Frozen albacore tuna offloaded in Lami, Fiji Photo: RNZ / Philippa Tolley
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) has agreed to a management procedure for South Pacific albacore tuna.
The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) said this decision will allow the formation of a binding framework to be applied to South Pacific albacore fishing, for all fleets operating in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
It said the new management procedure introduces a structured decision-making framework that ties fishing levels to the stock's condition.
Albacore is one of the four main tuna species that sustains Pacific Island fisheries and economic activity.
Pacnews reported WCPFC chair Dr Josie Tamate saying the agreement was a top priority and a long time coming.
Asked about the significance of the decision for Pacific communities that rely on tuna, Dr Tamate said the management procedure sends a strong signal of stability.
"The step in the direction of adopting the management procedure is the necessary first step, the next step that we need to do. And this complements some of the work that FFA members have done this year in terms of their allocation process," she said.
"So next year we'll be again continuing to work on analysing some of those details.
"I hope that it will help the small island states, especially those FFA members who, like Fiji for example, who have a big albacore tuna fishery that they rely on their own."
She said the Commission's job is clear to keep key Pacific tuna stocks sustainable.
Chair of the Forum Fisheries Committee officials, Poi Okesene, said South Pacific albacore "is the heartbeat of our southern fisheries and the economies of many of our coastal states".
"This successful outcome reflects... our determination to protect this fishery while enabling fair and sustainable economic returns."
However, Dr Tamate said the WCPFC made no decision on the issue of transshipment.
The FFA said the Commission also adopted enhanced monitoring and compliance measures, progress on bycatch mitigation, and further recognition of the special requirements of Small Island Developing States under Article 30 of the WCPFC Convention.
Seabirds
Meanwhile, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature has welcomed moves in the Pacific to strengthen protections for seabirds.
This comes as the just-completed annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission responded to the threat to seabirds from longline tuna vessels.
It agreed to strengthen its rules to protect seabirds in a major stretch of ocean north of New Zealand, one of the key feeding areas where endangered albatrosses overlap with longline vessels.
More fishing vessels will now be required to use at least two proven seabird bycatch mitigation measures at the same time.
These include bird-scaring lines, weighted lines that sink quickly, or hook-shielding devices.
