POHNPEI: The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission formally opened its new office in Pohnpei, the capital of the Federated States of Micronesia last month, with a mandate to monitor and conserve critically-low levels of highly migratory fish stocks in the high seas of the Pacific.
The office opens at a time when scientists have warned that tuna stocks were dropping to perilously low levels, threatening many subsistence communities in the Pacific and denying commercial fisheries in the region a better livelihood.
There were also concerns that at least one Pacific state has recently allowed a fleet of nine South American fishing vessels not authorised by the commission to fish in the high seas within the WCPF convention area. While the fleet was registered in Ecuador it was believed to be backed by Spanish interests.
The new commission complements work of the Honiara-based Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), which since 1979 had sought to assist its 17- member states to manage and conserve tuna resources. – PNS