FFA

SUMMARY INFORMATION

Establishment

1979 South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency Convention
Signed at Honiara, Solomon Islands, 10 July 1979
In force 9 August 1979

Membership
As of 31 Jan 2005

Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa

Geographical scope

The FFA's area of competence is the South Pacific region. There is no precise definition of this area by line of longitude and latitude. It coincides mainly with FAO Statistical Areas 71 and 81.
See Map.

Material scope

The FFA covers all living marine resources, although deals in particular with highly migratory species.

Main objectives

The main objectives of the Agency are: the conservation and optimum utilization of the species covered by the Convention; the promotion of regional cooperation and coordination in respect of fisheries policies; securing of maximum benefits from the living resources of the region for their peoples and for the region as a whole and in particular the developing countries; and facilitating the collection, analysis, evaluation and dissemination of relevant statistical scientific and economic information about the resources covered by the Convention.

DESCRIPTION

The FFA was established in 1979 under a Convention signed by 12 Forum member countries. The main intention behind its establishment was the intention of presenting a common front to the distant water fishing Sates seeking access to the highly migratory species in the exclusive economic zones of the member countries. Although it is not technically a management body, as it has no regulatory functions, the Agency has nevertheless contributed significantly to fisheries management and development in the region.

Membership

Membership of the FFA is only open to coastal States which are: (a) members of the South Pacific Forum; or (b) subject to a recommendation of the Committee and the approval of the Forum, have territories in the region.

Structure

The two main organs of the FFA are the Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC), on which all members are represented, and the Secretariat. The FFC, which provides guidance and serves as a forum for the exchange of information on fisheries issues, is the principal decision-making body, but most of the work is carried out through the Secretariat. The principal role of the latter body is to collect, analyze, evaluate and disseminate information to the member countries. The Secretariat also provides legal, economic and technical advice, information and assistance in the formulation and implementation of the region's fisheries policies and access agreements.

Functions

The FFA has no regulatory functions of its own. It is an advisory and coordinating agency that aims to assist member countries in the exercise of their sovereign rights over the living resources of their EEZs. Nevertheless, through the FFA, the member countries have cooperated on several management measures and have enjoyed increased leverage in negotiations with distant water fishing States. Management achievements have included:

harmonized minimum terms and conditions (MTCs) of fisheries access, introduced in the 1982 Nauru Agreement;

measures to control purse-seine fishing;

programmes for fisheries surveillance and enforcement, including the 1992 Niue Treaty; and

a regional access treaty with the United States in 1987.

The FFA provides secretariat services and other support to the implementation of these arrangements. The FFA also played a central role in the adoption of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean in 2000.

DOCUMENTS AND LINKS

Basic documents

Regulations, resolutions

Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

Federated States of Micronesia Arrangement for Regional Fisheries Access

Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific Region

Arrangement for the Management of the Western Pacific Purse Seine Fishery (Palau Arrangement)

Nauru Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Management of Fisheries of Common Interest
-	An Arrangement Implementing the Nauru Agreement Setting Forth Minimum Terms and Conditions of Access to the Fishing Zones of the Parties (1982)
-	A Second Arrangement Implementing the Nauru Agreement Setting Forth Additional Terms and Conditions of Access to the Fishing Zones of the Parties (1990)

Treaty on Fisheries between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America
-	2003 Amendments to the Treaty
-	Agreement among Pacific Island States concerning the Implementation and Administration of the Treaty on Fisheries
-	Agreed Statement on Observer Programme

Links

Reports

FFA website

More...

BACK TO INDEX