With the hosting of the 18th PNA in Honiara next week, the national government says its preparations are on track for a successful convention
THE Solomon Islands Government through the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) is on track to host the upcoming Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) 18th Ministerial Meeting mid this month.
With just few days prior to the High-level meeting opening next week -June 12 to 16, the Organising Committee, comprising officers from the MFMR, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade (MFAET), Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, the Immigration, Customs, Aviation, Bio Security and Ministry Infrastructure Development (MID) have stepped up preparations, ensuring logistics, meeting venues, accommodation, transport, liaison services and entertainment are in place ahead of the meeting.
MFMR is determined and committed to hosting a successful Ministerial Meeting and promised to ensure dignitaries and delegates are well looked after during the event.
“My Ministry led by our hardworking Committee is confident to host a successful Summit and we are determined to ensure our visiting delegates enjoy their stay in our country, regardless of the challenges that we faced,” Permanent Secretary, Dr Christain Ramofafia said in a statement.
Ministers and officials from the PNA member countries are expected to arrive in Honiara this Friday and Saturday. The arrival of these high-level representatives will set the stage for in-depth discussions on key tuna fisheries issues on conservation efforts, information management systems and economic development in the region.
The PNA Ministerial meeting is highly anticipated, as decisions made during this gathering will have far-reaching implications for the Pacific region’s tuna resources and the livelihoods of communities that dependent on them.
The PNA sub-group controls the world’s largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery with its Members include the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu plus Tokelau.
Global leaders in tuna conservation and management, many PNA conservation measures are the world firsts – such as high seas closures to fishing, controls on Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), protection for whale sharks and the 100 percent coverage of purse seine fishing vessels with observers. No dolphins are caught in PNA waters and PNA is actively involved in limiting bycatch of other species.
In 2011, the PNA skipjack tuna caught without using FADs was certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as sustainable, creating the world’s largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery.
PNA controls around 50 percent of the global supply of skipjack tuna, the most commonly canned tuna.
The focus of PNA efforts to sustainably manage tuna is the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS). PNA members agree on a limited number of fishing days for the year, based on scientific advice about the status of the tuna stocks. Fishing days are then allocated by country and sold to the highest bidder. In this way, Pacific Islanders reap economic benefits from their sustainable management of tuna.
The PNA’s Vision hinges on ecologically sustainable fisheries, tightly controlled and managed through PNA cooperation generating diverse maximum economic and social benefits to the parties.
(MFMR/SOLTAR)
