no tuna means no future.
© Greenpeace / Paul Hilton
Pacific Ocean — Finally, some good news for tuna stocks and a first step towards protecting the Pacific Commons for future generations! Eight Pacific island countries have taken the most significant action ever to combat overfishing in the region.
For years fishing fleets from distant countries have plundered the Pacific’s tuna, riding roughshod over legitimate concerns of Pacific island countries. In December last year, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and mainland China all blocked conservation measures at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meeting.
And as we have witnessed over the past two months at sea in the Pacific Commons – their fleets are continuing to decimate the tuna stocks and threaten the future of Pacific livelihoods.
But the tide has turned.
New rules
With this new agreement, foreign fishing vessels licensed to fish in the waters of eight Pacific island countries will be banned from fishing in two regions of the Pacific Commons adjacent to these countries. This is a giant stride towards these areas becoming marine reserves and towards the protection of Pacific tuna. This is exactly what we have been pushing for since 2005.
The eight countries (Parties to the Nauru Agreement) include the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. Most of the tuna stocks from the Pacific, valued at US$ 3 billion a year, come from the waters of these countries.
Press Release: Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand / May 21, 2008
www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand
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