Draft Report of the Pacific fisheries study tour to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Samoa November 2008

-

Draft Report of the Pacific fisheries study tour to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Samoa November 2008

The purpose of the tours is therefore to study innovative approaches to optimising sustainable returns from fisheries, while examining any obstacles they face; and to report on any policy adaptations that may be needed, given the significance of marine fisheries for coastal communities in particular. In addition, this work builds capacity and a broader regional awareness among selected participants, and hints at future capacity-building measures. This report highlights the approaches seen, obstacles observed and the outcomes of
discussions between Pacific tour participants on strategies moving forward. The visits were necessarily brief, typically to two locations in each nation. The issues and initiatives presented therefore represent a limited snapshot of all that is happening in country. Tour findings will be consolidated with two other pieces of work in a late 2009 report to Commonwealth leaders. That other work includes a) the results of a case study to be undertaken by CHEC in Fiji, and b) a report on current Pacific fisheries policy and practice. The latter report will be informed by peer reviewed literature, the policies and priorities of regional organisations, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) facilitated and Commonwealth Secretariat funded Pacific Islands Regional Coastal Fisheries Management Policy 2008-2013.