Denarau, Fiji 9 December 2016: Pacific islands rejected a proposal during this week’s Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission annual meeting in Fiji that would have given distant water fishing fleets an unfair competitive advantage in negotiating fishing access agreements.

   Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) CEO Ludwig Kumoru if the proposal moved forward, it would undermine the commercial interests of member islands. “We have nothing to gain by making trade information available to distant water fishing countries,” he said.

   Denarau, Fiji 9 December 2016: The best news coming out of this year’s Western and Central Fisheries Commission annual meeting for the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) is the Commission’s adoption on its last day of meetings today in Fiji of a measure to improve the safety of fisheries observers.

   Denarau, Fiji 8 December 2016: The refusal of distant water fishing nations to take any action in the face of the impending collapse of the northern Pacific bluefin tuna fishery demonstrates the intransigence of these fishing nations in the face of overwhelming evidence of the problem, said Parties to the Nauru Agreement CEO Ludwig Kumoru Thursday in Fiji.

Denarau, Fiji 8 December 2016: The United Nations General Assembly voted today to establish World Tuna Day as an internationally-recognized event.

   The event initiated by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) in 2011 has now gained international ratification for the annual celebration of tuna on May 2.

Denarau, Fiji 7 December 2016: Concern over illegal fishing by so-called “blue boats” was expressed by officials from the Parties to the Nauru Agreement during this week’s Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) annual meeting in Fiji.

   Denarau, Fiji 6 December 2016: Concern over the “disproportionate burden” placed on small islands by some conservation management initiatives was highlighted repeatedly by members of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) during the first two days of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) now meeting in Fiji. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the region was also a focus of PNA member comments.

   Denarau, Fiji 5 December 2016: The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission annual meeting opened today in Fiji with a traditional Fijian welcome ceremony and a call by the organization’s chairperson to appreciate “the value of incremental progress” in the Commission’s decision making process for fisheries conservation and management.

   Nadi, Fiji 4 December 2016: A resolution to establish May 2 as World Tuna Day is scheduled for a vote at the United Nations General Assembly later this week.

   Nadi, Fiji 3 December 2016: Parties to the Nauru Agreement representatives briefed media from the Pacific region during a workshop that is being held in conjunction with the upcoming Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission annual meeting in Nadi, Fiji.

   PNA CEO Ludwig Kumoru, PNA Commercial Manager Maurice Brownjohn, and Federated States of Micronesia fisheries Executive Director Eugene Pangelinan spoke Thursday and Friday on a range of fishery issues to journalists from eight nations.

   Nadi, Fiji 2 December 2016: The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) met Thursday in Nadi to finalize their strategy for the 13^th Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission annual meeting that opens Monday 5 December at the Sheraton Resort in Denarau, Fiji.