Leaders and Heads of Delegations from the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau, Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu met on Kiritimati, Kiribati on 26 October 2023.

LEADERS,

Ministers from Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Tokelau, and Solomon Islands met in Honiara from 15-16 June 2023 for their 18th Annual Meeting, with the theme “Sustainable Tuna Fisheries for our Economic Growth & Development." The Federated States of Micronesia was represented by a Senior Official.  The meeting was chaired by Hon. Nestor Giro, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources for Solomon Islands. 

The Chief Executive Officer of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement Office, Dr. Sangaalofa Clark, expressed satisfaction with the overall outcomes of the 19th meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission that was held in Da Nang, Vietnam from 1-7 December 2022.

The PNA Office has welcomed and supported the Statement by Pacific Elders on the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP27) calling for “decisive actions within the broad principles of climate justice, human rights and equity, to enable nations to implement the agreed goals and objectives of the Paris Agreement.”

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PNA and Tokelau welcome the decision of the MSC Independent Adjudicator, in respect of the Objection raised against the application, by PNA, to extend the scope of the MSC certification of the PNA tuna fishery to include bigeye tuna and fishing on FADs. The proposed extension of the MSC certification is a hugely important initiative by PNA that would see another 300,000 tonnes of tuna certified as sustainably taken for supply to global markets.

Ministers from Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, and Solomon Islands met via Zoom from 15-17 June 2022 for their 17th Annual Meeting, to consider a range of priority issues related to the sustainable management and development of PNA fisheries. Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, and Tokelau were represented by senior Officials. The meeting was chaired by Hon. Nestor Giro of Solomon Islands.

The key outcomes from the meeting of Ministers included the following:

The PNA and staff of the PNA Office express their great sorrow on the passing of the Honorable Minute Alapati Taupo, late Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Fisheries and Trade of Tuvalu, and send their deepest condolences to his family, friends, Fisheries Ministry staff and the people of Tuvalu.

The 2nd of May is here again marking World Tuna Day, a day of celebrations for Tuna throughout the world! This year at the PNA Office (PNAO) we join in the celebration and recognition of the importance of Tuna to the world and our PNA countries.

It is essential to recognize that the period of COVID-19 has proven difficult for everyone and this has been the case with certain tuna activities in PNA countries: the longline activity has decreased and the placement of PNA observers on purse seine vessels has remained suspended throughout 2021.

PNA Members and Tokelau completed a 2-day virtual workshop, aimed at supporting the implementation, at national level, of the 4th Implementing Arrangement to the Nauru Agreement. Under the Arrangement, PNA Members and Tokelau have agreed to require electronic tracking buoys that are attached to drifting fish aggregating devices, or FADs, to be type approved, registered and tracked, effective 1 January 2023. The PNAO CEO, Dr Sangaalofa Clark, said that fishing on FADs is a very important component of the economy of the PNA purse seine fishery.

PhD proposal: Multi-scale characterization of seamount biodiversity in the Coral Sea Natural Park (New Caledonia)