The Fiji Tuna Boats Association has instructed lawyers to file an injunction against the issuance of Tuna Licenses for applications not inline with cabinet requirements.
The association has also written to Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase calling for the removal of three members of the controversial Tuna Licensing Committee.
Fiji Tuna Boats Association Co-ordinator Graham Southwick alleges in his letter to the Prime Minister that Permanent Secretary for Fisheries Vuetasau Buatoka, his Director Maciu Lagibalavu and Deputy Director of Fisheries Malakai Tuiloa have allegedly been receiving bribes in return for long line tuna licenses.
But Tuiloa says Southwick’s allegations are all lies. Tuiloa says they have referred the matter to the police to investigate. Attempts to get a comment from Buatoka and Lagibalavu were unsuccessful.
Southwick has asked the Prime Minister to take heed of the controversy in the interest of common justice and for the protection of his government. He said it would be unacceptable for the Tuna Licensing Committee, of which the three implicated senior civil servants are members, to continue to sit and decide on licensing matters.
Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has intervened in the current war between the Fisheries Ministry and the Fiji Tuna Boats Association. In a letter to Fisheries Minister Konisi Yabaki earlier this week, Information Minister Simione Kaitani expressed Prime Minister Laisenia
Qarase’s concern over the head on collision and mudslinging between government and the Fiji Tuna Boats Association headed by Fiji Fish boss Graham Southwick.
Kaitani said the Prime Minister is cautioning the government to take necessary measures to settle for a win-win situation. He said the Government is concerned the tuna fishing industry could lose the income of $300,000 per day if the problem isn’t solved quickly. He says the allegations against the Fisheries Ministry don’t augur well with the government.
Kaitani says a bigger crisis is looming in the fishing industry if the head on collision with the Tuna Boats Association is not resolved-thus creating a bigger problem for government next year and warned the Fisheries Minister of the negative political implications on the government and advised he explore reaching a settlement with the Association.
On January 3rd, the local press reported that the Fiji government has offered to renew all existing fishing licenses for another year. Minister for Justice, Qoriniasi Bale says the renewing of the license will depend on the licensee paying up the prescribed fee. “The renewal bill will come into effect as soon as each licensee pays up his prescribed fee,†he said.
Bale says most of the applications for the fishing licenses came in the last minute. The licenses had expired on December 31st and but boat owners claim they were short noticed by the Fisheries Department about the renewal of leases.
Source: Fiji Press