By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE CNMI’s delegation to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s 22nd Regular Session on Monday pushed for the adoption of a management procedure for the South Pacific albacore or longfin tuna.
The adoption of the SPA management procedure is among the top items on the Commission’s agenda.
Department of Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Sylvan O. Igisomar, head of the CNMI delegation, expressed strong support for the SPA management procedure during the opening of the session at the Philippines Trade and Training Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila, the Philippines.
The management procedure is one of the three main components of the SPA Roadmap submitted by the intersessional working group following two management workshops held in September and November this year.
The Commission’s 21st Regular Session had agreed that members would cooperate to develop a management procedure by the next regular session.
Chair Dr. Josie Tamate said her top priority is the SPA management procedure. “The WCPFC22 agenda is very comprehensive. This is to be expected given the importance of WCPFC stocks to global tuna supply, the transition underway to full implementation of harvest strategies, and the significance of monitoring, control, and enforcement efforts for conservation and management,” she said.
Igisomar, for his part, said the CNMI “is aligned with our Pacific brothers and sisters on many fronts. One of those is the need to adopt a management procedure for South Pacific albacore.”
“We see that as a priority for WCPFC22, and we echo the statement by American Samoa and others on the urgent need for an MP to be adopted at this meeting,” he said.
The CNMI, he added, is a small island territory of the U.S. that “stands at the crossroads of tradition and transformation.”
“Our islands — from Rota to Maug — are not just specks on the map but vital guardians of Oceania, where our communities have fished sustainably for generations long before EEZs and ocean boundaries were created,” he added.
He also said the CNMI stands ready to collaborate, innovate, and lead alongside the Commission.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
