The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) said that overfishing of sashimi fish bigeye tuna would continue because of the opposition of some foreign fishing nations to purse seine fishing cuts on the high seas, as the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting closed late today.

A proposal by Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) member Marshall Islands, backed by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), would require the Tuna Commission members to account for the impact of their actions on Small Island Developing States.

The proposal will be discussed at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Cairns this week.

MONDAY 2 DECEMBER 2013: As the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) opened today, the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) said foreign fishing nations need to take responsibility for overfishing of bigeye tuna.

“PNA wants foreign fishing nations to cut their longline fishing and share the burden of conservation at this week’s meeting in Cairns,” said PNA CEO Dr Transform Aqorau

THURSDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2013, PACIFIC ISLANDS: The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) said foreign fishing nations must financially compensate them for their work to manage sustainable tuna fisheries. 

Member countries of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) are anticipating disputes at their annual meeting next week in Cairns, Australia, about how to reduce overfishing of bigeye tuna, a popular sashimi fish.

MONDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2013, PACIFIC ISLANDS: The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) says new rules to tuna fishing in the Western and Central Pacific must cut catches of bigeye tuna by longline fishing vessels especially in the high seas.

The PNA manages the world’s largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery. Tuna purse seiners target skipjack tuna, which is commonly used in canned tuna products.

AUSTRIA, FRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2013: Pacifical, a partnership between the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) which manages the world’s largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery and Sustunable, a EU based sustainable marketing enterprise, will put PNA tuna on the shelves of SPAR supermarkets, under their home brand in Austria today.

The Pacifical tuna is skipjack tuna caught from wild schools (rather than using Fish Aggregating Devices or FADs) and carries the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ecolabel.

HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, 18 SEPTEMBER 2013: The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) with the support of sponsors National Fisheries Authority (NFA) of Papua New Guinea, Tri Marine International and Frabelle have launched a book of stories and art on the wonders of tuna.

Printed copies of the book of winning entries in the PNA World Tuna Day Art and Talent Quest were distributed at the Pacific Tuna Forum being held in Honiara this week to political and business leaders. The Pacific Tuna Forum 2013 opens today and closes tomorrow.

HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, WEDNESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2013: At a key speech to the Pacific Tuna Forum held this week in Honiara, the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) CEO said the PNA Vessel Day Scheme had not yet reached its full potential.

While the PNA Vessel Day Scheme had increased the value of the fishery from 1.9 to 3.8 million USD since 2010, Dr Aqorau said there were still gaps in implementation and understanding of Pacific governments, foreign fishing nations and industry that meant they had not maximized the benefits of the scheme.