Authority optimistic over forum

 THE National Fisheries Authority (NFA) is confident of co-hosting this year’s tuna regional forum in Fiji, saying preparations for the event are going well.

Managing director John Kasu said the 5th Regional Tuna Industry and Trade Conference to be held at the end of next month in Suva received a lot of backing from the industry.

The two-day workshop would be jointly hosted with the Fijian Government at a K1 million budget.

The meeting is going to be held in Suva on Sept 22 and 23.

The Pacific Tuna Forum is held  every two years and PNG had been a part of this World Tuna Conference in Bangkok since 1980.

Kasu said: “We’ve got very good response from all our industries and our government entities the even Morobe provincial government has given us K40,000. 

“The support is great from the industry and NFA is very appreciative of the support it had got so far. It’s going to turn out to be very positive, we looking forward to the conference. 

“We’ve got all the guest speakers. After the Fiji one we are planning to have it or bring the forum back to PNG.”   

Papua New Guinea was expected to share with other Pacific Island nations the lessons it learnt from fishing and processing of the tuna fishery to protecting the resource.

NFA’s deputy manager Philip Polon earlier said “For PNG we will show them (Pacific Islands) what we have in terms of resource, what we have in terms of processing, what we have in terms of measures we put together in controlling fishing, what we have in terms of answering EU market requirements.