Tag: ffa

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

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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 15th 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

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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.

### ENDS

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)

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

Making Progress in Sustainable Oceanic Fisheries—UNDP Pacific Oceanic Fisheries Management II

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Republished from IW:LEARN, 22 June 2018
IW:LEARN is the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network.

The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) hosts the GEF funded “Implementation of Global and Regional Oceanic Fisheries Conventions and Related Instruments in the Pacific Small Island Developing States Project”, known by its abbreviation as the Oceanic Fisheries Management Project II (OFMP II). The Project is the third GEF funded marine resources initiative in the Pacific region and builds on the successes of the first two projects with a focus on Pacific SIDS participation in sustainable oceanic fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).

In the context of the programming directions for International Waters in the GEF, the project makes significant contributions to FFA activities in support of both the blue economy and improving the management of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ).

Cooperation in the management of tuna fisheries by Pacific Island countries is a direct application of the principles of the blue economy. This concept aims to promote economic growth, social inclusion, and the preservation and improvement of livelihoods while at the same time ensuring environmental sustainability of the oceans. It is closely linked with Sustainable Development Goal 14, specifically 14.4 and 14.7.

The Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) tuna fishery is the largest tuna fishery in the world and the 2.7 million ton annual WCPO tuna catch accounts for sixty percent of global production with sixty percent of this catch coming from the waters of FFA Members. Tuna fisheries are a key resource for all Pacific Island countries – for many the only renewable economic resource. The WCPO is the only tuna fishery on the planet in which all four target stocks are currently rated as sustainably fished with no overfishing occurring.

Evening canoe fishing. Photo: Francisco Blaha

The Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) is a fisheries management system that establishes rights in the shared fishery for coastal state and has been driven by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), a sub-regional grouping of FFA member countries. The consolidation of VDS which allows members to sell the rights to purse seine fishing days in their waters has seen SIDS revenues from the purse seine fishery increase from from 220 million in 2012 to 480 million in 2016, accounting for more than 40% of government revenue in five member SIDS and supporting 25,000 jobs in FFA Member countries in 2017. Of those employed in the processing sector 80% are women.

The Regional Fisheries Surveillance Programme is a unique collaboration between the members of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) to address illegal, unreported and unregistered (IUU) fishing in support of SDG 14.4. A range of regionally agreed systems and tools and best practice technology applications provide a high level of monitoring, control and surveillance and the agency is active in a range of activities supporting IUU mitigation such as the implementation of electronic monitoring and reporting systems on WCPO vessels.

FFA Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre: the heartbeat of vessel monitoring for the WCPO. Photo: FFA Media

In terms of activities supporting improved management of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ), the OFMP2 project supports the annual FFA Management Options Consultation (MOC) meeting in which FFA Members Countries actively participate in WCPFC decision making and includes the improved management of ABNJ. MOC processes have provided the opportunity for supporting the adoption of high seas Special Management Areas and promoting strengthened catch and effort limits on the WCPFC high seas for tropical tuna fisheries, as well as an allocation process that will take account of the WCPFC Convention’s recognition of the special requirements of SIDS.

OFMP2 has also assisted PNA countries to develop the capacity to implement their prohibition on PNA-licenced purse-seiners from fishing in the two western high seas pockets.

Wider FFA promoted and supported measures such as FAD closures, 100% observer coverage in the purse seine fishery and coordinated approaches to high seas boarding and inspection activities also support more effective management of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

The GEF OFMP II is a key contributor to the success of the blue economy in the WCPO.

This story provides an illustration of how GEF IW projects are already addressing themes in the new GEF IW strategy for the 7th GEF Replenishment. In this case the story highlights how projects can address Objective 1. Strengthening Blue Economy opportunities. In GEF-7, investments will be strengthening nations Blue Economy opportunities, through three areas of strategic action: 1) sustaining healthy coastal and marine ecosystems; 2) catalyzing sustainable fisheries management; and, 3) addressing pollution reduction in marine environments.

 

Digitising data a challenge for Pacific fishing industry

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Republished from Radio New Zealand, 30 April 2018

The Forum Fisheries Agency says the Pacific is facing big challenges as it embraces digital technology.

Tuna on the deck of a Pacific fishing vessel.
Tuna on the deck of a Pacific fishing vessel. Photo: RNZI/Giff Johnson

A systems analyst for the agency said that in the fisheries sector, work to digitise information was ongoing and labour intensive.

Ano Tisam said many organisations and governments in the region still used pen and paper.

He said to move ahead, information needed to be accessible in a digital format and properly stored and archived.

FFA Systems analyst, Ano Tisam.
FFA Systems analyst, Ano Tisam. Photo: RNZ Pacific Sara Vui-Talitu

“We used technology to help Pacific governments to move away from what they are doing in terms of paper, and transitioning them over to digital technologies so that they can improve the way that they do things to make things more efficient and more effective.”

Ano Tisam was visiting New Zealand from Solomon Islands as a guest speaker at last week’s Pacific Tech Summit in Auckland.

FFA hosts Pacific-Global Zone-based Tuna Fisheries Management Knowledge Exchange

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Republished from FAO, 8 March 2018

Peter Cusack, Regional Coordinator – Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program

Honiara, Solomon Islands 13-15 February 2018. Lamine Camara, Director of Fisheries for Mauritania, was the first representative from Mauritania to visit the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) in Honiara, Solomon Islands when he arrived in February this year. Joining him on the occasion were an additional 20 international delegates who all gathered at the FFA premises to participate in a Pacific – Global Zone-based Tuna Fisheries Management Exchange. The Exchange was hosted by FFA to provide an opportunity for representatives of developing coastal States from around the globe with an interest in tuna fisheries to visit the Pacific and learn first-hand of the successes and challenges in tuna fisheries management encountered in the Pacific Ocean.

Click to enlarge
Pacific-Global Zone-based Tuna Fisheries Management Knowledge
Exchange delegates from Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
India, Sri Lanka, St Kitts and Nevis, Indonesia, Maldives, Seychelles,
Tanzania, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and
representatives of World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International,
pictured with FFA, PNA and SPC staff © FFA

The gathering was supported by the Common Oceans ABNJ Ocean Partnerships Project (OPP), which provides funding from the Global Environment Fund (GEF) through FFA to conduct knowledge sharing and inter-regional cooperation with developing coastal States and other stakeholders globally.

Over the course of the three-day event, participants examined and discussed the “Pacific model” for fisheries cooperation. There was a focus on how zone-based management arrangements have been introduced in the FFA region and used to gain control of the fishery by coastal states, thereby reaping substantially increased benefits. FFA staff and resource people from the Office of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and the Pacific Community described the long history of cooperation, the key outputs (programs and platforms for cooperation) and the main outcomes (social, economic and environmental benefits) that have been achieved in the FFA region.

A total of twenty-one delegates participated in the exchange, including representatives from national and regional fisheries agencies and fisheries programs in Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Sri Lanka, St Kitts and Nevis, Indonesia, Maldives, Seychelles, Tanzania, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, as well as representatives from the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International.

The Exchange was part of FFA’s ongoing program that seeks mutual benefits from greater collaboration with developing coastal States around the world. Mutual benefits that accrued from the Exchange and are expected to expand in the future included:

Click to enlarge
FFA Director-General James T Movick © FFA
  • for other developing coastal States – a working example of cooperation in fisheries management, development and enforcement and the ability to leverage lessons learned through trial and error here;
  • for FFA members – a greater appreciation around the globe of the zone-based cooperative model employed by FFA.  This is growing more important as oceans and fisheries related issues gain more prominence on the global agenda.  This greater understanding benefits FFA members because it should lead to better support for FFA positions and approaches from other coastal States around the world; and
  • for all parties – gaining different perspectives about how to deal with similar issues in the management of highly migratory fish stocks.

It was noted that many of the ‘lessons learned’ from the Exchange does not only apply to tuna fisheries, but also to other cross boundary demersal stocks, and for the introduction and use of monitoring, control and surveillance technologies.

In welcoming the participants and opening the Exchange FFA Director- General, Mr James Movick provided an overview of regional tuna fisheries management in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) and described the concept of “Zone-based Management” and how the Pacific small Island developing states (SIDS) have implemented it.

In his remarks, Mr Movick said that the region is “more strongly asserting our rights in what used to be a completely distant-water flag-state fishery. Pacific nations have given themselves a much bigger bite of revenues from the global tuna sandwich. We want to share this knowledge to assess what lessons are transferable to other developing regions – and learn from the unique experiences that others bring to our table.”

He also said that the importance of tuna to Pacific SIDS is illustrated by fisheries revenues making up more than 40% of public revenue in five countries, providing 25,000 jobs in the region and contributing to food security and development opportunities. At the global scale the 2016 WCPO tuna catch of 2.6 million tonnes represented around 60% of the global tuna catch and was worth $5.2 billion. In turn, around 60% of this WCPO catch is from FFA waters.

Tuna provide substantial economic opportunities for FFA members, including the contribution to DP through access fees, domestic fleet development, onshore processing jobs and export income, but today only 30% of fish caught in members’ exclusive economic zones is being taken by local fleets and only 10% is landed for processing.

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Click to enlarge
Sunil Sweenarain of OIC, left, and Roy Clarisse of
Seychelles exchanging ideas © FFA		 FFA Legal Counsel, Manu Tupou-Roosen makes a point
with Senegal-based, Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission
delegates © FFA		 A plenary session of the exchange © FFA

Mr Ludwig Kumoru, CEO of the PNA shared how the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) has been a “game-changer in the sustainable management of tuna resources.” He continued saying, “The VDS put a cap on the number of days that fishing vessels can operate in our waters, and steadily ramped up the cost of access so that the PNA members receive a fairer share of revenues. Before the VDS came into being there was no proper valuation placed on the fishery and we were at the mercy of foreign interests. That has all changed.”

The OPP is one of the four Projects of the GEF-funded Common Oceans ABNJ Program that, under the World Bank lead, is supporting public and private sector investment in better managed fisheries targeting migratory stocks that straddle developing countries’ coastal jurisdictions and areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).

For more information about the Pacific-Global Zone-based Tuna Fisheries Management Knowledge Exchange, please contact:
  • Peter Cusack, Regional Coordinator – Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program | peter.cusack@ffa.int

Mass buy-in needed for new fish tracking technology to work

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 Republished from Radio New Zealand, 16 January 2018

The Forum Fisheries Agency’s deputy director general Wez Norris says there’s huge potential in the new digital technology being piloted to track fish.

Tuna on the deck of a Pacific fishing vessel.
Tuna on the deck of a Pacific fishing vessel. Photo: RNZI/Giff Johnson

But Mr Norris said if the blockchain system was going to work on a fishery-wide basis, it would need commitment and collaboration from companies and governments in dozens of countries.

The system is on trial in Fiji to monitor tuna from the moment a fish is caught up until it’s bought for consumption.

It’s hoped the technology will help ensure more accountability on a global scale and combat illegal fishing practises, but Mr Norris said fish tracking is complex.

“A fish that might be caught in Solomon Islands might be transported to Fiji and it might be transported there and then marketed through a company in Singapore and then eventually end up in the US, and so all of those players need to be part of this system. It is going to take quite some time to build that level of trust and commitment.”

Wez Norris will vacate the Solomon Islands-based FFA director general role this week.

Outgoing FFA deputy director general signs off

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 Republished from Radio New Zealand, 11 January 2018

The Forum Fisheries Agency’s outgoing deputy director general says ensuring the sustainability of regional fisheries to benefit future generations in small island states was his key priority.

The Forum Fisheries Agency's outgoing deputy director general Wez Norris.
The Forum Fisheries Agency’s outgoing deputy director general Wez Norris. Photo: FFA

Wez Norris is vacating the role this month after 10 years at the agency.

He said while at times it had been a challenge to balance member priorities with regional ones, there had been increased cooperation among members to achieve collaborative goals.

“So that’s of course number one is putting in place management measures and rules that will maintain these stocks at levels where we can continue to enjoy benefits for years to come,” said Mr Norris.

“Within that is a very strong priority though to do that in a way to place control and opportunity in the hands of developing coastal states,” he said.

“So it is not good enough simply to just have a cap on the level of fishing that keeps it sustainable if Pacific countries can’t benefit from those sustainable fisheries.”

Mr Norris said one memorable highlight for him was the re-negotiation of a treaty between Pacific states and the United States that took six years to complete.

He said he was pleased that New Zealander Matt Hooper, who has significant experience in tuna fisheries in the region, would replace him in the role.

Pacific tuna commission agrees new rules for crucial species

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Republished from Radio New Zealand, 12 December 2017

The 26 nations that govern the world’s biggest fishery left it to the last minute to agree to new rules for three economically crucial tropical tuna species – skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye.

20445954 - a yellowfin tuna fish with a hook in its mouth from fishing
A hooked yellowfin tuna fish. Photo: ftlaudgirl/123RF

PacNews reports the adoption of a new tropical tuna Bridging Measure at three o’clock in the morning on the last day of the meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission was greeted with applause after days of gruelling negotiations.

It is being hailed as a success for Commission Chair Rhea Moss-Christian.

Other measures approved by the Commission include action to address plastic marine pollution and to boost the capacity of Pacific nations to step up the fight against illegal fishing with more vessel inspections in their ports.

69760535 - scenery of the fishing port
Photo: mtaira/123RF

The meeting failed to reach agreement on measures for albacore tuna, proposed by Pacific countries, but did agree to prioritise albacore at next year’s meeting.

The Tropical Tuna Measure, which regulates a catch worth $US4.5 billion, is a three-year agreement.

It is designed to ensure skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin tuna stocks are maintained at recent average levels and capable of producing maximum sustainable yield.

Rhea Moss Christian, Chair of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Nadi, Fiji WCPFC meeting 2016.
Rhea Moss Christian, Chair of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Nadi, Fiji WCPFC meeting 2016. Photo: RNZI/Monical Miller

“For this Commission to come away from this meeting without having a measure in place would have been a disgrace,” Rhea Moss-Christian told journalists after the decision.

Many distant water nations played a role in the final outcome but Ms Moss-Christian and the Forum Fisheries Agency highlighted the role of Japan, in particular.

FFA Deputy Director General appointment announced

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MANILA, Philippines, December 7 — Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Director General James Movick announced the appointment of New Zealand’s Matthew Hooper to the position of Deputy Director-General of FFA to start during the first half of 2018.

The appointment comes as the current Deputy Director-General Wez Norris prepares to wrap up his final Tuna Commission meeting today.

“The contribution and impact made by Deputy Director-General Norris during his time with the agency has been lasting and impressive, and the extraordinary level of service from Wez to the organisation, and our members, is well-recognised,” said Movick.

“As he completes his final Tuna Commission in his pivotal role with the FFA team, I know our forum fisheries committee officials, leaders, development partners and stakeholders will similarly join me in welcoming the incoming Deputy Director.”

At a press briefing this week, Norris said this is the 11th time he has attended the annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

“I think it’s a really significant achievement for the Commission as a whole that all four of the key tuna species are now in the green area of the Majuro plot so the conclusion for all of them is that there is no over fishing and over fishing is not occurring. This is the only RFMO [regional fisheries management organisation] in the world that can make that boast.”

“I certainly don’t take credit for that, everyone plays a role and everyone contributes to it and we’ve had a measure of good luck in terms of the science changing in terms of bigeye. I’m happy to be walking out the door with four sustainable key tuna stocks, but there are plenty of management challenges left for the next guy,” said Norris.

Wez Norris, outgoing FFA deputy director general at a press briefing in Manila last week

“I’m really confident that some of the progress that FFA has made over the last 5 years will be very well driven and supported by my successor.”

Hooper, who spent part of his childhood in Tokelau, and began his career in New Zealand fisheries in 1996, has been with the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as the Counsellor (Primary Industries) and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), based at the New Zealand Embassy in Rome.

In making the announcement from Manila, where the FFA delegation is supporting Pacific nations to the WCPFC meetings, Movick says the incoming deputy brings significant experience in Pacific tuna fisheries, including the WCPFC, to the role.

“He has national, regional and international experience in fisheries management and negotiations. He’s well known and respected for his capability to work with people and it’s a very tricky situation to help resolve issues,” Movick told the Pacific Media team in Manila yesterday.

Movick’s six year term at the head of FFA also ends next year. He says the appointment process should see a successor announced between May and July 2018.