NFA must engage more in thriving tuna industry

 THE Pacific Ocean has become the largest tuna producer in the world after other oceanic tuna productions declined in the past decades due to over-fishing and mismanagement of fisheries resources. 

Over three million metric tonnes of tuna is currently being harvested in the Pacific Ocean, of which 2.4 million tonnes are caught in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. 

About 27% (or 650,000 tonnes) come from PNG waters.

This is the basis of the thriving tuna industry and is worth about  K5.5 billion per anum. 

However, only a miniscule portion is processed onshore by the three established factories in Wewak, Madang and Lae. 

Most of the total catch end up in factories in Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan, not to mention other nations that are fishing in our waters either legally or otherwise. 

The National Fisheries Authority’s (NFA) day-to-day operations survive on licencing fees from fishing vessels that come to our waters to catch tuna. 

In the past10 years, the NFA has not done much to be a major player in the industry. 

Under the new leadership of managing director John Kasu, I hope he is proactive in rigorously engaging the NFA as an active player in the tuna industry. 

There are many ways to achieve meaningful participation. 

We cannot be on the sidelines anymore while we watch our fisheries resources being pillaged and billions of kina leave our shores. 

Dr Ralph R Mana

University of PNG