The deputy director of Tuvalu's fisheries department says a new four-year programme for managing and developing its fisheries will ease the problem of food security.
Nikolase Apinelu says the Institutional Strengthening Programme will make it possible to train staff better and employ outside technical advisers.
Two out of three households fish for food and while licence fees for foreign vessels make up to half of the country's earnings, figures show that last year Tuvalu received only five percent of the nine million US dollars worth of fish caught in its waters.
Mr Apinelu says the next step is to secure funding from either New Zealand or Australia to implement the programme.
"Foods security's number one priority within the government development goals for the next five to ten years. ISP will enhance skill and experience of staff in order to manage the coastal fisheries from the current level to another level in the long term."
Tuvalu's fisheries department's deputy director, Nikolase Apinelu.
