The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum (SPF), and changed its name in 1999 to "Pacific Islands Forum", so as to be more inclusive of the Forum's Oceania-spanning membership of both north and south Pacific island countries, including Australia. It is a United Nations General Assembly observer.
From 1916 to 1975, Tuvalu was part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony of the United Kingdom. A referendum was held in 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration. As a consequence of the referendum, the separate British colonies of Kiribati and Tuvalu were formed. Tuvalu became fully independent as a sovereign state within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978. On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations.
A regional fishery body (RFB) is a type of international organization that is part of an international fishery agreement or arrangement to cooperate on the sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources and/or the development of marine capture fisheries whose such capacity has been recognized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization under the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement.
Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) is a general term to describe systems that are used in commercial fishing to allow environmental and fisheries regulatory organizations to track and monitor the activities of fishing vessels. They are a key part of monitoring control and surveillance (MCS) programs at national and international levels. VMS may be used to monitor vessels in the territorial waters of a country or a subdivision of a country, or in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) that extend 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) from the coasts of many countries. VMS systems are used to improve the management and sustainability of the marine environment, through ensuring proper fishing practices and the prevention of illegal fishing, and thus protect and enhance the livelihoods of fishermen.
Tuvalu – United States relations are bilateral relations between Tuvalu and the United States.
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is a regional fisheries management organisation established to conserve and manage tuna and other highly migratory fish stocks across the western and central areas of the Pacific Ocean. Its full name is Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. It commenced operations in late 2005, and its secretariat is based in Pohnpei, in the northern Pacific state of the Federated States of Micronesia.
The Nauru Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Management of Fisheries of Common Interest, or The Nauru Agreement is an Oceania subregional agreement between the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. The eight signatories collectively control 25–30% of the world's tuna supply and approximately 60% of the western and central Pacific tuna supply.
The Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific Region or Niue Treaty is a multilateral treaty of members of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency to enhance their ability to enforce effectively their fisheries laws, and deter breaches.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has a commercial fishery that targets bigeye and yellowfin tuna using pelagic longline fishing gear. There were 55 longline vessels licensed to fish in the Republic of the Marshall Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 2011, of which 4 were Marshall Islands-flagged and 51 were foreign-licensed vessels, including 22 Chinese-flagged, 16 Japanese-flagged, 11 Federated States of Micronesia-flagged, and 2 Taiwan-flagged. The Japanese-flagged longliners land their catch in Japan; the other 39 vessels were domestically-based. In 2011, the Marshall Islands longline fleet had reported landings of principal market species of 259 mt of bigeye tuna, 99 mt of yellowfin tuna, 37 mt of blue marlin, 7 mt of black marlin, 4 mt of albacore tuna, and 3 mt of broadbill swordfish. Fresh chilled bigeye and yellowfin tuna is exported primarily to markets in the U.S., China and Canada, and frozen tuna and incidental market species are exported to China and marketed locally.
The Sopoaga Ministry was the 14th ministry of the Government of Tuvalu, led by Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. It succeeds the Telavi Ministry upon its swearing in by Governor-General Sir Iakoba Italeli on 5 August 2013.
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) is one of eight regional councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) in 1976 to manage offshore fisheries. The WPRFMC's jurisdiction includes the US exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters around the State of Hawaii; US Territories of American Samoa and Guam; the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI); and the US Pacific remote island areas of Johnston, Midway, Palmyra and Wake Atolls; Baker, Howland and Jarvis Islands; and Kingman Reef. This area of nearly 1.5 million square miles is the size of the continental United States and constitutes about half of the entire US EEZ. It spans both sides of the equator and both sides of the dateline. The WPRFMC also manages domestic fisheries based in the US Pacific Islands that operate on the high seas.
High seas fisheries management refers to the governance and regulation of fishing activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction, often referred to as the 'high seas'.1 The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1995 United Nations Fish Stock Agreement (UNFSA) provide the international legal framework for the regulation of fishing activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The United Nations Fish Stock Agreement delegates responsibility for conservation and management of fish stocks to regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) each governing a geographical area of the high seas.
The Pacific Islands Forum's Forum Fisheries Agency maintains a Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre in Honiara, Solomon Islands. In 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea gave all maritime nations, including the smaller Pacific Ocean nations, 200-nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Monitoring their EEZs is a challenge for some of the smaller nations, where their maritime zones dwarf their landmass, making cooperation essential.
Pamela Maru is a Cook Islands public servant and fisheries management adviser.
Transshipment or transhipment at sea is done by transferring goods such as cargo, personnel, and equipment from one ship to another. It is a common practice in global fisheries and typically takes place between smaller fishing vessels and large specialized refrigerated transport vessels, also referred to as “reefers” that onload catch and deliver supplies if necessary.
The South Pacific Tuna Treaty is a fisheries treaty agreement between the United States and 16 Pacific Island countries. The treaty entered into force in 1988, was extended in 1993, and again in 2002, and runs to 2022, unless otherwise extended. It allows for United States fishing vessels to fish in the exclusive economic zones of the other party states.
James Movick is a civil servant from the Federated States of Micronesia who served as the Director General of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency from 2012 to 2018.
Minute Alapati Taupo OBE was a Tuvaluan politician, diplomat, economist and accountant. Taupo was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu in the 2019 Tuvaluan general election to represent the Nanumanga electorate. He was appointed Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Fisheries and Trade in the Natano Ministry.
The Niue Nukutuluea Multiple-Use Marine Park is a marine protected area that encompasses the territorial waters and exclusive economic zone surrounding the Pacific island of Niue, covering a total area of 318,140 square kilometres (122,830 sq mi). Established in April 2022, it incorporated the Niue Moana Mahu Marine Protected Area and Beveridge Reef Nukutulueatama Special Management Area, which had been established in April 2020.
Josie M. Tamate is a Niuean civil servant and former Director-General of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Government of Niue. In December 2022, she was appointed Chair of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the governing body for the world's largest tuna fishery. Tamate is the first Polynesian to serve as WCPFC Chair.
