Fishing provides for more than 80 percent of non-aid revenue for Tokelau.
Photo: RNZ Pacific / Koroi Hawkins
The Pacific Business Brief tracks the capital, trade and trends shaping the regional economy.
In this edition:
- Tokelau exits tuna agreement
- Fiji resorts embrace solar
- Solomons mining crackdown
A man in Tokelau cleans his skipjack tuna catch.
Photo: Michael Field
Tokelau: fish out of water
Tokelau’s government has confirmed to RNZ Pacific that they are no longer part of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA).
The PNA is a sub-regional group of eight Pacific Island countries that controls the world’s largest sustainable purse seine tuna fishery. Tokelau held observer status with PNA but was accorded the same benefits as members.
RNZ Pacific understands Vanuatu has now taken up that spot.
The New Zealand government said it was backing Tokelau’s efforts to be re-admitted to PNA, while denying suggestions that it is managing Tokelau’s 318,990 square kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
A participating party with a heavy reliance on fishing revenue, the three-atoll nation would not elaborate on why they were no longer part of the group, or whether they were seeking a pathway back.
But not being part of PNA removes Tokelau’s access to the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) – which PNA administers – where fishers pay for an allocation of time that they are allowed to fish in a country’s EEZ.
New Zealand retains responsibility for Tokelau’s international obligations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has stated they were backing Tokelau in talks with the PNA.
“New Zealand understands from Tokelau that its participation in the PNA Vessel Day Scheme was terminated in February 2026.”
“We understand the Government of Tokelau seeks readmission to the PNA Vessel Day Scheme as a priority as it provides a significant source of Tokelau’s income. New Zealand is fully supportive of Tokelau’s efforts to regain their full participation in the Scheme.”
According to the PNA website, the VDS generates US$500 million annually for member states Pacific-wide. For Tokelau, the fishing sector, mostly from access fees, provides for more than 80 percent of non-aid revenue.
“Tokelau has limited natural resources and agricultural capacity. As a result, economic development opportunities are constrained, and local production is sufficient only to meet basic needs,” an MFAT country profile notes.
But RNZ Pacific has seen minutes taken from a PNA summit in November that would suggest New Zealand has now taken over the management of Tokelau’s fisheries.
“Tokelau’s latest update in their letter to Parties was that New Zealand’s position was not likely to change, which meant that Tokelau could no longer operate as it used to.”
It noted that discussions included an “expression of regret at Tokelau’s situation with New Zealand.”
“Certain Parties were already experiencing the effects of this in their dealings with Tokelau which were now proving difficult; past activities done in the past, such as trading of days were now proving difficult to undertake with Tokelau.”
MFAT denied this, stating there has been “no material change to the management of Tokelau’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and offshore fisheries.”
“While New Zealand remains responsible for Tokelau’s EEZ under international law, Tokelau has consistently managed the day-to-day operation of its offshore fisheries within the EEZ. This has not changed.”
The South Pacific Community called Tokelau’s trade situation “small in scale, highly concentrated and structurally vulnerable” in February, noting a heavy dependence on fuel.
RNZ Pacific has approached PNA multiple for comment.
Resort owner Nick Wood said operating with solar for the last six months has slashed energy costs by 35 percent.
Photo: 123RF
Fiji resort goes solar
Sometimes in business, timing is everything.
Shortly before Fiji’s diesel price rose 114 percent over three months, Nick Wood, owner of three resorts on Fiji’s Yasawa Island group, told RNZ Pacific he had just switched around half of his power generation away from diesel.
“It was kind of good timing,” he said. “In terms of our fuel consumption, which at one resort alone was something around FJ$60k-70k a month, under the new fuel pricing it would have been $120k a month.”
“It’s very lucky that we managed to put our solar systems in before this particular crisis happened.”
According to Wood, operating with solar for the last six months has slashed energy costs by 35 percent so far. It is expected to save half of the annual cost by the end of the year. In other words, an investment of approximately FJ$2.65M is projected to saved approximately FJ$850k annually.
“Our whole focus is how do we not consume more energy than we need … and then how do we do it as much as possible with free energy from the sun.”
“Now that batteries are sufficiently cheap enough for storage, we’re managing now to get through the night on the three properties off the batteries.
“We have solar sunshine until about five o’clock at night, and then it starts running on the batteries, and most of the load transfers to those, and they last through until about four or five in the morning.”
Wood said it could prove a successful model for Fiji’s schools, hospitals and other public utilities.
Solomons mining update
A probe announced last year into unpaid royalties on 33 shipments of bauxite will soon begin.
Two Rennell-based firms, Asia Pacific Investment Development Ltd and their subcontractor, Bintan Mining, made around 100 Bauxite shipments from 2015-2021, The Guardian reported at the time. However, only 67 shipments had been paid, leaving an estimated SBD80m (US$9.86m) hole.
Though an inquiry was announced last year, new Mining Minister Derrick Manuari took it as a chance to plug his government’s tough stance on mining.
“The GREAT Coalition is taking firm and necessary steps to overhaul a sector long plagued by weak oversight and lack of accountability,” a statement read.
“We are now doing the hard work that should have been done long ago and putting in place strong systems, tightening oversight and building a modern, accountable framework.”
RNZ Pacific reported last week that dealer licenses for alluvial gold mined in the country were all being cancelled. The government said it will put a state-owned monopoly together, while the Central Bank handles all gold exports.
But this will not happen automatically – the government reported that there are ten licenses still in existence; they are all subject to harsh compliance audits, and that their cancelation is the “final step” of the process.
In 2024, Solomon Islands exported US$86.4M worth of gold, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, with most of it going to Australia, with smaller amounts passing through Hong Kong.
