Republished from Radio New Zealand, 27 November 2017
The countries that make up the Parties to the Nauru Agreement say they have no interest in changing how they manage the tuna fishery in the western and central Pacific.
Tuna on the deck of a Pacific fishing vessel. Photo: RNZI/Giff Johnson
The current system – known as the Vessel Day Scheme – divvies out fishing days between the countries, which are then sold to fishing vessels and nations to fish in their exclusive economic zones.
But the PNA’s chief executive, Ludwig Kumoru, said distant fishing nations had been pushing for so-called “flag-state” rights, but these would not be effective for either conservation nor island economies.
Mr Kumoru said the current scheme was effective in both conserving fish stocks and raising revenue for the PNA states, and there was no desire for change.
