Fijian Albacore Longliner Fleet To Be Reduced Or Not? ff

Source: The Fiji Times

The Fiji Offshore Fisheries Association wants the number of fishing licenses maintained. Fiji Tuna Boat Owners Association member Grahame Southwick wants them to be reduced.

Fiji Tuna Boat Owners Association member Grahame Southwick said the debate continues following revelations and concerns from a report by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the Forum Fisheries Agency, zeroed in on who would have to go.

Mr. Southwick said the paper confirmed that the most damaging aspects affecting the Fiji fishery was by far, the excessive licenses issued for the Fiji Zone, followed to a lesser extent by excessive effort in the region west of Fiji generally and climatic conditions to some extent. The current system is 15 years old.

Two new options are being explored, he said.

The first option, in a bid to update and hone the Tuna Management Development Plan, identified low priority vessels like charter vessels as the first to go followed by other low priority arrangements as the industry aimed to retain not more than 50 vessels.

The second option, Mr. Southwick said, was to approach the cut back on the basis of “Last in, first out”.

“The last boats to be licensed in 2012, 2011 and 2010 may be the first out,” he said.

Mr. Southwick said the independent findings of the two agencies stated that if they were asked to set the figure at maximum economic benefit for the fleet alone, it would be 45.

This matter will be debated and finalized in the next meeting at the end of May, Mr. Southwick said.

“But regardless of which way it goes, the number will be 50 for 2013 and beyond,” he said.

However Spokesman of the Fiji Offshore Fisheries Association Mr. Jiten Mohan said yesterday he was not in favor of an increase or decrease in the number of fishing licenses amid concerns of overfishing and the number of fishing licenses issued by the Fisheries Department.

Mr. Mohan’s comment followed consultations between stakeholders over the Tuna Management Development Plan.

He said the Fiji Offshore Fisheries Association offered better economic returns to the country for taking the initiative to bring in more fish from regional waters as opposed to the Fiji Tuna Boat Owners Association which fished within the Exclusive Economic Zone.

“We are the bigger investors in the industry raising national returns to the industry from $20million in 2006 to $200million in 2011,” Mr. Mohan said.

“We need to go beyond the EEZ to keep the mill running.  Of the 720,000 tons of fish harvested annually in the region, Fiji’s cap is 15,000 tons of that. That’s just two per cent. So it doesn’t make a difference if they reduce the number of licenses or cease all licenses.”

“Of the 3600 vessels fishing in the Central Western Pacific, Fiji only has 54 vessels or 1.5 per cent. That’s Fiji’s best effort.”

“So where’s the sense in reducing the number of licenses. Fiji needs to go outside the EEZ. We can’t just sit inside the EEZ for tuna ù it won’t happen.”