From FFA – FFA's TunaPacific: Fisheries news and views

Monitoring, control and surveillance operation to help stop illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing a success

Media releases10 August 2018

Press release—republished from Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), 10 August 2018

Covering 16.5 million square kilometres over 10 days with 10 FFA member states, Operation Island Chief found no infringements or breaches

A ten-day annual operation to detect, deter, report and/or apprehend potential illegal, unregulated or unreported (IUU) fishing activity ended on August 3. Operation Island Chief involved ten FFA member nations- Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Palau, PNG, Nauru, the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, and the Quadrilateral Defence Coordination Group (QUADs) – Australia, New Zealand, France and the United States.

Regional surveillance operations such as Operation Island Chief involve hundreds of personnel from across the region, with joint coordination led by the FFA’s Regional Fisheries and Surveillance Centre (RFSC) team. Fisheries, Police Maritime Units and Navy officers of FFA members participated as watch-keepers joining the RFSC team for around the clock shifts during the Operation, with their primary task being to monitor and analyse the Regional Surveillance picture and all incoming data from the QUAD surveillance providers.

Operation Island Chief 2018 (OPIC18) covered more than 16.5 million square kilometres of ocean and found no infringements or breaches.

Chief of Staff – Petty Officer Waisake Tikoduadua from Fiji said “As Chief of Staff for OPIC18 first, I have to know watch keepers very well and make sure that they are well organized in their watch and shift. Also to ensure daily briefs are prepared during the operation. I thank everyone for the great team work for OPIC18 and I am looking forward to work with FFA in future operations.”

OPIC18 is the third of four Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) led monitoring, control and surveillance operations each year. It involved patrol boats from Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands, as well as aircrafts from Australia and the United States, who offered their defence and military assets to support regional surveillance. A total of approximately 50 days at sea and 110 hours of air time was undertaken during OPIC18.

“As always we are thankful for the level of cooperation, commitment and engagement by our members and QUAD partners in safeguarding the Pacific fishery from Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported activity” said FFA Director General, James Movick.

For more information, please contact Donna Hoerder, donna.hoerder@ffa.int, ph: +677 21124

About Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA)

FFA was established to help their 17 member countries sustainably manage their fishery resources that fall within their 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). FFA is an advisory body providing expertise, technical assistance and other support to its members who make sovereign decisions about their tuna resources and participate in regional decision making on tuna management through agencies such as the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). www.ffa.int

Fisheries Ministers Appoint First Female Director General of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency

Media releases9 July 2018

Press release—republished from Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), 9 July 2018

Forum Fisheries Ministers announced the appointment of the incoming Director General of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Dr Manumatavai Tupou-Roosen, at the conclusion of the 15^th Forum Fisheries Committee Ministerial meeting which was held in the Cook Islands on 3-5 July and chaired by Cook Islands Prime Minister and Minister of Marine Resources, Honourable Henry Puna.

“We are delighted to announce Dr Tupou-Roosen as the new Director General of FFA. She is very committed to the FFA’s role as a facilitator of regional cooperation on fisheries management within the Pacific region and has excellent strategies for leading the FFA into the next decade as it helps members develop their offshore fisheries,” Honourable Puna said.

He added that “The best thing about it all is that the decision was by unanimous agreement of all of the Fisheries Ministers.”

Responding to her appointment, Dr Tupou-Roosen, who is currently head of the FFA Legal Services, said: “I am very humbled to be chosen as the incoming Director General and sincerely thank our Members for this great honour.”

“I very much look forward to working with Deputy Director-General Matt Hooper and all of our staff to serve our Members. We have a clear mission to ensure the sustainable use of our offshore fishery resources increases the economic and social benefits for all our Pacific people and I am committed to following through on that mission.”

“I see Empowerment, Communication and Collaboration as critical tools to ensuring successful Cooperation and to ensuring our Pacific people prosper. Strengthening our mechanisms to combat IUU fishing and enhancing social benefits will also be top of mind for me. I will be making these a priority when I take up the role.”

The selection process for the Director General was extensive and ran over a twelve-month period. Dr Tupou-Roosen will take up her new position in mid-November 2018, replacing Mr James Movick, who has held the role since 2008.

Dr Tupou-Roosen in discussion with FFA DG James Movick during the FFCMin15. Photo: FFA

CAREER SUMMARY

Dr Manumatavai Tupou-Roosen

Dr Manumatavai Tupou-Roosen has worked for nearly 20 years in the area of fisheries, including 13 years as the FFA Legal Counsel. In this role she has been responsible for providing legal and strategic advice to the Director General on significant Agency-wide issues.

Dr Tupou-Roosen gained a Masters of Law in 1997 under a NZ scholarship with a focus on International Fisheries and achieved First Class Honours. She also gained a PhD in Law in 2004 under a Commonwealth Scholarship, with a focus on International and Regional Fisheries Compliance.

In pursuing her education, Dr Tupou-Roosen was always intent on returning and serving in the area of fisheries in our region.

In her role as Legal Counsel of the FFA, Dr Tupou-Roosen had a long list of achievements, including:

Leading the drafting group on the revised texts of the US Tuna Treaty and its related instruments during the negotiations from 2009-2016;
Driving the successful implementation of the multilateral Niue Treaty Subsidiary Agreement at regional and national levels, including securing funds to support implementation at the regional level through an in-house legal advisor position for this specific work, and for in-country work at the national level;
Initiating innovative ways of dealing with issues, such as developing a strategy to broaden the Agency’s approach to addressing IUU fishing from a vessel-focus to include profiling the actual IUU fishers (Persons of Interest), which has been supported by Members;
Directing the revision of the Harmonised Minimum Terms and Conditions (MTCs) for the safety of observers, and led Secretariat support to Members in the lead-up to adoption of the Observer Safety measure by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission;
Initiating the comprehensive review of the MTCs in 2013 and 2014 and re-established its role as a strategic tool to set leading in-zone standards to drive compatible measures for the high seas;
Forging an effective partnership with SPC to deliver legislative reviews and maritime boundaries solutions;
Initiating the Legal Graduate Programme to ensure that nationals of FFA member countries are exposed to, and interested in, fisheries at an early stage in their careers.

Manumatavai Tupou-Roosen Photo: Lisa Williams/PMN

New Zealand commits NZD 4.9 million to help stop illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in the Pacific

News29 June 2018

Press release—republished from Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), 29 June 2018

In a move to enhance tuna fisheries management in the Pacific, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) committed NZD 4.9million to the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) yesterday.

This funding will be used by FFA to support a project that will establish and enhance catch documentation schemes (CDS) for FFA members over the next five years. The new Grant Funding Agreement was signed by Fletcher Tabuteau, Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, New Zealand and FFA Deputy Director General, Matthew Hooper.

“FFA Members work collectively to effectively manage their Pacific tuna fisheries, and this project will support members to access high value export markets while tackling illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing” said Mr Hooper on accepting the funding support.

The project aims to ensure FFA’s Pacific Island members maintain market access for their fishery products, by improving traceability along supply chains through the integration of fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance systems, the implementation of electronic reporting and the development of technological solutions to strengthen national capacity.

The project provides support for the development of national and regional CDS frameworks, national regulatory and policy frameworks and the development of CDS tools and associated training and capacity building.

The agreement follows almost two years of preparation and builds on work being undertaken to strengthen port state measures in the Pacific and complementing the existing comprehensive regional monitoring, control and surveillance framework implemented by FFA members.

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Catching tuna in the Pacific (Photo: SPC)

For more information, please contact Donna Hoerder, donna.hoerder@ffa.int, ph: +677 21124

About Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA)