Managing Tuna Fisheries in the Pacific: A Regional Success Story?

Abstract

the Pacific islands region. The waters of the Pacific islands region, covering an area of around 50 million square kilometers or over ten per cent of the Earth’s surface, are among the most productive tuna fishing grounds in the world. These provide around one third of the world’s tuna supply to global consumers and are an important (in some cases crucial) component of the food security and development prospects of the Pacific island communities. Twenty five years ago the members of the then South Pacific Forum joined together in establishing a regional body to assist member countries develop and manage the oceanic fisheries within their national jurisdiction, under the provisions of United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. The focus of this regional effort was the transboundary fish stocks, dominated by four tuna species ‐ skipjack, yellowfin, bigeye and albacore tunas ‐ that occurred within the island states’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones (EEZs). This regional body, the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), has since overseen and coordinated the implementation of national and regional initiatives to enable member countries to manage, conserve and use their tuna resources. In addition, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC, formally the South Pacific Commission) has played a crucial role in fisheries management and conservation through its fisheries science, data collection and monitoring programs. Assessments of regional cooperation in the Pacific islands have often identified cooperation in oceanic fisheries as a shining example of successful Pacific islands cooperation. The FFA has been described as the ‘most successful intergovernmental agency’ in the region. (Crocombe, 2001, p.603). The Eminent Persons Group Review of the Pacific Islands Forum highlighted the ‘Forum’s substantial influence in Law of the Sea negotiations’ as evidence of the Forum’s power in the world community when