SATURDAY 31 MARCH, GUAM: The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) said the latest meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) did not go far enough towards conservation and management of tuna.

The meeting closed late Friday without any progress on PNA’s proposals to cut overfishing of bigeye tuna, a popular sashimi fish, to protect whale sharks, or to have a four month ban on Fish Aggregating Devices (FADS, which result in bycatches of young tuna and other species).

GUAM, MONDAY 26 MARCH: As the Western and Central Pacific Commission (WCPFC) meeting starts today, the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) said it was time for the big fishing nations to shape up and improve their record on conservation and management of tuna.

PACIFIC ISLANDS, MONDAY 19 MARCH 2012:  The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) called for foreign fishing nations to stop their overfishing of bigeye tuna by taking action at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting next week.

MAJURO, MARSHALL ISLANDS, MONDAY 11 MARCH 2012:  With just two weeks until fishing nations and Pacific Islands meet at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting, the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) said it will not bow to pressure to open the high seas to foreign fishing.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, FEBRUARY 2012: The PNA’s Commercial Manager Maurice Brownjohn has been appointed as a fishing industry ambassador to The Prince’s Charities’ International Sustainability Unit.

OPINION ARTICLE FROM Dr Transform Aqorau, PNA Director

January 2012 is historic for the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and for our Pacific region. In gaining a globally recognized eco-label, that of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the PNA fulfils its aspiration of being the world’s largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery. 

The label will apply to all skipjack tuna with documentation proving is caught without using Fish Aggregating Devices (FADS) on free schools of tuna in the open ocean. 

MEDIA RELEASE FROM MARINE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (MSC)

The PNA Western & Central Pacific skipjack tuna fishery (PNA skipjack fishery) has had its purse seine fishing operations (see notes) targeting free schools of skipjack tuna certified as sustainable against the MSC environmental standard for sustainable and well managed fisheries. 

SOLOMON ISLANDS, NAURU, TUVALU, MONDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2011: As 2011 comes to a close, three PNA countries have taken the bold step of closing their waters to foreign fishing vessels in order to maintain sustainable tuna fishing limits, reported the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA). 

The tiny atoll nation of Tuvalu was the latest to announce it was closing its fishery last week, notifying all foreign purse seine fishing vessels they are no longer permitted to fish for tuna in Tuvalu waters. 

The Nauru Fisheries and Marine Resources Authority issued a notice to the purse-seiners of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vanuatu fishing under bilateral access agreements with NFMRA, that the limit of allowable purse-seine fishing effort for 2011 in Nauru under these arrangements has been reached.

POHNEPEI, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, MONDAY 10 OCTOBER 2011: If the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) recent conservation measures and the current management measure on bigeye tuna by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) continues, overfishing of bigeye tuna will discontinue, scientists said.

Overfishing of bigeye tuna, a popular sashimi fish, caught by longline fishing and as bycatch in purse seine fishing, is a problem in the region, despite healthy levels of other tunas such as skipjack tuna (commonly used for canned tuna).