Two Pacific Island States Sign US Tuna Treaty

The Marshall Islands and Palau signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the US for the South Pacific Tuna Treaty (SPTT) on Friday. The ceremony by Ministers of both countries and the US representatives took place during the ongoing WCPFC’s 21st annual meeting in Fiji. A Forum Fisheries Committee’s spokesperson said the signing has marked another important milestone in the implementation of the Treaty between the governments of Pacific Island states and the US. Ten states had already inked the deal earlier this year.

The SPTT is a fisheries treaty agreement between the US and 16 Pacific Island countries. It entered into force in 1988, was extended in 1993, 2002, 2016, and again in 2024 and currently runs until 2033. It will allow US-flagged seiners to fish in the island nations for the next five years. The American government will pay USD 600 million in ten years in return to boost the Pacific Island states’ economy and sustainable fishing.