By Pita Ligaiula in Manila, Philippines
Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) members are heading into next week’s Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC22) in Manila with a single message — the Pacific wants firm action on tuna management, and it wants it now.
The Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC) Officials Chair, Poi Okesene, said Pacific countries will arrive at the Commission united behind clear priorities, led by the adoption of a Management Procedure for South Pacific Albacore.
“FFA Members are going into WCPFC22 united, focused, and clear on key priorities on what needs to be achieved,” said Okesene at the FFA Pre-WCPFC22 Meeting.
The South Pacific Albacore measure has been years in the making and is considered the FFA’s top agenda item for 2025, alongside proposals aimed at strengthening conservation rules, improving compliance, and building climate resilience across the fishery.
FFA members are meeting this week to coordinate their positions ahead of the Manila negotiations — a critical exercise given the weight the Pacific holds as custodians of the world’s largest tuna stocks.
The WCPFC is responsible for managing highly migratory tuna species across the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, which produces around 60 percent of the world’s tuna and remains the healthiest and most valuable tuna fishery globally.
Pacific officials say they want WCPFC22 to deliver decisions that safeguard that status not delay it.
Okesene said the Pacific’s stance is anchored in the interests of the people whose economies, food security and livelihoods rely on tuna.
“Our priorities are firmly grounded on sustainability, fairness, and the long-term interests of our People and Pacific communities who depend on tuna resources every day,” he said.
FFA members will enter the Manila talks presenting what they describe as a coherent, collective approach and a firm expectation that the Commission must deliver.
