The Executive Director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Andrew Wright, arrived in Pohnpei on Monday 10th October to commence work with the Tuna Commission.
Mr. Wright’s term with the Tuna Commission is for an initial period of four years.
Mr. Wright brings a long association with Pacific fisheries to the post. Since 1978 he has worked on national level fisheries issues in
On arrival in Pohnpei Mr. Wright said that he was looking forward to working with Commission Members to address the numerous challenges facing Pacific regional fisheries at present. “Principle among these are concerns about the level of fishing that regional bigeye and yellowfin tuna stocks are subject to,†he said.
Mr. Wright noted that discussions leading up to the finalization of the Convention that established the Commission as far back as 1999 had cautioned against increasing yellowfin and bigeye tuna catches.
“The means to achieve a reduction in the catch of yellowfin and bigeye that doesn’t unfairly single out any one member of the Commission is perhaps the biggest issue before this year’s Commission meeting,†Mr. Wright said.
Other issues before this year’s meeting in December include by-catch, particularly in relation to turtles, sea birds and sharks and further work to identify priorities for scientific work and to establish a regulatory framework for members.
Mr. Wright said that the first impression on arriving in Pohnpei was the speed with which the new building was being constructed. “I never expected so much progress to have been made since I was here for four days in late August,†he said.
He again paid tribute to the governments of the People’s Republic of