Deputy governor bothered by foreigners’ role in beche-de-mer industry

By ELIZABETH VUVU
EAST New Britain Deputy Governor Cosmas Bauk says regulations should be tightened to monitor foreigners’ involvement in the beche-de-mer industry.
He said this in the presence of Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Patrick Basa during the opening of a K560,000 fisheries complex at Woolnough Vocational Centre in Kokopo.
“I am saddened to see that foreigners are venturing into marine activities that are supposed to be owned exclusively by indigenous people,” Bauk said.
“For example, the beche-de-mer industry, where there have been reports that foreigners were using locals to get licences.
“This is a rip-off and a major concern.”
Bauk said this practice was prevalent in the New Guinea Islands and the appropriate regulation should be enforced.
“Development should be orchestrated in a manner so that it fully benefits our people,” he said.
“We in Est New Britain are, at a fast rate, losing out in the fisheries industry, maybe through ignorance or lack of knowledge.”
Similar concerns were also raised by Morobe Provincial Fisheries Corporative Association chairman Mangom Wape.