Greenpeace is urging Pacific Island Nations to ban transhipment of fish catches in the region following the Government of Nauru’s decision to no longer allow the practice in its waters.
A regular industry practice that is largely unmonitored, transshipping involves fishing vessels - longliners - transferring their catch to ‘motherships’ to be taken and sold in far-away markets. This means that boats can stay out at sea for years, evading checks on their fishing practices and licenses, and the treatment of their crew.
Nauru’s ban comes after Greenpeace’s ship, ‘Rainbow Warrior’ raided a Taiwanese tuna longliner illegally fishing in the tuna-rich tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean last week.
“Today’s announcement by Nauru is a shining example of the action that needs to be taken urgently to protect our Pacific Islands,” said Lagi Toribau, oceans campaigner, Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
“The longline industry is chronically unregulated and poorly monitored, and the high seas are currently acting as loopholes for pirate fishing boats. Out here, overfishing is the norm. Many tuna stocks are already in trouble, and illegal fishing is only adding to that pressure,” he added.
Nauru is the third Pacific country to ban the practice of transhipping, and Greenpeace is now calling for a complete overhaul of longline fisheries, including a ban on transshipping catch, to bring them under better control and proper management. There are more than 3,500 longline vessels currently authorised to fish by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
“If fishing vessels had to go to land to transfer their catch, it would solve many of the problems out here in the Pacific. It would make it easier to properly account for and manage these catches, and also boost the economies of Pacific Island countries where the catches come from,” Mr Toribau concluded.
According to Greenpeace, local fishing vessels are mothballed in Fiji and workers have been laid off. Local fisheries in Samoa, Tonga and other Pacific Island nations are also said to be suffering.
