The Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC) 33rd Meeting

  • John Luxton
Fisheries and Aquaculture

Majuro, Marshall Islands

Thank you to the Marshall Island Government for hosting this Forum Fisheries Committee. (FFC)

Welcome Tuvalu as the Chair of this meeting and New Zealand looks forward to working with you during the course of this busy and productive year.

On the Multilateral High Level Conference (MHLC) process.

New Zealand is very pleased to participate in this process which is such a clear demonstration of support at the Ministerial level for the regional position at the MHLC 2.

We view our participation as clear signal to the Distant Water Fishing Nations and Entities of our commitment to a fair deal for the region while preserving the stock.

New Zealand appreciates that the conservation and management of the tuna stocks is a complex undertaking.

We also understand that the island states of the FFA have not benefited from the tuna resource of the region in proportion to the amount of the stock caught within their waters.

New Zealand sees the overall goals of the MHLC process as two in number:

to ensure that the tuna resource is paced on a long-term sustainable basis; and
to enhance the economic secruity of the island states in whose waters the tuna are caught.
On the MHLC 2 Meeting.

We view the convening of the Second High Level Multilateral Conference as a major step forward in securing the continued conservation and management of the resource and in assisting to secure the long-term economic future of the Pacific island States.

We see the objective of this meeting as the beginning of the substantive discussion process with all parties who have a real interest in the fishery. We consider that this objective will best be represented by an agreement by the Conference on a Declaration of Principles to guide our future work and this should include a future work programme.

With regard to the important item on our agenda concerned with selection of the Director of the FFA the New Zealand delegation is committed to supporting the best candidate for the position of Director of the FFA.

New Zealand will endorse and work closely with whichever candidate achieves consensus support.