Members of Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) have convened on Kiritimati Island, Kiribati for the third leaders’ summit starting Thursday October 26, 2023.
This year’s theme is, “Charting the course: Economic Independence through Collaboration in Sustainable Tuna Fisheries” serves as a useful guide for their discussions.
Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso when addressing the members said the PNA have come a long way - from managing purse seine tuna fishing through capacity control under the 205 vessels limit in 1995.
Also introducing purse seine fishing effort control under the Vessel Day Scheme or VDS since its adoption in 2010, and in expanding the VDS to also cover tuna long line fishing.
Rosso said the PNA has done well and the fundamental reason for success is the commitment to work together and willingness to adopt innovative approaches to tuna management.
Rosso highlighted that Papua New Guinea recognizes that in order to harness the true potential of the Blue Pacific Continent it is necessary to leverage our shared tuna resources to find collective and inclusive investment pathways.
“With this in mind, in September this year our Fisheries Minister, Jelta Wong invited his colleague Ministers from the Pacific Islands to a Special Fisheries Ministerial Meeting in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea which resulted in the Communique on the East New Britain Initiative.
“This communique elevates the concept of hubs and spokes which was endorsed by the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders. The East New Britain Initiative therefore will provide the platform that will capture all investments within the tuna fisheries value chain and scale them into the regional tuna hubs and spokes development framework.”
The initiative will provide each Pacific Island Countries the opportunity to identify their most feasible entry points in the value chain.
The ultimate aim is to realise the increased economic returns from the fisheries sector by retaining a greater share of 30 percent of the PNA’s contribution to global tuna supply. This equates to US$3 billion for round whole skipjack tuna alone.
Rosso said, “If we can add value to the tuna resources through inclusive and innovative investment pathways within the region, there is a great chance to retain an increased share of the US$42.2 billion global tuna market for food products. This market is projected to reach US$50.2 billion in 2028 as reported by the FFA.”
The East New Britain Initiative also takes into account the growing threat of the climate change phenomenon and the negative impacts it has on the lives of our people and proposes for the establishment of a Regional Fisheries Development Fund.
It is considered as part of PNA’s commitment to be proactive in strengthening resilience in the face of climate change impacts on fisheries.
Rosso encouraged that, “We as PNA Leaders, must chart the course for the future of our fisheries. We must take into account challenges faced in addressing Climate Change and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing practices.”
“We must make decisive decisions to improve the competitiveness of tuna fishing, processing and trading businesses within our Blue Pacific Continent; and recognise that improving and strengthening the region’s competitiveness is a major step forward in achieving the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent,” DPM Rosso added.