Distant fishing nations in the Pacific have been accused of submitting false catch reports.
The director general of the Forum Fisheries Agency, James Movick says the practice is distorting information on conservation.
He says the nations - Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan - have to be sanctioned at this week's meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, or Tuna Commission.
International law requires the disclosure of catch information which helps monitor the effectiveness of conservation measures and determines if fishing vessels are following regulations.
Mr Movick says Pacific island counntries want tough sanctions.
"This time if they don't provide the data, what we are saying to the commission is that those countries who do not provide the data are penalised in terms of future allocations in those areas. There's got to be some sort of sanctions so that it hurts to them."
The Forum Fisheries Agency's James Movick.
