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Boosting Assistance to South Pacific Fisheries

30 June 2005

Fisheries Officials in Papua New Guinea
Fisheries officials in Papua New Guinea
A joint mission of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Government of Iceland visited the South Pacific on 16 June 2005 to discuss development assistance for the region's islands. Geoffrey Martin, Strategic Partnerships Adviser, and Semisi Fakahau, Adviser on Fisheries, of the Commonwealth Secretariat joined Dr Tumi Tomasson, Director of the United Nations University's Fisheries Training Programme (UNU-FTP), representing Iceland.

The mission follows a co-operation agreement signed in April 2005 between the Secretariat and Iceland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist coastal fisheries management in the South Pacific, which will help in the conservation of fisheries resources and the prevention of coastal environmental degradation. This will also help in the sustainable development of Pacific Island country marine resources.

The delegation met with Greg Urwin, Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), in Suva, Fiji Islands, and Lourdes Pangelinan, Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), in Noumea, New Caledonia, to discuss the assistance programme. 

The PIFS, which also chairs the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific, and the SPC, the lead regional organisation on coastal fisheries management, will collaborate with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Government of Iceland on this fisheries development project.

The delegation also met with Professor Leon Zann, Director of the Marine Studies Programme at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva, to discuss co-operation in the delivery of short training courses within the Marine Studies Programme.

Mr Martin said this initiative is unique in the Pacific: "Although Iceland is a leading global authority on all aspects of fisheries management and development, it is surprising that Iceland and the Pacific Islands authorities have not collaborated on this before. This is an imaginative development: together we have been able to secure the support of Iceland's expertise in this crucial area of economic development."

Dr Tomasson commented that the visit to the South Pacific had been constructive. "The Commonwealth Secretariat has brought about a meaningful co-operation arrangement that has the potential to strengthen the institutional capacity in fisheries management in the South Pacific. At the same time, it is embracing the quality of training offered by the UNU-FTP in Iceland. I look forward to good co-operation with the PIFS, SPC, USP and other institutions in the region."

 

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 241, 29 June 2005

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