The head of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement says tuna fisheries in the Pacific are worth far more than what the United States has been paying under the current Treaty terms and conditions.
The US government has increased its offer threefold for fishing fees to $58 million a year.
Our correspondent in the Marshall Islands, Giff Johnson, says the US has been getting the best access of any nation in the world for a pittance.
"The Parties to the Nauru Agreement Director, Transform Aqorau, says of the latest US offer $58-million compared to the existing Treaty of $21-million, he says it just shows how much money the islands have lost in recent years and why they will never do that again, and why they are pushing so hard for an equitable Treaty that protects the resource and gives them a reasonable return on the resource."
The next US Pacific Treaty negotiations session is scheduled for the last week of February in Honolulu, Hawaii.