Offshore Fisheries Cook Islands 9 Jun 2016 Offshore Fisheries - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Offshore Fisheries Cook Islands

9 Jun 2016

Offshore Fisheries Management Objectives

• Fisheries resources are used in a sustainable manner that

provides greatest overall economic, social and cultural benefit.

• Fisheries resources are sustained at levels that provide

for future and current use.

• Rational approach to the development, exploitation,

management and conservation of all living marine resources in a manner that will ensure maximum benefits accruing to the people.

Offshore Fisheries Management Principles and Measures 1

• Environmental and information principles informing sustainable

use of fisheries

• need adopt measures to ensure the long term sustainability of

the fish stocks

• Decisions must be based on best scientific evidence available

and designed to maintain or restore target stocks at levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield as qualified by relevant environmental and economic factors.

Offshore Fisheries Management Principles and Measures 2

• Precautionary approach to be applied
• Impacts of fishing on non-target species and the marine

environment should be minimised

• Biological diversity of the aquatic environment and habitat of

particular significance for fisheries management should be protected.

Aspirations for Offshore Fisheries Management 1

Locally based/owned vessels

• More locally owned vessels increasing local processing and fresh

fish exports to foreign markets.

• Increased employment in local processing.
• Food security

Processing/value adding

• Seek high value export markets with value added products

(smoked products, cooked loins, tuna jerky, sachets)

• Develop infrastructure in the northern Cook Islands for a

transhipment port and possible onshore processing.

Aspirations for Offshore Fisheries Management 2

• Subregional and Regional data sharing
• Quota Management System for key species
• Maximize the potential of CIFFO in Pago Pago & develop

a self- funding cost recovery based management model for the office

• Enhance cooperation with neighbours and regional

partners in MCS, including increasing monitoring and surveillance capacity through bilateral and mulitlateral partnership arrangements (TVM, bilateral patrols, NTSA cross-endorsed Observers)

Key issues

• Introduction/Operationalization of QMS
• Human capacity training (QMS/EM/ER)
• Northern Group infrastructure development
• Cook Islands Fisheries Field Office (CIFFO)
• Competent Authority – Food Safety accreditation
• Funding and Revenue Generation

Current status of offshore fisheries

Time series of longline catch by key species within the CK EEZ from 2001-2014.

Longline Fishery

• 2,000

4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Catch (mt) Year

Albacore Bigeye Yellowfin Other Species

Time series of longline catch by key species within the CK EEZ from 2001-2014.

Longline catch per unit effort (kg per 100 hooks) of key tuna species from 2001-2014. Longline Fishery

Current status of offshore fisheries

10 20 30 40 50

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

CPUE (kg/hundred hooks)

Year

Albacore Bigeye Yellowfin

Catch (mt) key tuna species in the purse seine fishery, within the CK EEZ from 1994 - 2014.

Current status of offshore fisheries

Purse Seine Fishery

2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 Catch (metric tonnes) Skipjack Bigeye Yellowfin

Licensed Vessels

Year Gear Locally Based Not Locally based

Cook Islands Flagged Cook Islands Flagged Foreign Flagged

2014 Longline 2 10 23 Purse Seine Bunker 2 2015 Longline 2 9 25 Purse Seine 25 Bunker 3

Employment in the Offshore Sector

Private Sector/Industry Government Observers Total 27 9 5 41

Onshore Activity

Landed value of fishery catches ($m)

Landed value 2012 2013 2014 Longline fishery 40 32 44 Purse seine fishery 25 15 33 Local artisanal and game fishery 2 2 Total 65 49 79

Catch Landed into Avatiu port (tonnes)

2013 2014 2015 Cook Islands flagged vessels Fresh catches offloaded 105 194 154 Fresh catches to be exported by airfreight 15 23 10 Chinese flagged vessels Frozen by-catch sold locally 23 18 Frozen catches to be exported by seafreight 121 1,882 363 Total 49 2,117 527

Current Management Arrangements

• Restriction on new entrants and limit controls on the number of

licences – priority to operators who commit to best fishing practices and bringing economic benefit to the Cook Islands

• Reporting requirements – Logsheets, eTunaLog (SPC) regional

logsheets, unloading forms, port sampling, observer data collection.

• Level of observer coverage – currently around 12%
• Transhipments in port - Puka Puka island
• Catch Landings in Rarotonga, Pago Pago and Apia
• Establishment of TACs and TACCs using SPC data and catch history,

including exploratory fisheries

Planned Management Arrangements

• Introduction of QMS ALB & BET – 2017.
• Currently reviewing Licensing System (FFA)
• Capacity Development – Competent Authority,

Observer Coverage, Introduction of EM/ER

• EU Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
• Infrastructural Developments
• Rarotonga
• Northern Islands/Penryhn