Pacific fisheries officials, meeting this week in the Marshall Islands, want help complying with management requirements.
Fisheries talks in Majuro were overseen Tuesday by, from left: Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Executive Director Feleti Teo, Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority Director Glen Joseph, and WCPFC Compliance Manager Lara Manarangi Trott. Photo: Hilary Hosia
As the Pacific nations have taken a greater part in the fisheries sector in the region there has been a substantial increase in reporting required by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
The Commission's Technical and Compliance Committee is meeting this week in Majuro and our correspondent there, Giff Johnson, says the burden from a lack of capacity is a key issue being raised.
"They want the Commission to be cognizant of the fact that essentially the Pacific Islands don't have a level playing field with the more developed countries, the European Union, Japan, China, Korea and so on. All the [distant water] fishing nations."
The decisions made by the committee will go to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, or Tuna Commission as it's often called, when it holds its annual meeting in Hawaii in December.