The Tonga Commercial Fisheries Conference was held on the 7th, 8th and 9th of February 2007. An overview of the Conference is provided on this website, and the proceedings and recommendations are also available here.
Conference Presentations and presenter details are also available here.
The 3 Month Progress Report (will be posted by the 9th May 2007) The 6 Month Progress Report (will be posted by the 9th August 2007) The 12 Month Progress Report (will be posted by the 9th February 2007) |
The Annex's to the Proceedings are downloadable from the links below.
CONFERENCE RECOMMENDATIONS
Conference recommendations are detailed within the proceedings but also can be viewed on this site for each sector; Cross Sectoral, Tuna Fishery, Deepwater Line Fishery, Seaweed Fishery, Sport and Charter Fishery, Aquarium and Ornamental Fishery. If conference participants wish to comment on the issues and recommendations arising from the Tonga Commercial Fisheries Conference, please contact the Director of Agriculture & Food, forests and Fisheries pvea@kalianet.to. Please refer to issues ands recommendations using the correct code, as it is noted in this document.
A Tongan version of the issues and recommendations will be distributed as soon as possible, followed by a full Tonga version of the Tonga Commercial Fisheries Conference Proceedings. For queries on the Tongan translation of recommendations please contact the Director of Agriculture & Food, forests and Fisheries pvea@kalianet.to.
Annex A - List of Conference Participants and Observers
Conference participation was invited from a broad range of stakeholders including commercial fishing licence holders, DoF staff, AusAID TFP staff, NGO’s, other GOT agencies, communities, implicated private sector parties, regional organizations, neighboring countries, financial sector, donors and consular representatives. Conference participation was registered and 70 people participated over the three days.
Annex B - The text of the Welcome Speech by the Acting Prime Minister
The Acting Prime Minister (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health) Dr. Viliami Tangi delivered the opening address of the Conference. In his address he provided clear direction to conference participants, and this direction was reflected in the proceedings that followed. He stated that the fisheries sector has and continues to make, a significant contribution to Tonga's economy by providing vital food security, significant economic activity and vital foreign earnings. But the performance of the sector was not fully developed, he encouraged collaboration between industry and government to address the management and development needs of each of the fisheries sectors and highligh where government processes are restrictive and stifle development. He gave his personal assurance that cabinet will be vigilant in ensuring action is taken where possible by the government and the department.
Annex C - Conference Programme
The Conference Programme ensured that information from key Government and industry stakeholders was presented to support productive and informed discussions. The programme opened with a broad session dedicated to fisheries development in Tonga, and remainder of the programme was designed to cover the 5 major sectors (Tuna Fishery, Sport and Charter Fishery, Deepwater Line Fishery, Seaweed Fishery, Aquarium and Ornamental Fishery).
One objective of the Tonga Commercial Fisheries Conference was to produce and provide to stakeholders, current status reports for each major sector of Tonga’s Commercial Fisheries. The Department of Fisheries and the Regional Agencies; Secretariat of the Pacific Community and Forum Fisheries Agency, committed to providing these reports during the conference. Please find below those reports have been published as part of the proceedings. Conference organizers appreciate the effort by authors in producing these publications.
Annex D Discussion Paper “Growing the Tongan Fisheries Sector”
Marc A Wilson
Annex E Environmental Relationships and Modelling Influences in Tuna Catch Rates (Links to SPC relavent pages)
(Presented by Brett Molony)
Annex F Discussion Paper “Constraints to Tuna Fisheries Development in the Pacific”, Amanda Hamilton
Annex G Discussion paper “Current Status and Economic Performance of the Deepwater Line Fishery in Tonga”
Tuikolongahau Halafihi
Annex H Discussion paper “Current status of Seaweed Industry in Tonga”
Siola’a Malimali
Annex I The text of the Closing Address by the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Forests & Fisheries