Pacific Tuna Observers On Training ff

Source: Solomon Star

Fourteen new local fishery observers took a two-week training to collect data on purse seine fishing last week in Honiara.

Solomon Islands has 60 observers who have undergone similar training in the past.

After this training, Solomon Islands will have a total of 74 local observers from the 400 observers in the Pacific Islands.

Forum Fishery Agency and Secretariat of the Pacific Commission (SPC), in collaboration with Ministry of Fisheries, conducted the basic fishing observer course held at Archive building in Honiara.

The training was part of the capacity building FFA and SPC want to improve this year in their monitoring, control and surveillance on tuna stocks in Pacific Islands seas.

SPC Observer and Port Sampling Trainer, Siosifa Fukofuka said the observers need to be equipped because they have a standard data collection in place.

He said they will go out, observe and record information on the foreign and local vessels fishing in Pacific waters.

After, they will come back and report to the National Fishery. 

He said Solomon Islands is among countries like Marshalls, Papua New Guinea, Federate States of Micronesia (FSM), and Kiribati that have more tunas in their seas.

Mr. Fukofuka said a similar course will be held in other island countries later this year.

FFA observer Programme Manager, Tim Park said Solomon Islands observers are very smart in this observer job.

He said they have always done a great job when coming back from the vessels out there.

Outgoing Deputy Director General of the Pacific Islands FFA, Dr Transform Aqorau said there should be improvement in monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) in 2010 with further development of the regional MCS Strategy. 

He told Island Business magazine it has been recognised that effective management requires a robust MCS framework with a greater regional focus that builds on national institutions.

“The regional MCS Strategy will bring together service providers and fisheries managers to operate in a more integrated way,” he said.

“It is likely that new MCS measures will be taken in 2010 which may include a higher degree of information exchange between Pacific countries. 

“This will be critical to ensuring that measures adopted by the WCPFC (Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission), Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency member countries, and PNA (Party to Nauru Agreement) members are enforced.”

Tuna observers on training