Statement at the 19th Forum Fisheries Committee Ministerial Meeting in Tarawa

Tēnā koutou, nga mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. 

It is an honour to be here in Kiribati as we gather in person for our annual Forum Fisheries Committee meeting – the first in person annual meeting since 2019 given the extraordinary developments of the last few years. 

As Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, the Honourable David Parker, I am privileged to represent Aotearoa New Zealand. 

We deeply appreciate the generous hospitality of the Kiribati Government.  It provides an extremely fitting environment in which to re-kindle our face to face or kanohi ki te kanohi relationships.

It is a pleasure to welcome you, the Honourable Minister Ribwanataake Awira as the new Chair of the Forum Fisheries Committee. 

And Aotearoa New Zealand applauds Fiji for its active role as the Chair of the Forum Fisheries Committee over the last year.  Thank you, Honourable Minister Koroilavesau. 

Finally, we express our gratitude to the Director General and her team for their role in arranging this meeting.

Chair, together, we have shared interests in the sustainable management of the region’s fishery resources.  I look forward to our discussions - confident that in this face to face context it will be possible to move forward.  The solidarity of FFA members is a valuable asset. 

For the last two years and more, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a constraint on our work.  Aotearoa New Zealand commends the response of the FFA Secretariat to these conditions.  We are pleased that FFA members led the decision by WCPFC to resume full observer coverage of purse seine fishing vessels in the tropical region and on transhipment carrier vessels by 1 January 2023. 

And we note that for the first time since 2019, Aotearoa New Zealand is once again conducting on board inspections of fishing vessels in the region. Aotearoa New Zealand has recently completed a high seas boarding and inspection operation in the South Pacific.  This involved one of our Naval vessels (HMNZS Wellington) and an Air Force plane (P3-K Orion), with Aotearoa New Zealand Fishery Officers on board. This operation was conducted in partnership with Australia, France and the United States.

Following this high seas operation, the New Zealand vessel and plane conducted a patrol of Fiji’s waters and the adjacent high seas pocket, with the assistance of a fisheries officer from Fiji. The HMNZS Wellington is currently in Port Villa, Vanuatu, preparing for possible further patrols with other FFA member countries.

Moving to the US Tuna Treaty re-negotiation, Aotearoa New Zealand congratulates the Honourable Minister Koroilavesau and the FFA Director General, Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen, for their roles in achieving an historic increase in the US Government economic assistance.

Securing this outcome has demonstrated the importance and strength of Pacific unity.  It provides a firm basis for our officials to move forward on the remaining matters of the Treaty re-negotiation.

In June of this year, WTO members achieved an Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies at the 12^th Ministerial Conference.  From Aotearoa New Zealand’s perspective, this is a significant development. And it is meaningful for the Pacific region. 

The agreement prohibits subsidies that support illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.  It prohibits subsidies where stocks are overfished. It also prohibits subsidies for fishing on areas of the high seas not covered by regional management arrangements.

 But more work is required. Aotearoa New Zealand is committed to this: we want the Agreement to be expanded to prohibit subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing and to include special and differential treatment for developing and least developed WTO members

Importantly, our Leaders have encouraged Pacific members of the WTO to work together to conclude these remaining pillars of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.  Aotearoa New Zealand looks forward to engaging with these Pacific members to continue this important work.

Our Leaders have also stressed the urgency of addressing climate change, which they described as the “single greatest existential threat facing the Blue Pacific”.  Leaders underlined this in their ground-breaking 2021 Declaration on Preserving Maritime boundaries in the face of Climate Change-Related Sea-Level Rise. 

Aotearoa New Zealand has committed NZ$1.3 billion to global climate funding, with at least 50% of that to be used to assist the Pacific region to adapt to climate change.    We will also continue our partnership with SPC to build a better understanding of the impact of climate change on fisheries. Which, in turn, will help us to ensure that fisheries are adaptive and resilient to a changing climate and ocean. 

Finally, Chair, I also recall that our Leaders have emphasised a “socially sustainable fishery” and encouraged work to improve labour standards for fishing crews and to address the safety and well-being of observers. 

As you know, Aotearoa New Zealand is co-leading work on crew conditions at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.  In this respect, it will be essential that there is a comprehensive and consistent approach to crew conditions across the Convention Area.  FFA members have an important role to play.

Thank you members for your attention. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.