Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency

The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) is an intergovernmental agency established in 1979 to facilitate regional co-operation and co-ordination between Pacific Ocean states with respect to fisheries policies in order to achieve conservation and optimum utilisation of living marine resources, in particular highly migratory species, for the benefit of the peoples of the region, in particular the developing countries. Its head office is in Honiara, Solomon Islands

History and status

The FFA was established by the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency Convention, signed by 14 states, mostly small island states in the Pacific Ocean plus Australia and New Zealand.^[1] The current Director General of FFA is James Movick (Federated States of Micronesia).^[2]

Activities

FFA deals with sustainable fishing, especially of tuna, in the Pacific region, and also with fishing vessel registration and control.^[3]

The FAA participates to the development of the Multilateral Fisheries Treaty. In May 2013 representatives from the United States and the Pacific Islands countries agreed to sign interim arrangement documents to extend the Multilateral Fisheries Treaty to confirm access to the fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific for US tuna boats for 18 months.^{[4] [5]}

References

External links

• Official Site of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency
• FFA Convention Text
• Ratification Status of FFA Convention
• Aqorau, Transform: Tuna management and UNCLOS: Implementation of UNCLOS through the Forum Fisheries Agency. University of British Columbia Master of Laws thesis. 1990.