SOLOMON ISLANDS and other Western Pacific countries, Tuna Industries are facing a number of challenges threatening both the sustainability of fisheries and marine ecosystems.
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Gizo Field Office says these challenges include overfishing, catching of undersized tuna, by-catch, and government subsidized distant water fleets.
It says there are a number of significant opportunities to tackle these threats, including advocacy to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), collaborations with the Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands National Governments via the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA).
WWF further emphasized that there are emerging opportunities in the purse seine and the pole and line fisheries of Solomon Islands, including the pursuance of MSC certification and Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs).
It says under its future activities, it will build on existing relationships developed by WWF with PNA jurisdiction to meet and renew these MSC certification conditions, including reduce by-catch and carbon emissions.
“WWF-SI will also aim to assist other tuna fisheries achieve certification under MSC or work towards certification via Fishery Improvement Projects,” it says.
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