High stakes at Pacific tuna commission meeting in Vietnam

The future of the world's largest tuna fishery is being decided in Vietnam this week.

All 26 member countries and participating territories of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) are custodians of the multi-billion dollar Pacific tuna fishery.

Also known as the Pacific Tuna Commission the body primarily brings together the Island countries - owners of the tuna resources - and the distant water fishing nations - whose fleets fish in the region - these include the world superpowers the United States and China as well as member countries of the European Union.

Once a year the Commission meets to negotiate the terms and conditions of accessing and operating in the fishery and to decide on what conservation measures will be adopted.

Also attending the meetings are representatives from the fishing industry and regional scientific bodies and conservation organisations.

This year the Pacific Tuna Commission meeting is being held in Da Nang.

The hosts Vietnam are not actually members...yet.

They are what the commission calls a co-operating non-member a kind of probationary status, but with no guarantee of ascension.

While welcoming the hundreds of delegates on Monday the director general of Vietnam fisheries, Tran Dinh Luan, reiterated their aspiration of becoming a full member in the future.

Speaking through a translator Dr Tran said his country was committed to the sustainable use and long-term conservation of the region's tuna resources.

"At the same time, I would also like to express my hope that in the coming time, Vietnam will actively participate and contribute more effectively in the regional fisheries management of WCPFC as a full member of the WCPFC," Dr Tran said.

There are over 600 delegates participating in this weeks meeting.

It is the first in-person meeting of the commission since 2019 and the first ever conducted in a hybrid format with about a third of participants joining virtually.

In his opening remarks on Monday the executive director of the commission, Feleti Teo, commended member countries for their resilience and determination through the pandemic.

The Tuvaluan executive urged members to bring that same energy this week to the work that needs to be done now to help countries recovering from Covid-19.

"Key issues of harvest strategy development and implementation including a Management Procedure for skipjack, ongoing reforms to improve the efficiency and efficacy of the compliance and monitoring scheme, preparations for negotiations of a new or revised tropical tuna measure in 2023," said Feleti Teo.

He said the commission would also be looking to progress the important work of the various intercessional working groups.

"On issues like electronic reporting and monitoring, crew labour standards, and transhipment review to name a few."

Fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations on the planet.

Recent research by the FISH Safety Foundation found that the number of people killed working in the global fishing industry is well in excess of 100,000 per year - considerably higher than any previous estimates.

The outgoing chair of the Pacific Tuna Commission, South Korea's Jung-re Riley Kim, told member states and territories they needed to step outside of their comfort zones and do more to improve working conditions in the Pacific tuna fishery.

" We no longer can afford to say it is not our responsibility to deal with issues that are not directly related to fishery resources management.

" Because indeed, fisheries impacts are inextricably linked with issues involving the people and the environment. We will need to push our boundaries to address overarching issues such as labour standards."

In the week leading up and running parallel to the main business of the commission there are bilateral, multi-lateral and inter-agency meetings that are also taking place in Da Nang.

Although thousands of miles from the tuna rich waters of the Pacific the commitments and deals being brokered this week in this coastal Vietnamese city and former French colonial port will all have a huge bearing on the future of the fishery and by extension of the peoples of the Pacific.

RNZ Pacific senior journalist Koroi Hawkins is in Vietnam covering the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting. His trip was made possible by the Forum Fisheries Agency.