Dear Editor, I think we have already destroyed our fish stocks and what is left is struggling and if we do not watch out our EEZ will be without fish in a few years’ time.

Despite all assurances, we have been unable to check the catches of hundreds of fishing boats which have fished in our waters over the last thirty plus years and worse, we allowed purse seiners to wipe much of the remaining stock.

We have been too greedy and we did not have the expertise to drive the best deals when dealing with fishing boats conglomerates and their boats went around and fished our waters out with little left. Worse, we got a pittance for the fishing licence we gave out to fishing fleets and they knew that we had nil ability to check their catches so they swept our EEZ clean and now we only have ourselves to blame. I hope I am wrong.

I suggest that we stop all fishing licence for at least ten years to allow our fish to return and then look at combining our EEZ with French Polynesia and if you look at the map our combined EEZ would be the largest in the world and we can control the fishing for years to come and be able to get the best return for our fish working in harmony with French Polynesia. France will provide real expertise and back up for French Polynesia to protect their fish stocks and plan for future development and growth. We should have done this with New Zealand but we thought we were smart – instead I believe we have been cleaned out and no one can prove me wrong. Congratulations – yes others will complain that there is no data to back up the above assertions. Our common sense is better than the views of “experts” many of whom are paid for by the fishing corporations – so who do you think they are working for?

It is unbelievable that we allow fishing boats to come into our waters, catch our fish and disappear to their home ports and we rely on what they tell us they caught – only dummies allow that kind of deal. They have lied to us for years – c’mon. All fish caught in our waters must be brought to Rarotonga and put into our freezers and from there they are shipped to their home ports. We can build freezers and give work to our people. Better still we can count the fish ourselves and not be taken for a ride as we have been for the last fifty years.

I might be too late – perhaps most of our fish is already gone and like most dummy countries we are left with an empty EEZ.

Sadly yours

Cicero

(Name and address supplied)