Brussels, 31/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - EU vessels may very soon be able to fish for tuna in the waters of the Cook Islands. The two sides are expected to initial a Fishing Partnership Agreement (FPA) and a protocol in September of this year, after a first round of negotiations held in Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, from 23 to 26 July. Before that, the draft text is to be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Cook Islands for final consideration.
An agreement of this kind would allow the EU to expand its network of tuna agreements in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), the most important tuna fishing grounds in the world, where 50% of the global tuna catch is taken. In 2011, the national fleet of the Cook Islands caught 3,984 tonnes of tuna, whilst US seiners caught 1,516 tonnes, with 6,696 tonnes for longliners. In 2012, total catch was estimated at more than 12,000 tonnes.
Authorisations for long-line fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Cook Islands are granted mostly to China and Vanuatu. Only the United States is authorised to use purse seining in the area, under the US Multilateral Treaty. This privilege would come to an end in the event of the conclusion of the FPA, as it will grant access to this EEZ for four EU seiners, in exchange for which the Cook Islands will receive financial compensation. A specific additional amount will be allocated to support setting up the fisheries policy and maritime policy of the Cook Islands.
The stated objective is to ensure the sustainability of the species caught and migrating in the Cook Islands, by encouraging sustainable and responsible fishing. Both sides intend to step up their cooperation in the fight against illegal, undeclared and unregulated (IUU) fishing. To this end, the FPA lays down plans to improve the control, follow-up and monitoring capacity for fishing activities in the waters of the Cook Islands, using, for example, the Electronic Reporting System (ERS) and the Vessels Monitoring System (VMS). Amongst other things, these instruments will make it possible to ensure better monitoring of catches landed outside the Cook Islands - most of the catches. This makes them difficult to monitor due to dependency on communication with other national authorities. (LM/transl.fl)