Milestone for industry

By GYNNIE KERO
THE Papua New Guinea Fishing Industry Association’s (PNG FIA) purse-seine skipjack and yellowfin tuna fishery has received marine stewardship council (MSC) certification.
According to FIA president Sylvester Pokajam, the fishery was assessed by SCS Global Services, which found it met the 28 performance indicators required for MSC certification, including standards on sustainable fish stocks, bycatch, habitat impacts, and effective management.
The certification covers 64 vessels targeting skipjack and yellowfin in both PNG’s exclusive economic zone and archipelagic waters.
Of that total, 32 vessels are PNG-flagged and 32 vessels are Philippines-flagged, licensed as locally-based foreign fishing vessels.
Tuna caught by the fishery is landed in the PNG ports of Lae, Madang, Wewak, Rabaul and in General Santos city, Philippines, for processing.
The tuna is exported as loins and in cans to markets in Europe, Australia and the United States.
“Today (Friday), we are here to celebrate a milestone that has been achieved by PNG which is the PNG FIA which is the purse-seine skipjack and yellowfin tuna fishery MSC certification,” Pokajam said.
“It took FIA 18 months to attain this and because the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) has a system in place that convinced the auditors of our FIMS (fisheries information management system).”
The country’s tuna industry is worth more than K1 billion in terms of exports.
Pokajam said with the certification, an additional K1.4 billion in tuna export revenue was expected.
“This certification will open new markets for PNG-made products and expand on-shore processing and fishing of tuna, leading to new employment opportunities, foreign exchange earnings and spin-off businesses,” he said. “The PNG Fishing Industry Association now has in place a responsible sourcing policy which includes the marine litter and fishing gear (ghost) management practices, and labour onboard improvement.”