Conservation International and the Fiji Fishing Industry Association today signed a Memorandum of Understanding, aimed to bring holistic benefits to stakeholders of the country’s long-line fleet stakeholders including Fijians who rely on the fishing industry for their livelihoods.
Signed at the Tanoa Plaza in Suva today on the occasion of World Fisheries Day, the vision of the five-year MoU is to secure ocean protection and sustainable fishery production in Fiji and strengthen the environmental, social, and economic performance of Fiji’s longline tuna fisheries, which will support sustainable livelihoods, employment and value creation in Fiji’s industrial tuna sector.
“We recognise that the fishing industry is critical in building Fiji’s economy. It is critical in terms of the engine of providing tangible contributions to Fiji’s economic sector. We also recognise that the triple-bottom approach we have is equally recognising the economic interests and improvements, environmental interests, and improvements, and social economic and improvements must be considered equally for tangible interventions,” Conservation International Fiji Director Mere Lakeba said.
“ I think that is something that sets this particular MOU and partnership at a different platform in that CI continues to progress aspirations towards ensuring that we are looking at social issues of the fishing sector, we are looking at economic priorities for businesses and Fijians at large and of course as a conservation agency, we also recognise the need to safeguard these resources and making sure we have enough or even surplus for Fiji’s future.”
The signing comes under Conservation International’s Jurisdictional Approach Project, which is funded by the Walmart Foundation.
FFIA President Radhika Kumar said this MoU signals the dawn of collaborative work with Conservation International in areas that should greatly assist the industry to stay above water during the most difficult time that the industry has ever gone through since its existence some 40 years ago.
“So, with the signing of this MoU, it will definitely provide the necessary platform that should benefit the sector and those that rely on it directly and indirectly and CI should be rest assured that we will be committed to what is expected of us as per the MoU,” Mrs. Kumar said.
Conservation International recently launched its Jurisdictional Approach (JA) for Pacific tuna which will implement a place-based, tuna project in Fiji to strengthen fishery management to ensure the long-term benefits of this resource for the region achieved through world-leading practices in environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and cultural perpetuation.
JA projects are place-based initiatives in commodity-producing regions that drive sustainability through aligned environmental, social, and economic incentives amongst key stakeholders, including producers, government, and supply chain companies.
Conservation International acknowledges FFIA, for its commitment to the JA project.
