PNG secures increase in tuna access fees

PAPUA New Guinea has successfully negotiated an increase in tuna access fees with the United States.
Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry Charles Abel announced the outcome following his meeting with the United States state department’s delegation at the Multilateral Treaty on Fisheries in Nadi, Fiji, yesterday.
Abel met with US deputy assistant secretary of state James Loi on the margins of the negotiations and also addressed the Pacific Islands plenary meeting.
The subject of their discussions was primarily PNG’s terms for withdrawing the notice of withdrawal from the treaty. If PNG did not withdraw the notice, the treaty would collapse on May 14 with serious repercussions on smaller island states who are signatories to the treaty.
It would also affect relations with the US.
PNG gave notice last May because it was not happy with the financial and other terms of the treaty.
“I am pleased with the open and frank attitude of the US and their acceptance of our request to increase the access fees for the 2012 fishing period by US$24 million to US$45 million base in a benchmark price of US$5,000 per day for a nominal 9,000 fishing days, and the explicit recognition that the new financial terms of the treaty be based on fair commercial value including a premium for multilateral access to the Pacific fishing grounds,” Abel said.