Director-General Opening Remarks – Prioritisation Workshop (PW5)

The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) convened the 5th Prioritisation Workshop (PW5) on Tuesday this week, bringing together Members to review and prioritise regional priority work areas of the Secretariat.

The following is the FFA Director-General Noan David Pakop’s opening remarks at the PW5.

Good morning Senior Officials, and warm greetings from your Secretariat.

May I, at the outset, thank the Chair for his excellent guidance since assuming the Chairmanship, and for the collective success that FFA has achieved in the first half of the 2025/27 financial year. We offer our continued support for his tenure and express our confidence in his leadership and guidance, alongside colleagues from the membership.

Against the successful backdrop of the adoption of the South Pacific Albacore Management Procedure at WCPFC, I trust that you have all had a well-deserved break over the holidays.

As we begin this new year, we do so with much pride in our collective achievements as the FFA family, and mindful of the ongoing work required to continue protecting our people’s rights to a sustainable fishery that delivers the greatest possible social and economic benefits for our Blue Pacific region.

It is a pleasure to open this fifth Prioritisation Workshop, which is a critical component of our annual planning and Work Programme and Budget process. Getting this right is important, as it helps the Secretariat to understand, in a structured way, the collective priorities of our Members for the coming year, and to align our resources and efforts accordingly.

This workshop also provides an opportunity to reflect on common themes emerging from Country Partnership Agreements. As you know, the Secretariat commenced the CPA review process last week, and early insights are already highlighting shared priorities and challenges across Members. These discussions will help ensure that our regional priorities remain grounded in national realities.

At the same time, these priorities do not sit in isolation. They are part of broader organisational reform and strategic processes underway, including the Independent Refresh and Performance Review and the Strategic Plan Review and Development. Together, these processes are strengthening how the Secretariat positions itself to support Members more effectively and strategically.

This prioritisation exercise will also feed directly into the staff retreat later this week and divisional planning processes beginning next week, helping to ensure coherence between Member priorities, organisational strategy, and internal planning.
Finally, I am particularly looking forward to today’s deliberations, including updates on progress made against the priorities identified at the last Prioritisation Workshop, and to hearing from Members on proposed priorities, including any new and emerging issues for consideration. As always, frank and constructive feedback is welcomed to ensure your Secretariat best serves your needs and priorities.

Thank you, and I wish us all a productive and forward-looking discussion.

Media Contacts: Emily V. Moli FFA Communications Manager e: [email protected] Ernest Ta'asi FFA Communications Officer e: ernest.ta’[email protected] Priscilla Ragu FFA Communications Officer e: [email protected]

About Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) FFA assists its 17 Members to sustainably manage fishery resources that fall within their 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). FFA provides expertise, technical assistance and other support to its members who make decisions about their tuna resources and participate in regional decision making on tuna management. Find out more here: www.ffa.int