The Parties to the Nauru Agreeement have called again for Japan and Taiwan to stop building boats that will lead to further depletion of Pacific tuna stocks.
Yellow Fin Tuna Photo: Marty Melville / AFP
At a meeting last week, the PNA endorsed further proposals to help the eight members build sustainable fisheries, and emphasised the need to tighten restrictions.
The PNA CEO Dr Transform Aqorau says the "systematic abuse" of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission's process to block the construction of new purse seine vessels is undermining the development of small island states.
However, he also says the vessel day scheme has transformed the purse seine fishery, giving PNA members increasing control, and more than quadrupling revenue to the islands.
The combined fisheries now make over 350 million US dollars a year.
The meeting also looked at the rules around the Total Allowable Effort for 2016 and 2017.