THE Ministerial Review undertaken by ministers from member countries of Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) has strengthened the efforts to monitor Illegal Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing in the region.
This was highlighted by the FFA Director General James Movick at the opening of the FFA Judicial Conference early this week in Honiara.
He said the ministers undertaking the review welcomed the tools and work towards combating IUU fishing in the Ppacific, and noted the current work to develop further technologies and tools to this end.
He said FFA has just completed the Ministerial review of the region’s fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance mechanisms, as tasked by forum leaders.
“It is crucial that all who may come across current and emerging technologies in their work have the opportunity to discuss and fully understand such technologies,” he added.
Mr Movick added one of the inputs to that Ministerial Review was an independent study that has more reliably analysed and quantified the nature and extent of IUU fishing in the FFA member region.
“That study revealed the value of product associated with some form of IUU fishing in our region is US$616 million, of which about US$123 million is lost economic rent-or money that could have come to Pacific Island Countries’ (PIC) treasuries,” he explained.
Furthermore, he said while this scale of IUU and its economic impact on PICs is significantly less than had previously been estimated, it nonetheless is still a sizeable amount.
“And we must continue to efficiently utilise our current monitoring, control and surveillance tools as well as keep improving or progressing new and innovative methods to combat IUU fishing.”
By AATAI JOHN
