Source: ABC
Papua New Guinea says it’s open to renegotiating a major regional fishing agreement with the United States.
In April PNG withdrew from the twenty five year old South Pacific Tuna Treaty, which involves thirteen countries and the US, and gives American fishing boats limitless access to Pacific tuna stocks in return for around USD 18 million worth of aid each year.
And last month, a day after being re-elected Niue’s Premier, Toke Talagi said his country backed PNG’s decision to withdraw from the agreement.
Two years of talks had failed to reach agreement on extending the treaty, which was due to expire in the middle of 2013.
Sylvester Pokajam is the managing director of PNG’s National Fisheries authority, and the chairman of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement - an association of eight Pacific countries whose territorial waters contain most of the region's tuna.
Presenter: Nasya Bahfen
Speaker: Sylvester Pokajam, managing director of PNG’s National Fisheries authority, and Chairman of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement
Pokajam: For the treaty itself, in its current form, PNG has withdrawn. It’s given notice to withdraw from this treaty in its current form however PNG is still open to what is going to come up next.
Bahfen: Has there been any approach from the United States about re-negotiating it?
We have had a call from the deputy secretary of state East Asia Pacific. We had a short meeting with the ambassador here in Papua New Guinea - that was last month. They just wanted to know why we pulled out. We said so - we gave them our reasons why we pulled out. There were also some discussions with some other industry players who are also involved in fishing under the US treaty. So there have been numerous meetings and inquiries.
Would PNG be likely to renegotiate another treaty?
Our national executive council or NEC decision is very clear - that we pull out of this treaty in its current form, however we’re open to a new treaty or a new arrangement. That's the decision of my government.
Can you explain to me some of the problems or some of the issues for not just PNG but for other members of the Nauru Agreement?
The biggest one we have and have always been talking to the United States about collectively, through the Parties to the Nauru Agreement or PNA, is domestic law. What happened is that the treaty in its current form in fact hits our rights, our domestic laws, meaning any regulations or any measures or any policies that we put in place domestically in our eight countries - we have to seek the permission of the United States through the treaty. We don't like that because we want our domestic laws to be superior to the treaty. That's one - two, for Papua New Guinea alone we have been calling for market access to the US with what we get from the EU in terms of duty free market access. We’ve been calling for the US to try to assist us with that and find a way forward. But what has happened is that the US is saying the treaty itself is not a trade treaty. That’s our second concern from Papua New Guinea itself, but I believe other PNA countries will have the same benefits if this goes through with the US.
Has the US made any announcements or decisions about withdrawing aid or anything like that if the treaty is not renegotiated?
They have not said anything like that yet. So far they are quiet except we had this short meeting with the deputy secretary of state for the East Asia region. We have not talked to those people who we are involved with in consultations from the fisheries side in the US. We haven’t talked to them yet, they have not talked to us, there was no communication. So they have not come forward but the parties are meeting in Samoa this month, after next week, to discuss the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency position after the PNG withdrawal.