Fisheries governance watchdog Accountability.Fish has criticised the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, saying its practice of holding key meetings in secrecy makes a mockery of the commission’s sustainability rhetoric.
Mike Klein, communication lead at the watchdog points to the closure to outside observers of WCPFC’s technical and compliance meeting, saying:
“WCPFC represents nearly 60% of our planet’s tuna supply, making its decisions far-reaching and indeed global in scale. Yet for another year, members have chosen to keep observers out of one of the most critical meetings you hold.
“The public has every right to understand WCPFC’s decision-making processes and the outcomes thereof.
“Consequently, Accountability.Fish has a right - and a responsibility - to call this secrecy out, and, for as long as it continues, we intend to call it out openly, publicly and throughout our interactions with the commercial, political and social actors with whom we engage.
“This secrecy is corrosive to WCPFC’s credibility, both in terms of its overall legitimacy and as a credible player in ocean sustainability.
“As individual members, many of the WCPFC nations agree to these norms and ideals, and some even go to lengths to publicly promote them. Yet you persist in violating them here today.
“There can be no accountability without openness. Without accountability, there is no sustainability.”
