Sustainable tuna management and policy

We provide support to help administer and implement the US Multilateral Treaty (officially the Multilateral Treaty on Fisheries Between Certain Governments of the Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America).

The Treaty is between our 17 Members and the United States of America. To implement we:

• manage a purse seine regional licence for vessels operating under the Treaty
• administer licence payments and distribute funds under the Treaty
• manage the Project Development Fund (PDF) for the Pacific Island Parties to the Treaty
• manage fishing data (catch and effort data) and report on infringements
• coordinate the annual meetings and working papers for the parties and renegotiation sessions for the Treaty
• assist the parties to meet their obligations under the Treaty.

We must work closely with our other operation units, especially:

• the Observer Programme Unit, which coordinates observers on vessels that operate under the Treaty
• the legal and finance units to ensure vessels comply with laws, and funds are accounted for and distributed properly under the Treaty.

The FFA Director-General is the Administrator of the Treaty, and the Treaty Unit within our management division makes sure the Treaty is implemented in accordance with the provisions and decisions by the parties.