Pato pushing for end to illegal fishing

Moves to eliminate illegal fishing near Papua New Guinea and in the wider Pacific are high on the agenda for PNG at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in Argentina this week.
During a session on illegal fishing, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Rimbink Pato delivered a keynote contribution in support of trade rules requiring the abolition of subsidies given by certain major economies to their fishing industries.
Pato along with Commerce and Industry Minister Wera Mori are representing PNG at the ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires.
Referring to illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, Pato said: “We know from experience that fishing subsidies by big economies are detrimental to smaller-scale fishing industries in PNG and other Pacific countries.
“These subsidies also contribute to over-fishing that threatens the very existence of the fish stocks which are vital to feed the world and to our economy.”
Pato told a meeting attended by representatives of most countries in the world that PNG, as the biggest Pacific Islands nation, strongly supported moves by the Pacific Islands Forum states aimed at eliminating illegal fishing from the Pacific and other oceans.
“Further discussions are being held at the WTO meeting on key proposals associated with the elimination of subsidies,” Pato said. “Mori and I are also working to ensure that rules relating to agriculture and the digital economy are suitable to WTO moves to establish a free and fair trading world.”