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Business |
‘No cutting corners’
Highlands boss: New
management team will fix mine problems
By BIBIAN BARRENG
JAPANESE tuna fishing vessels have set sail in Papua New Guinea
waters fishing for tuna, sushi’s main ingredient, since last year
after an embargo lodged in 1987 was lifted.
The National Fisheries Authority (NFA), after 19 years of
preventing Japan from fishing in PNG waters, has lifted the
embargo which was announced during the signing of an agreement for
a technical co-operation project in the country yesterday.
The project signed by NFA acting managing director Sylvester
Pokajam and Jun Takahashi, a representative of Overseas Fisheries
Co-operation Foundation of Japan (OFCF Japan) in Fiji, marked the
beginning of a new long-term partnership.
Under the project called “fisheries development assistance for
Pacific Island nations phase 4”, OFCF will provide necessary
materials and equipment and dispatch technical experts next
January at an estimated cost of JPY17.5 million (K460,000).
The marine engineering training at the National Fisheries College
and the repair and restore unit of the Coastal Fisheries Station
in Kokopo are selected institutions included in the project.
Mr Pokajam said the ban on Japanese fishing in PNG waters since
1987 had deprived PNG fishing industry of funding avenues.
“There were a lot of lost opportunities for both countries,” Mr
Pokajam said.
He added the signing was significant in that it laid the
foundation for NFA to tap into other bigger funding organisations
such as the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) which is managed
by Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA).
OFCF targets mostly small fisheries projects where it builds small
jetties, ice-making facilities and that it is a community-based
fund, Mr Pokajam added.
“This may be small but it will eventually grow bigger as promised
by OFCF,” Mr Pokajam said.
He noted that the first two provincial centres the project will
cater for are Rabual and Kaiveng.
He said JICA recently sent a team to Wewak to assess the fish
market while ODA is looking at building new jetties and supplying
ice-making machines to Wewak fishermen.
 
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