Issue 9, 19 February 2015

Your fortnightly report on trends and influencers on the global tuna market from the Pacific Islands. Click this link to read PDF:
http://www.pnatuna.com/sites/default/files/marketintel9.pdf

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MARKET UPDATE

Majuro February 2, 2015: The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) are gearing for their annual meeting in early March, with an ambitious agenda in motion for 2015.

With PNA’s Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) controlling the purse seine fishery and generating the largest-ever share of fisheries revenue to the eight member nations, PNA is focusing efforts in 2015 on consolidating these gains and setting the stage for expanding control over tuna resources.

Majuro (25 November 2014) — The signing by the Marshall Islands government in Majuro Friday November 21, 2014 of a “vessel day scheme” (VDS) for longline fishing vessels triggers a regional plan for stepped up regulation of this significant part of the tuna fishing industry in the Pacific.

Majuro (20 November 2014) — Overfishing of bigeye tuna in the central and western Pacific must be halted by reducing fishing mortality levels, said the CEO of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA).

The eight PNA members and Tokelau, who control waters where over 50 percent of the world’s skipjack tuna is caught, have put a detailed conservation measure on the table for adoption at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) annual meeting in Apia, Samoa 1-5 December.

Funafuti, Tuvalu (13 November, 2014) — Tuna conservation, fishing vessel licensing arrangements, and further development of the successful “vessel day scheme” (VDS) that governs purse seine fishing in the central and western Pacific were key points of discussion at the meeting of government ministers from the eight nations that make up the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) 12-13 November, 2014 in Tuvalu.

Majuro — The CEO of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) recognized Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries Authority for conducting a successful public tender of fishing days for 2015.
“The tender is allowing Papua New Guinea to maximize the value of the fishing days it is allotted under PNA’s vessel day scheme,” said PNA CEO Dr. Transform Aqorau on Monday. “By putting fishing days out for public tender, the National Fisheries Authority allowed the industry to put a value on fishing.”

Tuna Market Intelligence is an independent publication, sponsored by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) to unearth industry and market information from Pacific Island reporters and analysts. Reprint in the media from the PNA countries is free. All other reprints must be authorized. Contact us on tmi@pnatuna.com or see more on www.pnatuna.com/Tuna-Market-Intelligence

The PNA Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) sets an overall Total Allowable Effort (TAE) limit on the number of days fishing vessels can be licensed to fish in PNA Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) per year. Each country is allocated a share of the TAE for use in its zone each year. These VDS days can be traded between countries in cases where a country has used up all its days while another has spare days.

The TAE Advisory link below shows information on the current PNA Purse Seine (PS) VDS TAE. A link is also provided for previous TAE decisions and advisories.

Suva, Fiji (August 20, 2014) — A group of senior Pacific island journalists was briefed on tuna industry developments during a two-day workshop that concluded Tuesday in Suva, Fiji.

Jointly sponsored by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and the Pew Charitable Trusts, the workshop featured talks from tuna industry representatives, fisheries managers and eco-label officials who monitor sustainability standards in the PNA’s skipjack tuna fishery.