Introduction
The Nauru accord is a regional agreement that spells out the terms and conditions that the countries use to conduct tuna fishing. The parties to this accord include the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu. The eight-member states own the water that supplies 25% of the global tuna product, which is approximated at about $2 billion (Marahare, 2020). This organization pursued and decided to implement certain measures that were deemed important toward limiting fishing and strengthening the preservation and regulation of tuna fish. Traditionally, member countries have innovative conservation and management measures that are meant to facilitate efficient and economically sustainable fishing (Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, 2022). This paper will discuss how the closing of the high seas, vessel Day Schemes, and cooperation in management help achieve sustainable management of tuna and suggest areas to improve.
Vessel Day Schemes
The eight islands in the Pacific Ocean currently manage the biggest tuna fish production in the world. These countries came together and developed a fish management system called the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) (Jaiteh, 2021). This process has an efficient modification to the demanding impact of climatic variations. As a result, purse-seine fishing endeavor is limited in respect of angling days. Additionally, it allocates Total Allowable Effort (TAE) among all the member countries as the laid down Party Allowable Effort ceilings (PAEs). Parties are normally given room to exchange PAE period and use an array of VDS mechanisms to change to the impact of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
For instance, when La Nina occurs, and many fleets move to angle in the West of the part, PNA states usually locate in that area and procure days from those in the Eastern, and vice versa occurs for El Nino. VDS system ensures that the benefits of the tuna fish business are distributed equally among the member states, irrespective of where the fish are caught within that region (Hourd, 2021). Additionally, the allotment of PAE is a non-controversial adjustment to climate change due to the fact that it complements the climate-propelled reassignment of tuna.
Closing of High Seas Fishing
Nauru members under the Fisheries and Marine Resources Authority has been implementing a control to the high seas fishing. Notices have in the past been issued to countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vanuatu, which led to agreement on the limit on allowable purse-seine fishing. This initiative arose from the second arrangement of the accord that prohibited transshipment at the sea, and introduced high seas catch reporting and maintenance of log books. Further, it has been placing observers on request from member states, and the recording of catches and efforts each day (Nauru Fisheries and Marine Resources, 2021). These arrangement seems to have worked because as at now, Nauru EEZ is being reported as one of the best purse-seine angling zones in the Pacific Sea. Additionally, member countries have a mechanism that involves using high seas aggregated data to approximate the distribution of efforts per country (Yeeting et al., 2017). It is based on the fishing location in high seas and each nation’s share of TAEs.
Cooperation in the Management
The parties, without any exemption or consideration for their separate supreme entitlements, are coordinating and harmonizing the regulation of fisheries in terms of the usual stocks inside the areas. They have a unified approach to engaging foreign vessels through the implementation of the regulations spelled out in Article II of the agreement (FFA Report, n.d.). Additionally, all eight countries have standardized their licensing processes as required in Article III of the accord. This has seen them approve uniform standards and plans involving permitting of the foreign watercrafts. Further, all member states jointly coordinate the monitoring and surveillance of foreign fishing activities (FFA Report, n.d.). Lastly, all countries are facilitating the enforcement and operationalization of the agreement.
Further, small island developing states (SIDS) have been working independently and mutually to create a regulatory system, which reflects their viewpoints, respects their privileges, and enhances their revenue. This they did by establishing a sub-regional accord called Parties to the Nauru Accord (PNA) that outlines how each country can maximize economic returns from tuna. However, SIDS have been struggling to manage this shared resource because of variabilities encompassing the state of bigeye tuna and overused yellowfin and albacore (Ledua & Veitayaki, 2019). Despite this challenge, the countries have tried to focus on sustaining the benefits by putting up local tuna value addition factories and domesticating tuna angling fleets. Likewise, they are transshipping in ports, and increasing the number of their crews on foreign vessels.
Suggestion for Improvement on Management
The reality of tuna fishing in SIDS is that their state fisheries experts do not have a precise knowledge of the stocks of targeted categories and the connections inside and between the coastal and tuna fisheries segments. Notwithstanding the affirmation that tuna is strained, Pacific Island countries, including Nauru, still overfish, and thus, proper management needs to be put in place (Ledua & Veitayaki, 2019). The governments of the eight states should encourage and promote responsible fishing among their citizens. Additionally, global mechanisms such as the United Nations pact on the Law of the Sea and the FAO standard procedure for sustainable Fisheries should be implemented across the eight nations to boost sustainability (Ledua & Veitayaki, 2019). In addition, Nauru’s nations must take difficult steps like declaring some parts of their EEZs as marine protected areas to reduce fishing efforts and enhance productivity.
Conclusion
This organization pursued and decided to implement certain measures that were deemed important towards limiting fishing and strengthening the conservation and management of tuna fish. These countries developed a fisheries management system called the Vessel Day Scheme, which has an efficient adaptation to the demanding impact of climatic variations. Thus, it restricts purse-seine angling attempts as postulated in the time of fishing period. Additionally, closing of high seas fishing has constraint allowable purse-seine fishing. Further, through cooperation in management, they established a sub-regional accord called Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) that formulated how each country could maximize economic returns from tuna. However, Pacific Island countries, including Nauru, still overfish, and thus, proper management needs to be put in place.
The governments of the eight states should encourage and promote responsible fishing among their citizens. In addition, Nauru’s nations must take difficult steps like declaring some parts of their EEZs as marine protected areas to reduce fishing efforts and enhance productivity. Lastly, global mechanisms such as the United Nations pact on the Law of the Sea and the FAO standard procedures for sustainable Fisheries should be implemented across the eight nations to boost sustainability.
Reference List
FFA Report. (n.d.). Nauru Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Management of Fisheries of Common Interest. FFA. Web.
Hourd, D. (2021). Parties to the Nauru Agreement: A Model for Sustainable Development – International Day of Peace. The Organization for World Peace. Web.
Jaiteh, V. F. (2021). Adaptive management of fisheries in response to climate change. Chapter 12: The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) ‘Vessel Day Scheme’: A cooperative fishery management mechanism assisting member countries to adapt to climate variability and change. Research Gate. Web.
Ledua, E., & Veitayaki, J. (2019). Balancing Sustainable Tuna Resource Management and Economic Development: Small Island Developing States Perspectives. Brill, pp. 367-372. Web.
Marahare, E. (2020). Nauru Agreement; Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency. Web.
Nauru Fisheries and Marine Resources. (2021). Nauru Closes it Waters to Foreign Fishing Vessels. Web.
Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency. (2022). PNA Ministers Agree: Open PNA Office, Strengthen Fishing Limits & Cooperate to Exchange Fishing Observers. Web.
Yeeting, A. D., Weikard, H. P, Bailey, M., Bidesi, V. R., & Bush, S. R. (2017). Stabilizing cooperation through pragmatic tolerance: the case of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) tuna fishery. Springer Link, 18, PP. 885–897. Web.