14th FEMM Discusses Maximising Fisheries Returns

14th FEMM Discusses Report On Maximising Returns From Fisheries Sector

Alofi, Niue, 27th October -

A report on how Forum island countries (FICs) could maximise sustainable returns from their fisheries resources says revenue to the FICs will increase if the region undertakes more on-shore processing of the resource.

The report by the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) called “Maximising the Sustainable Returns from Fisheries Resources in the Pacific” has been presented at the 14th Forum Economic Ministers’ Meeting (FEMM) being held in Alofi, Niue 26 – 28 October 2010. The FFA report is primarily restricted to the Agency’s work in enhancing the economic returns from the off-shore fishery.

The report is one of several addressing the overarching theme of the 14th FEMM: “Broadening the Economic Base”.

The FFA report states the number of persons employed in the commercial fisheries sector in Forum island countries (FICs) can be expected to double in the next five years from the 13,000 in December 2009s as more of the fish caught in the region is processed by FICs.Recent estimates also suggest that FICs receive some US$70 million a year for access fees charged for fishing in their waters of an estimated catch value of US$4 billion.

The Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) adopted by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) to allow more access to the purse seine fishery is expected to result in greater returns to the participating coastal states and more effective management of fishing levels.

The FFA report states that current returns to domestic economies from the fisheries sector largely fall into two categories; access fee revenue and revenues derived directly or indirectly from fisheries sector activities impacting on local economies. Of these, access fee revenue currently makes the larger contribution although contribution of the tuna fisheries sector to national GDPs is also increasing where shore-side investments have been successfully established.

FFA studies also showed that, in the case of purse seine fishery, for each 100 metric tonne caught, the catching sector generates 0.7 jobs, and the same 100 metric tonne, if processed ashore, would generate seven jobs. For the longline fishery the benefits of shore-side processing are not so high but still jobs are being increased by 50% if the catch is processed ashore. Overall the Report states that FFA studies showed that returns to the local economies tripled if the catch is processed ashore.

An additional FFA study which examined the reasons for past success or failure of commercial fisheries enterprises in the region established the importance of appropriately experienced and resourced private sector involvement, while at the same time emphasizing the role of government in establishing an enabling environment and building strategic partnerships between the various stakeholders in such projects.

On future directions, the FFA report explains that the Regional Tuna Management and Development Strategy 2009-2014 seeks to achieve enhanced development outcomes from the fisheries resources by, inter alia, “further providing a way to maximize long-term economic and social benefits available to FFA members”.

The Forum Economic Ministers will discuss means by which the efforts of FICs planning and development agencies can assist to increase the countries’ revenue from the fishery sector in collaboration with national fisheries agencies, as well as, regional bodies such as FFA and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), and the sub-regional PNA and Te Vaka Moana groupings

ENDS.

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