BY NED GAGAHE
Solomon Islands National University (SINU) Vice Chancellor and senior academic, Professor Transform Aqorau, has commended the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS), describing it as a “Pacific innovation that changed the game” and a strong example of regional economic self-determination.
In a widely circulated paper titled “Reclaiming Pacific Economic Independence: From Aid Reliance to Innovation,” Professor Aqorau said Pacific Island countries have already demonstrated their ability to take control of their economic destiny through home-grown solutions.
He highlighted the role of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), which transformed the region’s tuna industry with the introduction of the Vessel Day Scheme in 2007.
“Not long ago, Pacific nations proved we can be masters of our own economic destiny.
“The PNA turned the tuna industry on its head with an ingenious creation – the Vessel Day Scheme,” Professor Aqorau said.
He said that the VDS shifted Pacific states from being passive price-takers to resource owners who control access to their tuna resources. By limiting and trading fishing days within their waters, Pacific countries were able to charge the true value of their tuna while ensuring long-term sustainability of fish stocks.
The economic impact, he said, was dramatic.
“Collectively, PNA governments saw tuna revenues increased fivefold within a decade while preserving the sustainability of stocks.
“We went from earning a pittance on foreign fishing licences to commanding hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees,” Professor Aqorau said.
He likened the collective power of Pacific Island countries under the VDS to that of OPEC, noting that small island states effectively controlled access to one of the world’s most sought-after tuna fisheries.
“The numbers tell the story.
“Before the VDS, Pacific states together earned as little as US$60 million per year from licensing. After we united under the VDS, revenues skyrocketed.” he said.
By the mid-2010s, PNA members were earning close to US$500 million annually from purse-seine tuna fishing fees. Total licence revenue increased from about US$64 million in 2010 to approximately US$470 million by 2016.
Professor Aqorau said these revenues had made a significant difference across the region, funding schools and hospitals, paying public servants, and supporting national budgets.
“The VDS showed the world that Pacific ingenuity can deliver economic transformation on our own terms.
“When we cooperate and assert our rights, we can rewrite the rules of an industry and capture far greater value from our natural resources,” he said.
He said the success of the Vessel Day Scheme should serve as a model for future Pacific-led innovations that aim to reduce aid dependence and strengthen economic independence.
Photo: Supplied
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