June 29, 2016 — American fishing companies will have access to some of the most tuna-rich waters in the world until 2023.
Negotiators from the U.S., island nations and American fishing companies agreed to a new South Pacific Tuna Treaty on Saturday in New Zealand that reduces the number of days that U.S. boats can fish but also gives them the option of buying as many fishing days as they need, instead of a set amount per the previous agreement.
The U.S. State Department announced in January it would pull out of a treaty for a vast area of the Pacific Ocean — source of 60 percent of the nation’s canned tuna — after some American boats said they could not pay fees owed to a cluster of Pacific island nations.
“(The new treaty) gave us pretty much what we hoped for,” said J. Douglas Hines of the Global Companies, a group of three Nevada-based firms with offices in San Diego. “This is behind us for now.”
Although negotiations are officially over, the deal still needs final approval from the nations’ governments. Most people involved in the negotiations do not predict any issues because representatives have already signed off.