Page 7 - IB July 2018

We say

The public and private sector will need to collaborate to build tation it can wreak on the environment. This is another area in
more rooms, provide transport and grow food which can supply which the government and private sector must collaborate closely
the hotels and feed visitors. for the benefit of the nation.
If the Solomon Islands can reduce the cost of holidays, tour- If the people of the Solomon Islands can set their priorities and
ists will visit. work together their journey to happiness and prosperity will be
Finally there is the issue of extractive industry and the devas- assured of an excellent outcome.

A growing to-do list for Manu Tupou-Roosen beneath that tropical exterior is a steely

resolve to get the work done and an attitude that no challenge is unsurmountable

WE wish the Director-General of the Forum Fisheries Agency,
Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen, every success in the challenging task
ahead.
With years of experience in the agency and the intense talks
around fisheries each year, she is well placed to take over from
the outgoing James Movick.
Much like her predecessor, Tupou-Roosen is a smiling, polite
Pacific Islander – well-spoken, confident, friendly and unas-
suming.
But beneath that tropical exterior is a steely resolve to get the
work done and an attitude that no challenge is unsurmountable.
In negotiations with Distant Water Fishing Nations like the
United States, Japan, China and Taiwan, Tupou-Roosen has not
been intimidated by posturing and threats.
The most recent talks on tuna at the Western and Central Pacific
Fisheries Commission in Passay City, the Philippines, dragged
into the early hours of the morning – forced to a large extent by
the refusal of larger nations to make concessions for the owners
of the resources.
The success of the negotiations for the Pacific was due largely to
the work of the FFA team of which Tupou-Roosen was an integral
part, preparing to step into the new role.
Tupou-Roosen will commence her new
Marine Domain appointment in November 2018 as head of
Awareness the 17-member agency which comprises
Australia, the Cook Islands, the Feder- nations if the Pacific is to remain united and demand recognition
ated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, for its tuna stocks as well as securing the
the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua best possible price.
New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu Curb human rights She will also need to take up the request
and Vanuatu. abuses by Forum Fisheries Ministers to address
Regional Fisheries Minister have expressed their wholehearted continued human rights abuses on fish-
support for the new appointee, confident that she has been pre- ing vessels operating in the Pacific region.
pared sufficiently through years of on the job training. This will include the improved labour standards for all crew.
Fisheries has been recognised as a multi-dimensional and Looking towards the WCPFC meeting the issues Tupou-Roosen
multi-sectoral issue with huge potential to provide economic will take up on behalf of the region include:
opportunities at national and regional level. • Maintaining the strength of the tropical tuna measure
An area which will demand Tupou-Roosen’s immediate at- and progressing the high seas limits and allocation process;
tention will be Marine Domain Awareness and the securing of • Agreeing a Target Reference Point for the South Pacific
maritime boundaries. albacore tuna stock that promotes recovery from economic over-
Twenty per cent of the world’s ocean falls in the Exclusive fishing and progressing the Harvest Strategy Workplan;
Economic Zones of Pacific Island Countries and Territories. • Establishing a more structured approach to addressing
That portion of the ocean is under increasing threat as demand SIDS Special Requirements through a Strategic Investment Plan;
for tuna grows in the developed world whose own fish stocks • Advancing an FFA proposal for an improved Compliance
have been severely depleted. Monitoring Scheme that ensures WCPFC members’ compliance
While the Pacific has generally spoken with a single voice on with WCPFC measures while addressing procedural unfairness
fisheries management, the pressure from outside the region – and disproportionate burden on SIDS inherent in the current
mainly China with its quest for resources – has started to affect measure.
solidarity. It is not an easy task, but we are confident that Tupou-Roosen
Tupou-Roosen will need to negotiate and maneuver between is more than suited to the challenge and will acquit herself well.

Islands Business, July 2018 7