BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, climate change, and overfishing are among the key topics at the forefront of this week’s Honiara Summit.
Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Director General, Noan Pakop, shared this during a press conference held at the Friendship Hall last Thursday.
The Government of Solomon Islands, in partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), and with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the Special Oceans Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, and the Pacific Community (SPC), is hosting the Honiara Summit 2025—an international conference focusing on Sustainable Development Goal 14.4: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.
Speaking about cross-cutting issues such as climate change, Mr. Pakop emphasized that this is a time when countries need effective partnerships, collaboration, and cooperation across all sectors to address climate change.
“It’s a cross-cutting issue that affects various sectors and has implications on many aspects, particularly livelihoods and food security. We need stronger cooperation and relationships in this area.”
He continued, “When it comes to offshore fisheries, like tuna, the migratory nature of the stock requires the region to manage it collectively.”
Pakop noted that Solomon Islands is part of the FFA and WCPFC arrangements, where all states come together as a region to ensure that fisheries management measures are implemented to protect the shared stock that impacts all nations.
“However, we face challenges. While we enjoy the healthy state of tuna stocks, we must remain vigilant against IUU, illegal fishing. As technology changes, so too do IUU activities. We must keep an eye on overfishing and pollution.”
He added, “These are challenges that we continue to monitor closely to ensure they are controlled and managed, with mitigation and adaptation measures in place. These are the issues we are prioritizing in our discussions at the Honiara Summit.”
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