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A purse seiner in Majuro Atoll off-loads skipjack tuna to a waiting carrier vessel for transshipment to a cannery. Photo: RNZI/Giff Johnson
Pacific Island Nations at a major regional fisheries conference have demanded action on serious over-fishing in the Pacific, saying massive fishing boats from Spain, China, Taiwan and Korea are dramatically depleting fish stocks, especially tuna.The Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission annual meeting is being held in Bali until Wednesday - and representatives of several Pacific nations say their moves to deal with conservation issues and plummeting fish stocks are being blocked.
Representatives have raised particular concerns about huge Spanish factory ships called super seiners which haul in 3 thousand tonnes of tuna in a single trip - more than double the annual catch of many small pacific states.
Netani Rika of the Fijian based investigative magazine, Islands Business is covering the Bali conference.