Pacific Island countries must be paid for stolen tuna

Mr Goundar made the comments in light of revelations in a report by the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin tuna, which found Japan had illegally caught up to US$6 billion worth of tuna over the past 20 years.

“If this is happening in the Southern Ocean, imagine what is going on in the Pacific and around the world,” he said.

Mr Goundar said it is estimated that pirates operating in the Pacific take up to four times in license fees, and globally pirates steal up to US$9 billion worth of fish a year.

“Even where foreign fishing fleets pay in return for access to a Pacific country’s fishing grounds, the financial returns from these access fees and licenses are worth a pittance of the total value of fish caught. Often they get a mere 5 percent of the US $2 billion that the fish is worth on the international market,” he said.

Mr Goundar said Pacific Island governments must not allow foreign industrial fishing nations like Japan to hoodwink them into plundering their oceans.

“Pacific Island countries rely upon their oceans as a crucial economic resource, as tuna fisheries make up to 40 percent of GDP for some states and is the primary protein source in their diet," he said.

Greenpeace has recently launched a science report(2) highlighting the conservation and managment of Bigeye and Yellowfin tuna, two species now critically overfished in the Pacific.

Note to Editors
1. DWFNs include Taiwan, Korea, China, European Union, US and Japan.
2.http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/resources/reports/overfishing/Tuna-science-report-summary
3. Greenpeace is currently undertaking a ‘Defending Our Oceans’ expedition in the Pacific, exposing the scale and threats of overfishing and pirate fishing in the region. Greenpeace is campaigning for a global network of marine reserves covering 40% of the world's oceans. The Pacific tour is part of Greenpeace’s 15 month global expedition.