Pacific nations seek $155m for fishing adaptation

FOURTEEN Pacific Islands countries are working together on a unique application to access a $US70 million ($F155 million) grant from the Green Climate fund for fisheries adaptation.

There are two parts to the proposal.

First acknowledging the burden of growing Pacific populations on coastal fisheries and increasing access to tuna to fill the gap in fish supply.

And second to develop an advanced warning system based on improved modelling that will enable Pacific countries to better track the predicted redistribution of tuna eastwards as a result of climate change impacts.

One of the proponents of the application Pacific Community fisheries adviser for climate, Ludwig Kumoru, said it was important to start thinking outside the box when it comes to climate impacts.

“You know we have focussed a long time on fisheries, just the impacts of fishing on fish stocks but these days we know that climate is also playing a role in what happens to the fish stocks. So, we have got to bring that discussion within fisheries management discussions,” Mr Kumoru said.

The organisation that is assisting the Pacific countries to access the Green Climate Fund is called Conservation International.

Its senior director, Johann Bell, said going through the Green Climate

Fund was the best way to access such a large grant for a regional project of this nature.

“There will be a total of $US70 million ($F155 million) in grant funding from the GCF. But we are also expecting substantial co-finance. So, in total its $US120 million ($F266 million) is what it will cost to do this job over seven years,” Mr Bell said.

“A little over half of this will go towards strengthening Fish Aggregating Device programs in each of the fourteen participating countries and the remainder will go towards developing this advanced warning system to reduce the uncertainty in the response of tuna to the warming ocean.”

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