Coastal provinces need to be aware, trained

THE NFA’s decision to open the bech der mer season after nine solid years is a great relief for the whole population in the coastal provinces.
However, some of the decision which the NFA has made is not tangible as the focus they have is shortcoming.
A province can be given a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of seven tonnes but that TAC can be achieved and exceeded in just a month.
This made me question the integrity of the survey that was carried out in each province by the fisheries personnel which prompted the NFA management to allocate TAC for each coastal province with the past records.
A province may be allocated a limited TAC which can be harvested by a single community and so the season will be closed again for the whole year.
The restrictions for the resource owners to become buyers or exporters will be a great danger for the fishery. We will not become foreigners in our own waters. Those days were gone.
Have buyers who belong to that particular area of operation to serve their own people or, give them the mandate through their Fishermen Association to become middleman between the buyers and the resource owners so that the buyers or exporters will pay at a higher rate.
NFA’s restrictions to size limitations will be possible for bech de mer which are residents of shallow waters but bottom dwelling species will be very difficult as some can be found between the photic zone.
Therefore, thorough measurements can’t be done to these species.
The other most important and foremost thing is that; the NFA and the Provincial Fisheries have terribly failed  to run workshops for the fisher folk prior to the opening of the resource in terms of product handling and processing.
Awareness without proper training is a total waste of taxpayers’ money as nothing has been delivered to the resource owners.
Remember: “Give a man a fish and he shall be hungry tomorrow. Teach him how to fish and he shall never be hungry in his life.”

Tambeel Sibe
Lae