Pacific countries urged to unite against illegal fishing in islands region

ILLEGAL, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a regional issue that requires a regional solution, Australian department of agriculture and water resources director Kieran Macdonell says.
Macdonell told The National during the opening of the Regional Plan of Action (RPOA) IUU coordination meeting in Port Moresby yesterday that it was an issue no one country could deal with by itself.
“All members of the RPOA including PNG and Australia have the responsibility to work together to combat the issue on our seas,” he said.
He said prior to the establishment of RPOA in 2007, countries that were now members would be suspicious about each other in regards to IUU fishing on their country’s sea boundaries.
He said it made it difficult for them to really identify the issue.
“Now that we have formed this RPOA, we began to work together in protecting our sea borders,” he said.