Fisheries ministers in the region are concerned about the ability of coastal fisheries to meet regional food security needs in the Pacific as populations grow.
Yellow Fin tuna Photo: RNZI
That was one of the major points raised at the Forum Fisheries Agency ministerial meeting for Pacific Fisheries in Tuvalu last week.
All 17 member nations have endorsed a new Regional Roadmap for Sustainable Pacific Fisheries which lists strategies aimed at making Pacific fisheries the rising item on the national, regional, and global agenda.
The director general of the agency, James Movick, says the roadmap also anticipates more of the fish consumed locally will come from the oceanic catch.
"Traditionally this hasn't been the major source, it's been coastal fisheries resources, so this anticipates more effort to divert some of the oceanic supply towards meeting local food security needs."
Mr Movick says facilities for storing large amounts of tuna would be required along with distribution systems to get them inland.
