Govt urged to refocus on coastal fisheries

Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, Dr Lino Tom, will be pushing for the National Government to re-focus and apply appropriate attention towards the sustainable development of coastal fisheries resources.

The Minister said this during the opening of the Alotau Town Market and Fisheries & Jetty Facility on August 21st 2020.

He said the coastal fisheries sector provides to the daily needs of over 2.5 million people of the coastal and island communities in terms of food, income, and culture and ecological uses.

Minister Tom said historically, the focus of the government has been on commercial fisheries, in particular, tuna.

However he highlighted that the on-going livelihoods and food security benefits of coastal fisheries resources to the coastal populations underscores the importance of the coastal fisheries sector in terms of socio-economic development.

Therefore balancing offshore, coastal and inland fisheries development is imperative in terms of both development and management.

“In this instance, under my leadership as Minister responsible for Fisheries and Marine Resources, I would like to see that the national Government re-focus and apply appropriate level of attention towards the sustainable development of coastal fisheries resources for our coastal and island communities’ well-being. It is important that coastal fisheries program within NFA is strengthened with a clear policy direction. This policy will provide clear goals for measuring impacts and effectiveness of development programs and projects within the coastal fisheries sector. I am working very closely with the NFA to ensure our fisheries programs and projects are objective and must ben seen to be contributing towards achieving the broader national government development goals," said the Minister.

The K43 million Alotau Town Market and Fisheries & Jetty Facility is funded by the Japanese Government though the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Overseas Development Assistance Grant funded K33 million, while the PNG Government through the National Fisheries Authority put in the remaining K10m.

The infrastructure aims to support coastal fisheries management.

The Government of PNG through NFA with support from the Government of Japan through JICA have implemented a number of projects to support the development of coastal fisheries in the country with a specific focus on wealth creation, poverty alleviation and food security. Since the resigning of the Bilateral Fishing Access Agreement, it paves way for the Government of Japan through JICA and the Overseas Fishery Cooperation Foundation (OFCF) to fund medium to large scale fisheries projects such as fish markets, wharfs and jetties, ice making facilities and other fisheries related infrastructure developments in the country.

The Alotau Town Market and Fisheries and Jetty Facility was officially opened by Prime Minister, James Marape.

The facility boasts market spaces, toilets, refrigeration, and a new jetty. Once fully up and running it is expected to have Kiosks, ATM’s, Amphitheatre, and First Aid Amenity.

Prime Minister Marape urged locals who will use the new facility to save their money and to grow their businesses to improve their own livelihoods.

The Redevelopment of Town Markets Project is part of the overall coastal fisheries development program introduced by the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) to empower locals to harvest, market and manage their own marine resources.

Author: 
Cedric Patjole