Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced a multi million dollar package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years.
Mr Peters says, “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners to further develop and maintain the healthy and productive fisheries that are at the core of the region’s prosperity and sustainability.”
“It also addresses some recommendations from New Zealand Parliament’s inquiry into illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing by supporting better capacity and capability for monitoring and combating illegal fishing.”
Mr Jones announced the package worth over $50 million at a regional ministerial fisheries meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands and says the support is important for Pacific nations’ resilience and sustainability.
“Fisheries are vital to the Pacific, the main source of revenue by far for some countries, and New Zealand has long supported their success. We have a long-standing commitment to the region, and this funding package addresses critical next steps for our Pacific partners.”
Mr Peters says New Zealand is proud to continue its long-standing collaboration with all four of the implementing partners: the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
And the endorsement for the new Pacific Forum Fisheries Director General was made following the 23rd FFC Annual Ministerial Meeting and the 5th Annual Regional Fisheries Ministers Meeting last week.
Mr Pakop, from Papua New Guinea, will succeed the current Director General Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen who has led the FFA Secretariat since 2018.
The Sustainable Pacific Fisheries portfolio package includes:
Programme support ($948k)
Support for country capacity and capability ($19.48m)
Support for regional capacity and coordination ($16.49m)
A new phase of MPI-led fisheries training programme, Te Pātuitanga Ahumoana a Kiwa ($7.15m)
Supporting data monitoring through the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission ($4.63m)
Programme support ($948k)
