officers in related roles such as immigration, customs and quarantine agencies have also attended the workshops. A total of 400 participants from 15 FFA member countries have participated since 2005.
Pacific Island Seamounts - are they under threat?
Pacific Island Seamounts - are they under threat?
30th April, Nadi, Fiji
A 2-day workshop was held in Nadi on 28th and 29th April to discuss the impacts of longline fishing as well as other activities on seamounts in the Pacific Islands.
PNA ANNOUNCES DATE FOR CLOSURE OF 4.5 MILLION SQ KM HIGH SEAS AREAS TO PURSE SEINE FISHING
MAJURO, MARSHALL ISLANDS, 23 APRIL 2010: As this week’s meeting of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) drew to a close today, the PNA agreed for the world’s largest closure of the high seas to purse seine fishing.
The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) includes Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu – collectively these countries are the owners of 25% of the world’s tuna supply.
Today the PNA announced that from 1 January 2011 high seas surrounding these countries will be closed to purse seine fishing vessels licenced to fish in their waters.
This closed high seas area:
* Stretches from Palau and Papua New Guinea in the West to Kiribati in the East, Marshall Islands in the North to Tuvalu in the South
PNA MINISTERS AGREE: OPEN PNA OFFICE, STRENGTHEN FISHING LIMITS & COOPERATE TO EXCHANGE FISHING OBSERVERS
PNA MINISTERS AGREE: OPEN PNA OFFICE, STRENGTHEN FISHING LIMITS & COOPERATE TO EXCHANGE FISHING OBSERVERS MAJURO, MARSHALL ISLANDS, 22 APRIL 2010: The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) 5th Ministerial Meeting agreed today on several measures to limit fishing and strengthen conservation and management of tuna.
The PNA brings together eight Pacific Island countries to sustainably manage tuna. PNA members are Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. These countries own waters which supply 25% of the world’s tuna, an estimated $2 billion worth of fish every year.
