PNA happy to get Pacific Forum endorsement

PACIFIC – The Parties to the Nauru Agreement are celebrating the Pacific Island Forum’s endorsement of their Vessel Day Scheme.

At the Forum’s summit in Pohnpei earlier this month the leaders praised the scheme under which the PNA sells fishing days to distant water fishing nations.

The Forum said there is no need to change the management of the purse seine VDS in the foreseeable future.

The PNA noted this was an about turn from last year when a New Zealand government initiated push to change the management system had been promoted.

The chief executive, Ludwig Kumoru, said the PNA had devoted a lot of time and money to addressing the concerns that had been raised.

But he said with the Forum Leaders’ unequivocal endorsement of the VDS, his body can focus on continuing to add value to the fishery.

Kumoru said the VDS is the single most successful resource management model in the Pacific, giving “rights-based” control over fisheries resources.

He said the revenue share for the islands rose from US$60 million dollars in 2010 to an estimated US$400 million last year.

The VDS is the foundation for the PNA’s management of the purse seine fishery, which includes requirements to purchase fishing days at a minimum of US$8000 per day, 100 per cent observer coverage of all purse seiners, in-port transshipment of tuna, an annual three-month moratorium on use of fish aggregating devices, and other measures.

Earlier this year, an independent review by Toroa Strategy Limited of New Zealand compared the effort-based VDS to a quota limit system and concluded that the VDS is a fully functioning fisheries management regime without peer for its class of fishery.

It said there was no clear benefit from changing the VDS from a Day scheme to a catch scheme now or in the near future.

Forum leaders also endorsed the agenda of the Fisheries Task Force to reform the management of the longline fishery; increase the value of employment and ensuring effective labour standards are in place; facilitating investment and trade; and value chain participation.

Kumoru saids these are all areas that PNA had been actively addressing, with members having implemented a VDS for the longline fishery last year.

- RNZI