Apenisa Waqairadovu 
[File Photo]
The Ministry of Fisheries has embarked on a transformative journey to safeguard marine resources and promote sustainable fishing.
This is as the ministry has opened Fiji’s Fisheries Operations Center, the first of its kind in the country.
Minister Alitia Bainivalu, while officiating at the launch, says the center will have technology that will protect Fiji’s ocean and its resources from exploitation.
“The introduction of advanced vessel tracking and vessel monitoring systems, coupled with our ability to access satellite imagery, will revolutionize how we monitor and manage fishing activities across the Western Central Pacific Ocean and within our own Fiji fisheries waters.”
She says as a nation it is public knowledge that illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, or IUU, poses a significant threat to our marine ecosystems.
Bainivalu says the livelihoods of fishing communities and the sustainability of fisheries are always under threat.
She adds that with the implementation of these modern tools, the ministry aims to address these pressing issues head-on.
The minister says the center will improve and heighten the skills of monitoring, control, and surveillance practitioners by utilizing existing vessel monitoring tools.
She says this will not only enhance the ministry’s capacity to combat IUU fishing, but it will ensure that the tuna fisheries are managed sustainably for generations to come.
She adds the Fiji Fisheries Operations Center will serve as a hub for information and coordination, complementing existing platforms such as the Fiji Navy, the FFA Regional Surveillance Picture, and the WCPF system.
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