Share fisheries benefits: MP

MANUS governor Charlie Benjamin has demanded a portion of the revenue earned from local and foreign fishing vessel operating in its territorial waters to be given to the provincial government.
Benjamin said Manus had a limited internal revenue base to support its provincial budget and depended entirely on grants appropriated in the national budget annually.
The maritime province, sharing international sea borders with Indonesia to the west and the Federated States of Micronesia to the north, has not benefited directly from its vast fishing resource particularly tuna.
Governor Benjamin said in a statement that the vessel day scheme (VDS) to fishing provinces throughout the country needed to address the issue as a condition of the Pacific Maritime Industrial Zone (PMIZ) development for downstream processing fisheries resources.
Benjamin said this in support of his call to National Fisheries Authority (NFA) to develop and administer a formula for equal and fair distribution of revenue made from the regional arrangement on VDS as it moved to develop the Madang based PMIZ.
“I support the Government’s policy on downstream processing of fisheries resources and products however, the National Fisheries Strategic Plan (NFSP) 2022-2030 must include a formula for distribution of VDS allocations down to the maritime provinces whose waters are being exploited by commercial fishing,” Benjamin said.
The governor added that PNG was benefiting from the fishing days allocation from the regional arrangement based on the number of fishing days spent in harvesting of resources.
“This would be the only way to recognise maritime provinces where commercial fishing takes place.
“The NFPS recognised provincial governments as key stakeholder partners, therefore it is significant for maritime provinces to participate in the process for equity in development revenue,” he said.
Benjamin appealed to NFA to consider his government’s desire to benefit from VDS through the revenue distribution to assist Manus stimulate economic growth and development in the fisheries sector and participate in the downstream policy.
Meanwhile, Manus will see significant development to the western end of the main island with the development of a China-funded K485 million transhipment port project.
“This development will stimulate the local economy and a need for additional infrastructure taking advantage of major fishing grounds and also strategic important markets in Asia,” Benjamin said.