Saving Seafood

China falls short on big Pacific deal but finds smaller wins

May 31, 2022 — China fell short Monday on a bold plan to have 10 Pacific nations endorse a sweeping new agreement covering everything from security to fisheries as some in the region expressed deep concerns.

But there have been plenty of smaller wins for China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi as he continues an island-hopping tour of the region.

Wang was in Fiji to co-host a key meeting with the foreign ministers from the 10 island nations.

At an unusual news conference afterward, Wang and Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama spoke for about 30 minutes and then abruptly left the stage as reporters tried to shout out questions. That left many details of what transpired at the meeting undisclosed.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

 

From Fishermen To Rugby Players, Climate Change Has Become A Fact Of Life In Fiji

February 17, 2022 — When Shahadat Ali was learning how to fish, he was taught to put the smaller fish back into the ocean. But the quality, size and amount of fish have decreased so dramatically that he now has to keep every fish that swims into his net.

“Times are hard — it’s a struggle,” said Ali, who lives on the outskirts of Nasinu, the most populous town on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji.

Ali’s 72-year-old uncle, Iqbal Shah, has been fishing since he was a teenager and has seen the ocean he loves change drastically over his lifetime.

“In one week we used to catch 300 to 400 kilograms, sometimes 500 kilograms, but now if you fish one week, you can’t hardly get about 100 kilograms (220 pounds),” Shah said. “It is very hard.”

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

 

US CBP takes action against Fijian tuna longliner, accusing it of using forced labor

August 4, 2021 — A Fijian commercial fishing vessel has received a withhold release order from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which claims forced labor may have been employed onboard the longliner.

The order requires all U.S. agencies to detain tuna and other seafood harvested by the Hangton No. 112, which is owned and operated by Suva, Fiji-based Hangton Pacific Co.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Fisheries need to make gender inclusion a norm, not just ‘reach’ women, says Pacific study

January 13, 2021 — As a marine ecologist who has long worked at the intersection of gender equality, conservation and fisheries, Sangeeta Mangubhai knows the importance of getting the language right. She asks to see a draft of this article, anxious that words like “gender,” “empowering” and “fishers” are often used incorrectly.

“Gender means both men and women, and the relationships and power dynamics etc. between them,” Mangubhai told Mongabay in a recent video interview from Fiji, where she is director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Fiji country program. “It’s quite problematic when people think it’s just about women.”

This is a misunderstanding she frequently came across while carrying out research for her new study.

Co-authored by Sarah Lawless from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia, the report is based on interviews with fisheries managers and practitioners working in the Pacific countries of Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

One government respondent from the Solomon Islands, quoted in the report, spoke for many when he said, “We don’t really understand what gender is. Particularly the technical side of this so that we can apply to our work with communities and [have it] guide us.”

Read the full story at Mongabay News

WPRFMC: Council Pays Tribute to Satya N. Nandan

March 3, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council adds its condolences and gratitude to the family of Satya N. Nandan and to the Republic of Fiji on the passing last week of that country’s first diplomat to the United Nations.

Nandan’s long list of accomplishments includes not only playing an integral role in finalizing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, chairing the UN Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Stocks (1993-95) and serving for nearly a quarter century as the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority but also serving as chairman of the Multilateral High-Level Conference (MHLC) on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific. As the local organizer of four of the seven MHLC sessions hosted by the United States, the Council worked intimately with Nandan. His wisdom, experience and diplomatic demeanor led to the successful signing of the Honolulu Convention on September 5, 2000, and the creation of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

“Nandan’s legacy is protection of the ocean and ocean communities worldwide, from the substrate to the highly migratory species, especially tuna, one of our planet’s greatest resources,” noted Kitty M. Simonds, Council executive director.

More about Nandan’s work with the MHLC can be found at http://www.wpcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Monograph-2_2010_WCPFC_web-final.pdf.

Purse Seine Fishing in American Samoa ‘Coming to an End’

September 19, 2018 — Members of the purse seine and longline fishing industries have provided a sobering view of the sector in American Samoa.

Frank Barron of Purse Seiner Services told a Chamber of Commerce meeting that the industry had almost gone.

Mr Barron cited several reasons why purse seine fishing in American Samoa is coming to an end.

He said the cost of fishing in Pacific waters was driving boats out of business.

He noted that the cost of fishing licenses had risen from $US100,000 annually to $US1.8 million in some instances.

Mr Barron said operators risked Coast Guard fines ranging from $US1.5million to $US2.5 million and no boat owner could afford that.

Read the full story at Radio New Zealand

 

Study Finds Sea Cucumbers are Important for Healthy Coastal Ecosystems

June 14, 2018 — The lowly sea cucumber strikes observers as a simple sausage-like creature, one that is far less interesting than brightly colored reef fish or color-changing octopi that share its coastal habitat.

The sea cucumber’s unimpressive appearance belies the outsized role these creatures play in converting decomposing organic matter into recyclable nutrients and keeping coastal ecosystems healthy and clean, and overfishing them can have negative impacts on coastal marine environments, according to a new study focusing on a species of sea cucumber called a sandfish in the journal PeerJ.

In a sense, sea cucumbers are the vacuum cleaners of coastal marine environments. Since these invertebrates are also the target of a growing demand from Asian markets—dried sea cucumbers are known as “bêche-de-mer”—the authors of the study sought to examine the ecological implications of removing them from tropical coastal areas.

“Our study was designed to determine exactly how the removal of these organisms is impacting coastal ecosystems, which in this case was a coral reef flat in Fiji,” said lead author Steven Lee, of the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research and the University of Bremen.

Read the full story at ECO Magazine

Fiji aims for MSC certification for 75 percent of its longline vessels

June 15, 2017 — Fiji has pledged to pursue the goal of having at least 75 percent of all longline vessels that are members of the Fiji Fishing Industry Association working in fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Specifically, the South Pacific island nation will seek MSC certification for its longline yellowfin tuna fishery and will expand the definition of its fishing area to include three high seas next to the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Fiji already has achieved MSC certification for its albacore tuna longline fleet, which consists of 34 fishing vessels.

“60 percent of the Fijian population are coastal dwellers and hence, sustaining the wealth of our oceans is imperative for the socio-economic prosperity of our nation and people. Fiji’s significant commitment amongst the international community reaffirms our steadfastness in being responsible custodians of the oceans, fish stocks, marine life, and its ecosystem for generations to come,” Fiji Fishing Industry Association Executive Officer Anare Raiwalui said. “By certifying our fishing practices to the requirements of the MSC, the world’s highest and most credible science, evidence-based standard for sustainable fishing, Fiji is establishing a promising momentum as a forward-thinking nation, determined to deliver traceable, sustainable seafood.”

Raiwalui also said the Fijian commercial fishing industry believed that the MSC ecolabel will allow it to charge a premium price for the country’s seafood. Raiwalui’s announcement was made jointly with the Fijian Ministry of Fisheries, which said it joined in the commitment to seeking expanded MSC certification because it wished to ensure the health of the local marine environment and that it sees certification as a “critical incentive to ensure the traceability of vessels and fish species.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Members Of Tuna Commission Are Divided On Conservation Issues

December 9th, 2016 — Conservation and management measures for depleted tuna stocks in the Pacific have polarised the membership of the Pacific Tuna Commission.

The annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which brings together Pacific countries and distant water fishing nations, has been going all this week in Nadi, Fiji.

Its executive director Feleti Teo said it was proving extremely difficult to reach a consensus on protecting depleted tuna stocks.

For bigeye tuna the main contention is between longliners, which target adult bigeye tuna, and purse seiners which catch juvenile bigeye tuna, that tend to school with their target species skipjack tuna.

This is particularly so when purse seiners set their nets around fish aggregating devices.

Longliners have set catch limits but Feleti Teo says there have been assertions that some countries have not been adhering to them.

Management of the impact of purse seiners on Bigeye is done by banning them from fishing on FADs for several months a year but the effectiveness of this practice is disputed and any increase on banned months has been rejected by small island countries.

Read the full story at Pacific Islands Report

Fisheries Commission Takes Steps To Keep Observers Safer

December 9th, 2016 — A lot was said over the past five days in the conference rooms and hallways of The Sheraton Fiji Resort, during kokoda lunches poolside and lobster dinners at the nearby marina.

But all that talk didn’t amount to much.

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission wrapped up its annual meeting Friday as it often has in the past, with many of its international members and nonprofit advocates frustrated by the slow progress made on pressing issues like tuna overfishing and overall accountability on the high seas.

Some left shaking their heads in dismay. Others departed with a tired indifference. A few flew home before the commission adjourned.

But some action was taken amid signs that the commission may become more functional under the leadership of Chair Rhea Moss-Christian.

Overall, she said she was “extremely pleased” with the commission’s progress.

“In comparison to prior years we were able to have a lot more focused discussions on some real critical issues, especially related to tuna management overall,” she said.

“What happened this week is really setting the new tone for how the commission addresses any stocks in critical condition or in an overfished state.”

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil-Beat