Pacific fisheries leaders are being urged to unite on tuna management positions ahead of next month’s Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting, while ensuring the region secures greater economic and social benefits from its fisheries.
Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Director-General Noan David Pakop made the call while opening the 22nd Management Options Consultation (MOC22) at FFA headquarters in Honiara.
Pakop said Pacific countries shared a responsibility to protect tuna stocks for future generations while improving the benefits fisheries deliver to their people today.
“Our collective responsibility is not only to safeguard resources for future generations, but also to secure greater economic and social benefits for our members today. This is the balance we must continue to pursue,” he said.
He stressed the importance of regional unity in developing common positions for the 23rd Regular Session of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC23), scheduled to be held in Port Vila, Vanuatu, next month.
The MOC22 brings FFA members together to discuss fisheries management options and coordinate regional positions ahead of the commission meeting, which addresses the management and conservation of tuna and other fisheries resources in the western and central Pacific.
The consultation provides an opportunity for members to work towards a common approach to protecting the region’s tuna resources while strengthening the economic returns and social benefits Pacific communities derive from fisheries.
