Pacific Island countries have the opportunity to unlock greater benefits from their tuna resources through inclusive and equitable participation, according to the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Gender Advisor Rose Martin in a presentation delivered today at the 9th Pacific Tuna Forum.
Martin highlighted the importance of social equity in the context of the East New Britain Initiative (ENBi), noting that Pacific Island nations have yet to fully realise the potential of their shared resources.
She added that Ministers and leaders have consistently emphasised the need for initiatives that support food security, livelihood, employment, and inclusive participation.
“In practice, this means ensuring that programs and investments not only contribute to government revenues and international market participation, but also invest local communities and workers across the sector,” Martin said.
“We must include voices and rights of both local and migrant workers in policies, and ensuring dignity at work.”
Key initiatives highlighted included:
*Supporting small-scale value-adding and food security projects to ensure communities benefit directly.
*Collaborating with the industry to promote respectful workplaces through training and policy development, while meeting market access requirements.
*Integrating social inclusion considerations into National Fisheries Management and Development Plans, and ensuring resources are allocated for their implementation.
*Strengthening monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) efforts to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing while also considering human and social dimensions in the sector.
The FFA GEDSI Advisor emphasised that the human and social dimensions of tuna fisheries are inseparable from economic success.
She stressed, “The social and human dimensions of tuna fisheries are inseparable from their economic success. When workers, communities, and small businesses thrive, the industry flourishes.”
The 9th Pacific Tuna Forum continues this week in Denarau, Nadi, under the theme “Pacific Tuna 2050: Resilience, Innovation, Equity, and Sustainable Trade for a Prosperous Future.”
The forum brings together policymakers, industry leaders, development partners, and community representatives from across the Pacific and beyond to discuss sustainable and equitable development of the region’s tuna resources.
