Overview:
For two decades, Pacific Island nations have transformed the world’s largest tuna fishery into a global model for sustainable management through regional cooperation, science-based policies and collective leadership. A new report by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency highlights how the region now manages 54% of the world’s tuna catch while keeping all major tuna stocks healthy and generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually for Pacific economies.
HONIARA, 03 JUNE 206 (UNDP) — The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) has released a major report documenting two decades of transformative work in tuna fisheries management – a story of unprecedented collaboration between scientists, government officials, fisheries workers, NGOs, and international development partners.
Pacific Power: A 20-Year Journey of Regional Leadership in Tuna Fisheries distils hard-won lessons from the Oceanic Fisheries Management Project, revealing how regional solidarity and science-based decision-making have turned the Western and Central Pacific Ocean into a global model for sustainable fisheries governance.
The achievements are remarkable: all four economically important tuna stocks – skipjack, yellowfin, bigeye, and South Pacific albacore – remain healthy and sustainably fished, making the Pacific the only ocean basin tuna fishery to achieve this milestone. The region now accounts for 54% of the world’s tuna catch, generating an average of US$480 million annually in licencing and access fees for Pacific governments over the past five years.
From Fragmentation to Regional Unity
Pacific Power chronicles a fundamental shift in how Pacific Island nations manage their most valuable marine resource. Ludwig Kumoru, director of fisheries management at FFA and former CEO of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, recalls the early days: “In the beginning, every country tried to do their own thing. With the help of FFA, and eventually, the Commission, we were able to push ideas through as a bloc” he noted.
This unity empowered Pacific nations to negotiate collectively, shifting control from distant-water fishing nations to local hands.
“People began to really take ownership… If we were to benefit, we had to step up,” says Kumoru.
The establishment of coordinated regional frameworks through the FFA, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, and sub-regional bodies like the PNA, enabled Pacific nations to speak with unified voices in international negotiations.
This unity delivered tangible results. The pioneering Vessel Day Scheme, introduced by PNA members in 2015, quadrupled purse-seine revenues within a single year by setting hard caps on fishing days based on scientific advice about stock health. Employment in the tuna sector grew 44% between 2015 and 2022, directly supporting nearly 28,000 Pacific livelihoods.
Ten Lessons for Sustainable Fisheries
Pacific Power distils over two decades of collective Pacific experience into ten key lessons, grouped under three themes: foundations for success, managing for resilience, and enabling long-term change.
Regional cooperation emerges as the most powerful driver of progress, but one that requires sustained commitment, trust-building, and carefully structured processes. Coordination mechanisms such as the ‘Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Working Group’, and pre-meeting consultations, have been central to aligning national priorities and strengthening collective oversight.
Science-based management has proven effective, but only when understood and applied in context. Targeted investments in stock assessment workshops, technical exchanges, and long-term scientific positions have enabled Pacific nations to engage confidently with complex models and incorporate scientific advice into decision-making. This is where OFMP has played an important role over two decades: supplying funding, scientific expertise, and capability-building programmes and expertise to help support sustainable tuna fisheries.
The region has also pioneered advanced monitoring systems: 100 percent observer coverage on PNA-licensed purse seiners, electronic reporting technologies, and satellite-based vessel tracking have significantly reduced illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
The adoption of harvest strategies represents a fundamental shift from reactive, year-by-year negotiations to pre-agreed, science-based rules that guide management responses to stock changes. As Kumoru explains: “What used to happen is that we would negotiate every year what could be taken. But with harvest strategies, we have to agree well in advance.”
Climate Change and Equity at the Forefront
The report emphasises that climate change is no longer a future threat but a pressing reality requiring immediate action. While Pacific nations contribute minimally to global carbon emissions, they face disproportionate risks as ocean warming alters tuna distribution, potentially shifting access rights and revenues between countries. The report calls for climate considerations to be embedded in harvest strategies, access agreements, and governance systems, with Pacific nations playing meaningful roles in shaping global responses.
Gender and social inclusion emerge as critical priorities requiring structural change beyond participation targets.
“One of the key lessons from OFMP is that gender equality in fisheries is not just about participation numbers,” writes Lisa Buchanan, Chief Technical Advisor, OFMP3, in Pacific Power.
“Real progress requires addressing influence, safety, and opportunity across the value chain, and removing structural barriers through intentional policy, systems, and programme design from the outset.”
The report highlights that women and marginalized groups play vital roles across the tuna value chain, particularly in processing, administration, informal trade, and compliance functions. These contributions have not always been reflected in formal policy and planning. To be successful, effective initiatives must intentionally incorporate specific goals for women and marginalized groups into activity design, addressing barriers such as safety, leadership access, and decision-making power.
Looking Ahead to 2050
The report underscores that the region’s most important resource is people. The strength of Pacific tuna governance comes from skills, experience, and relationships built across national and regional institutions over many years. Long-term professional development, consistent training grounded in Pacific contexts, and knowledge-sharing across countries and generations have reinforced regional identity, peer learning, and shared ownership of outcomes.
Building on these foundations and maintaining a focus on evidence-based fisheries management and regional collaboration will be crucial as the Pacific tuna fisheries face pressures from climate change, growing demand, and geopolitical uncertainty.
As Midori Paxton, Global Head, Ecosystems and Biodiversity, Planet Hub, UNDP, notes in the report’s foreword, the learnings captured are “not only a record of what has been achieved, but also a roadmap of next steps”.
Pacific Power demonstrates that sustainable fisheries management underpins food security, creates economic opportunity, and helps sustain cultural identity across the Pacific…. PACNEWS
