1. Improving South Pacific Tuna Longline Policy and Management
HoF10 new projects session
Noumea: March 2017
Improving South Pacific Tuna Longline Policy and Management

2. Overview of Presentation
Subregional cooperation in longline fisheries management:
What’s wrong with longline fisheries
Why subregional action?
What will it take to make it work?
What NZ project resources are available?
What will the project do?
To start with, what’s wrong with them? Longline fisheries in and around Pacific Island EEZs have always been difficult to manage. These fisheries have rarely lived up to their potential and have been plagued by dubious economic sustainability, high bycatch and poor reporting. The albacore longline fishery has been through at least 3 boom-bust cycles that I know of, and two years ago whole fleets were tied up across the south of the region. And locally-based operators find it hard to compete against subsidised foreign-flagged boats for a diminishing resource. We’re in a spiral of diminishing returns that needs to be stabilised.

3. Spiral of diminishing returns
4 main target tuna – skipjack, bigeye, yellowfin, albacore
The plot you were shown in the general introduction yesterday is a snapshot of current biological status of stock. But it is misleading when trying to assess the health of the fisheries on those stocks, where the TREND is important.

4. Skipjack depletion Stabilised around 50%
In fact, Out of these 4 only skipjack - the main stock targeted by the purse-seine fishery is doing well – year on year (not taking the tuna price into account), and the reason becomes clear when looking at the trend in biomass depletion. Skipjack has stabilised around 50% for the last decade. In my opinion the purse-seine VDS and PNA 3IA has been largely responsible for this. Sure, WCPFC also contributed to the action, but only after the subregional management scheme led the way.

5. South Pacific albacore depletion
Steady decline
And this is what has happened under management by individual countries, with collaboration only through WCPFC. Continued decline.

6. Why collaborative management? What’s in it for countries?
Apart from the assurance that your neighbour will not be overfishing?
Increased security to time your development
Collective bargaining power at WCPFC under principle of compatibility
More flexibility in balancing national and foreign development options
Tradeable allocation units: smooth out revenue variations of environment cycles
Also – these units can be monetized: acquire value in their own right as they are traded – eventually can be used as security with banks, or collateral in joint ventures etc.

7. What is it going to take? Agreement of arrangements: TKA-CMA
Resolve: willingness to ride out undermining attempts
100% vessel reporting against allocations
Removal of excess “latency”, “creation of scarcity”
Reassurance: that collaboration through subregional schemes will not compromise your ability to manage your own fishery, or introduce complexity that will not happen anyway as WCPFC systems evolve.
A personal view, but from my experience with implementing the purse-seine VDS in Nauru, a minimum benchmark fee across the region was the main thing that set it going. It doesn’t limit your ability to ask for more. But this depends on how easy it is to fish entirely on the high seas.

8. Zone-based Management Arrangements
Palau Arrangement VDS
Tokelau Arrangement CMS

9. “Improving South Pacific Tuna Longline Policy and Management”
NZ project key details
“Improving South Pacific Tuna Longline Policy and Management”
Overseen by NZ MFAT
Implemented by FFA, SPC OFP and NZ MPI
Total NZ funding: NZ$7,095,665 over 5 years
… commences this month
FFA/SPC Letter of Agreement to be signed
2017 Workplan submission to MFAT
FFA project officer in place before TKA5 meeting

10. NZ SPTLPAM project – what will it do?
Regional: Support implementation of TKA
SubRegional: Finalisation and administration of management scheme
National: Support Parties in implementing agreement
Type of support:
Scientific advice
Policy and regulatory advice
Improvement of monitoring (including e-reporting)
Data management modules for existing nat/reg systems
Capacity development, training, attachment etc
M&E, Steering committee (1st possibly in October at TKA6)