Sustainability key focus at oceans summit

MARSHALL ISLANDS – In April the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority is bringing together people around the country to develop a sustainable oceans policy.

It has called a three-day National Oceans Summit – an event, which is aiming to involve everyone from leaders to students in talks, exhibitions and activities related to developing a sustainable oceans policy for the nation.

Radio New Zealand’s correspondent in Majuro Giff Johnson said that sustainable fish farming will be a key focus.

“ There is so much talk about reef health, sustainable development, but there has never been an oceans policy here, for a country that is essentially mostly ocean.

There are just a whole range of fisheries things going on, from the big commercial fisheries operation, involving purse seiners and longliners, which are active, not only in the Marshalls EEZ but in the wider western Pacific.

Then we have got things like a fish farming programme that is just now moving from the pilot project stage to commercial viability with exports to Hawaii and soon probably to Asia.

So there are a number of initiatives like this as well as some pearl farming going on here and various other initiatives so I think the idea of this is to try and get a lot of people – leaders as well as people in the community to get together and talk about directions for an ocean policy.

And one of the things that the fisheries agency here has attempted to do with some success, but it’s been limited, is to develop fisheries management plans with outer island local governments and local communities.

They have got them in place in three or four communities and they are working on a couple more, but this is trying to get the outer islands really invested in it, taking responsibility for their marine resources and particularly understanding why they need to be conserved for the long term.

So I think the fisheries agency is hoping they will get a lot of those folks to join, be part of the conversation for this Oceans Summit which is coming up.

The Marshalls main town of Majuro is a key point for the transshipping of tuna and Johnson said over the last two years this has developed the port at Majuro into the busiest tuna transshipment place in the world.

With the volume of tuna going through here, of course it has revenue benefit to the government and then a lot of spin off in terms of vessels resupplying, fishermen and others buying things at local stores, using restaurants and bars and so on and so forth.

So there’s a big spinoff to that. Of course there are downsides to that which include pollution in the lagoon and some of those things, but I think on balance the Marshall Islands really sees that the commercial fishery is really where its future lies in terms of long term economic development.

The issue is managing it properly so that it continues on.”

- RNZI