Efforts to implement the Tokelau Arrangement for South Pacific albacore have been boosted by a grant of $US5.1 million dollars from New Zealand.
The agreement, signed at the Forum Fisheries Agency headquarters in Solomon Islands, will cover services and advice from the FFA and the Oceanic Fisheries Programme of the SPC to ensure a better performing tuna fishery and a more viable stock.
Countries sharing in the southern albacore long-line fishery and participating in the development of the Tokelau Agreement include the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The Director General James Movick said the funding was timely as this year will be one of intensified efforts within the Western Central Pacific fishery region to deliver the best conservation and management outcomes for the future of South Pacific Albacore and tropical tuna stocks.
He said the money would help developing Pacific small island states to better ensure robust management and performance of the Pacific tuna long-line fishery, which targets yellowfin, bigeye and albacore.