Deal a first for parties
TO commemorate World Fisheries Day 2022, a fiveyear memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between Conservation International and the Fiji Fishing Industry Association (FFIA) on Monday.
Conservation International (CI) country director Mere Lakeba said the MOU outlined the scope, roles and responsibilities of the new partnership and would run until 2027.
“This MOU is a milestone as it is the first of its kind for both parties,” she said.
“The vision is to secure ocean protection, sustainable fishery production in Fiji while strengthening the environmental, social and economic performance of Fiji’s long line tuna fisheries.”
She said the MOU would also achieve CI’s oceans strategy for sustainable seafood to “improve the environmental, socioeconomic performance of Fiji’s industrial tuna fisheries particularly through jurisdictional approaches that leverage policy and market-based approaches to drive holistic improvements in the national tuna fishery.
“Fiji is blessed with a mature domestic fishing industry and this MOU would continue to support the sustainable livelihoods, employment and value creation in Fiji’s industrial tuna sector.
“CI looks to this partnership as a step towards the right direction with the actors that are most prevalent in the spaces that we’re trying to safeguard for Fijians.”
She added CI recently launched its Jurisdictional Approach (JA) for Pacific tuna which would implement a place-based tuna project in Fiji to strengthen fishery management.
She said it would ensure the long-term benefits of this resource for the region was achieved through world-leading practices in environmental sustainability, social responsibility and cultural perpetuation.
FFIA president Radhika Kumar said the MOU signalled the dawn of a collaborative work with CI in areas that should greatly assist the industry to stay above water during the most difficult time that the industry had ever gone through since its existence some 40 years ago.
“So with the signing of this MOU, it will definitely provide the necessary platform that should benefit the sector and those that rely on it directly and indirectly,” she said.
“CI should be rest assured that we will be committed to what is expected of us as per the MOU.”
The vision is to secure ocean protection, sustainable fishery production in Fiji while strengthening the environmental, social and economic performance of Fiji’s long line tuna fisheries
– Mere Lakeba
Winners will be contacted by the numbers supplied. Promotion was drawn and witnessed in the presence of A/IP Vika T of Totogo Police Station on Tuesday 22 November at 12.30pm.