Governance of the South Pacific tuna fishery

Abstract

The South Pacific tuna fishery is the largest and most valuable tuna fishery worldwide. There are two major concerns with current governance of the fishery: the Pacific island countries are not deriving as much benefit from its exploitation as they could; and current management strategies will not ensure long-term sustainability of the resource. These concerns are addressed by highlighting key opportunities for sustainable economic development. These opportunities include regional cooperation in determining a total allowable catch for the region and how it is allocated among individual island states; setting the total allowable catch on the grounds of sustainability and maximisation of economic rents; and the auctioning of entitlements among individual fishers. Concerns regarding fishery policy in many Pacific island countries are also presented with suggestions for policy reform.