Pacific Tuna Forum

These were the comments made by the Pacific Dialogue Limited acting chief executive, Patricia Kailola, during the two-day Pacific Tuna Forum.

The 5th regional tuna and trade conference concluded Tuesday at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa on Denarau Island.

Kailola said many a times when fishing away from home, the issues of saving cost in fisheries arises. With this comes the issue of improper employment and slavery.

“Fishers are tricked into employment and are forced to work in poor conditions at a lower pay normally due to language barriers,” she said.

The  biennial forum will be staged from 22-25 September in Nadi and PNG National Fisheries Authority (NFA) will meet half the bill of the hosting cost with the host nation.

“The contribution (from PNG) has reached over a million kina and it’s what NFA has budgeted for,” said John Kasu, NFA managing director.

He was speaking at a reception organised by the NFA last Friday to give an update on the progress to the media and also acknowledge individual business houses and statutory organizations who had financially  supported the forum.