Call for own fishing program
PACIFIC Island representatives to the 1987 World Fisheries Conference in Rome pressed for help with developing their own fisheries program and they also called for more control over foreign fishing activities with regard to the 200mile economic zones.
In an article reported by The Fiji Times on June 6 that year, Les Clark, the deputy commissioner of the Honiara-based Forum Fisheries Agency, said Fiji was always prominent because of its membership of the Food and Agriculture Organization and their stand in expressing keenness and rights to develop its own fisheries program.
Mr Clark had also been to Suva to advise the Fiji government on negotiations with the C Itoh Japanese company, which ran the only fish cannery in Fiji.
Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Western Samoa, New Zealand and Australia were among other world representatives attending the World Fisheries Conference.
The conference was held every 10 years and this was to be the first where Pacific representatives were present. Mr Clark said some of the work done in Pacific fisheries had never been done anywhere else in the world.
He also mentioned there had been oppositions to these innovative fisheries program but it was likely Pacific Island delegates would seek advice on how to best protect the program.
Mr Clark had been with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) for two years. Before this he had been working with the New Zealand government.
When Mr Clark asked about the FFA program on the 200-mile zone, it was noted that major problems encountered by many of the Pacific Island countries had not been scientifically located.
The FFA acted only as an advisory body when it came to the delineation of the zones.
He considered that the 200-mile economic zones had to be marked quickly because foreign fishing ventures often involved more than one country which affected the contribution of funds from the catch.
He also said the biggest part of the FFA work on tuna fishing was the harmonisation of fisheries.
Most countries in the Pacific had bilateral arrangements with other countries such as Japan and it was the role of the FFA to advise the regional countries on how to best make agreements. He gave the examples of the Pacific Fishing Company and the Fiji government agreement.