Solomon Islands Cabinet To Close Its Tuna Fishery

Solomon Islands Cabinet To Close Its Tuna Fishery

Honiara, Solomon Islands, May 16 2011 - The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) Chair PNA Chair Ludwig Kumoro, accompanied by PNA Director Dr Transform Aqorau, met with the Honorable Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Danny Philip, the Honorable Minister for Finance Gordon Darcy Lilo and senior fisheries officials this month to discuss a key decision Solomon Islands had to make on sustainability of tuna.

The PNA operates a Vessel Day Scheme for purse seine vessels where a total number of days for fishing are set for the PNA area, and then divided between the eight PNA ocean states which can also trade days between them. Each PNA ocean state has what is referred to as a Party Allowable Effort (PAE) of days – if they use up their days they must close the fishery and purchase fishing days from another country so as to keep overall fishing effort in the PNA area within sustainable limits. In 2010, PNA committed to have hard limits on fishing, beginning in 2011, which should not be exceeded by any Party.

This month, Solomon Islands will use up all their fishing days allocated under the Vessel Day Scheme, so the country will be faced with a critical choice – to follow their commitments to the Vessel Day Scheme they must close the fishery and then purchase further days. This is the first time Solomon Islands have applied hard limits and been faced with this decision.

In the meeting between PM Danny Philip and the PNA Chair and Director, the Prime Minister was briefed on this critical situation. The decision was referred to the Solomon Islands Cabinet which decided late Friday it may close the fishery to foreign purse seine vessels while they pursue options to purchase further fishing days.

Last year, Nauru was in the same situation that Solomon Islands now faces. It used up all its fishing days, closed the fishery and then purchased fishing days from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to re-open its fishery and continue licensing foreign purse seine fishing vessels to fish. Papua New Guinea, with its rich fishery, also purchased all fishing days Palau has in 2011 under the PNA Vessel Day Scheme.

The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) includes Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. Collectively, the PNA controls 25-30% of the world’s supply of tuna and cooperate to sustainably manage and develop this key resource.

PNA Chair Ludwig Kumoro said: “All the PNA ocean states are committed to their goal of creating the world’s largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery. To do this, sometimes they must face difficult decisions to limit overall fishing effort.”

“While the decision facing Solomon Islands is a serious one, it is not without precedent. Last year the PNA was able to assist Nauru to find a solution after it used up its fishing days. This decision also benefited Marshall Islands, which had under-used its allocation of fishing days. The PNA will continue to brief government decision-makers about the Vessel Day Scheme and its options and provide any assistance Solomon Islands needs to take the Cabinet directions forward.”

ENDS

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