It’s been a busy year for the team at the Oceanic Fisheries Management Project with significant progress ranging from fish stock assessments to vessel day scheme training initiatives.
For OFMP’s Lisa Buchanan, OFMP’s Chief Technical Advisor, the greatest progress this year in the long-running project which is now in its third phase, is the extent to which tackling climate change has been embedded into its entire work programme.
While the four key tuna fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean region are sustainable and deemed by scientists to be neither overfished nor subject to overfishing, climate change will increasingly put pressure on these precious fish species.
“Scientific analysis shows that the distribution of fish stocks will change as the climate warms, which will impact Pacific island nations who rely on these fish stocks for food and economic security,” says Buchanan, who will soon celebrate two years in the role running OFMP3.
“Not only that, but our members, who contribute very minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, are on the front line of climate change, with sea level rise and more frequent and intense extreme weather events posing an existential threat,” she adds.
That’s why OFMP3 has continued to work so hard with our partners and members over the last two years to focus on climate change adaptation and to influence policy settings across the Pacific. A major breakthrough came in August last year when the Forum Fisheries Agency’s (FFA) Climate Change Strategy was endorsed by the FFA governance body, the Forum Fisheries Committee.
Climate adaptation – from strategy to implementation
That was followed up in May with the Implementation Plan for the strategy endorsed at the 133rd Forum Fisheries Committee Annual Officials Meeting (FFC133) that took place in Nauru. OFMP3 advice helped inform the Implementation Plan, which spans scientific research, fisheries management, and climate change adaptation commitments.
“Through this work, we hope to set a course towards sustainable, climate-resilient fisheries that will continue to provide for Pacific Island communities and protect oceans for generations to come,” Buchanan says.
Part of the effort involves pushing for broader climate action and giving partners, members and international bodies high-quality scientific data on which to base their decision-making.
To that end, OFMP3 has dedicated in-house expertise in Marina Abas, OFMP’s Fisheries Management and Climate Change Advisor – who works extensively on climate change policy and advice for the offshore fisheries sector in the region. OFMP also continues to support the work of Dr Valérie Allain, Senior Fisheries Scientist (Climate Change Ecosystem Analysis) at SPC. Dr Allain is a highly experienced and respected fisheries scientist who has worked in the Pacific for over 30 years.
That work, including ecosystem sampling and data collection to better understand climate change impacts on stock movement in the WCPO, this year resulted in eight peer-reviewed publications supported by OFMP3, with a combined reach of 22 citations and 1,602 reads on Researchgate.net alone.
SPC, along with FFA and with advice from OFMP3, has also transformed the way members can access important data, with a complete revamp of the Country Web Pages SPC maintains offering data relevant to each member nation.
“It means that ministerial officials have complete access to the information they need to brief ministers and other senior decision-makers about country-specific fisheries management issues,” says Buchanan.
Unloading tuna from a long-liner vessel in Nuku Alofa, Tonga. Source: OFMP3
Alternative livelihoods and food security
Pacific island nations understand the implications of climate change and increasing population pressure on marine ecosystems and the long-term viability of associated resources. Depleted fish stocks lead to loss of income and food security. One way to combat this is to empower Pacific communities to support themselves and find alternative income generation throughout the fisheries value chain.
“Women and youth are typically most involved in the value chain through post-harvesting and marketing, so we are looking at opportunities to support this work through women’s groups and NGOs,” Buchanan says.
One area of focus is promoting sustainable use of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). A successful workshop held in November brought together 57 participants from 14 Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to share knowledge on improving the effectiveness of nearshore FADs across the Pacific.
The workshop was a multi-agency collaboration driven by OFMP3, with expertise and resources contributed by SPC, FAO and the World Bank’s Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program – Second Phase for Economic Resilience (PROPER) initiative. An OFMP3 stakeholder engagement survey completed in April revealed that FADs are a top priority identified by Pacific communities.
“The very strong message was that FADs really help to aggregate fish so it is easier to catch them and bring them back to communities,” says Buchanan.
“As a result of that feedback, we are in the planning stages with FAO and SPC of sub-regional ‘train the trainers’ events to improve capability in FAD planning, deployment and maintenance.”
Training and capacity building
OFMP3’s contribution to fisheries training and capacity building continued at pace through 2024 with 483 participants completing some sort of OFMP3-supported training event with 2 – 47 people from each member nation getting involved.
The type of training being delivered has been diverse, including training on the vessel day
scheme, observer safety and e-reporting (PNAO), marine spatial planning and stock assessment workshops (SPC) and Certificate IV training and assessment course delivered by the University of South Pacific (USP) to Pacific Island Regional Fisheries Observer (PIRFO) Trainee Trainers (FFA).
Around 48% of the participants were women, an impressive proportion in an industry that’s traditionally been male-dominated.
Capacity building training for Fisheries Officers. Source: OFMP3
Tackling illegal fishing
The FFC endorsed the Regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Strategy 2024-2029 in July 2024. OFMP3 supports this work, primarily through funding the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Working Group (MCSWG). This annual workshop advances members’ priorities to reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and increase the uptake of electronic reporting and electronic monitoring amongst members.
The MCSWG made significant progress this year regarding the Port State Measures (PSM) development plan, the Regional Information Management Facility, electronic reporting and monitoring, and observer livelihood and safety.
Looking inside the hold of a carrier vessel. Source: OFMP3
Looking ahead: Climate change and sustainable fisheries
The OFMP3 Project’s achievements in 2024 demonstrate its commitment to ensuring sustainable, climate-resilient fisheries that will continue to provide for Pacific communities and protect the region’s oceans for generations to come.
As OFMP3 moves forward, it continues to prioritise climate change response across all areas of its work. Key initiatives in the region being promoted include supporting FFA members in their roles as delegates to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).
Climate change has been a permanent agenda for WCPFC and subsidiary meetings since 2022. The Climate Change Work Plan development is co-led by the Republic of Marshall Islands and the United States and is supported by OFMP3.
Buchanan says much of the work OFMP3 has been engaged in to date has been at a regional or sub-regional level, but future work will start to prioritise national-level initiatives as well.
“We have some very exciting national projects that we will be working on with our members in the next 6 months, including collaborating with Solomon Islands to support the Noro Port’s “e-port” efforts and Papua New Guinea’s development of its national tuna management and development plan,” she says.
For Buchanan, an Australian native, a major highlight of the last year has been building a life for herself and her family in Honiara where the FFA secretariat and OFMP3 are headquartered, and working with people from around the Pacific who are passionate about preserving marine ecosystems and the bounty they deliver to island nations.
“It’s Pacific-led and everyone’s heart and soul goes into it,” she explains.
“Yes, it can be really challenging and people don’t always agree. But the FFA turned 45 this year and its success is a testament to the power of collaboration and working together across the region.
“It’s been a humbling opportunity to be working in this space with amazing people and gaining insights into the community approach they bring to fisheries management.”
Selling fish locally at roadside kiosks in Tonga. Source: OFMP3
