By Bernadette Carreon
Kiribati’s decision to open the Phoenix Islands Protected Area to commercial fishing is their “business” says Parties to the Nauru Agreement ( PNA) CEO, Dr Sangaalofa Clark.
PIPA has been a no-take zone since 2015. When it was first proposed, revenue forgone was to be offset by a conservation contract. But that never really got off the ground and the government says the PIPA endowment fund had only raised about $10m (US$7.1 million), a fraction of what Kiribati gets through fishing.
Dr Clark says while she wouldn’t comment on the details of PIPA announcement, closing a substantial area of prime fishing ground within an EEZ in the Pacific region can have other consequences.
“Some of that fishing may be diverted to other areas of the EEZ [Exclusive Economic Zone], presumably with lower catch rates and, therefore, lower access values and lower prices for fishing days, “Dr Clark told Islands Business.
“The increase in fishing effort on the high seas is likely to undermine any conservation gain from the closure, if there is any. It is hard to see any value in large-scale closures in EEZs when the WCPFC [Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission] doesn’t effectively manage the high seas. A closure on the scale of the PIPA may increase fishing on stocks if it diverts effort to the less effectively managed high seas,” she added.
Kiribati Fisheries Minister Ribanataake Tiwau said the government is aiming for US$133 million in fisheries revenues when PIPA opens to commercial fishing next year.
Following last month’s announcement, former Kiribati President Anote Tong, a crucial figure in the creation of PIPA said he believed opening up the area would not generate government revenue.
“I don’t see any other way to rationalise this decision because it seems very unlikely that we would be able to get any additional revenue by opening… given the existing fisheries management, regional management arrangements.”
UNESCO says it is also deeply concerned by the decision.
However ocean governance expert, Hugh Govan says marine sanctuaries are not the best way to save migratory species, and that Kiribati’s decision is based on robust studies. Govan says Pacific ambitions to have 30% of the land and sea to be in reserve by 2030 is unworkable.
Dr Clark said in general, “there will highly likely be a drop in the access value of an EEZ from large scale closures of prime fishing grounds. Conversely, opening up a closed area of prime fishing ground, like the PIPA, would be expected to increase the access value and revenue for an EEZ.”
Kiribati’s government said the PIPA closure had had significant implications on future allocations of Kiribati’s Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) share under the Parties to the Nauru Agreement. It estimated a loss of US$60million for purse seine fishing from 2015 to the present.
Under the PNA arrangement, each member’s total allocation of fishing days is based on fishing history.
Dr Clark said the Vessel Day Scheme is designed to adjust to changes in fishing patterns “and to be able to manage a fishery in an ecosystem that is substantially affected by climatic variability caused by the El Nino phenomenon.”
“So, opening a closed area like the PIPA would be expected to attract increased effort and increase the allocation of days within the VDS for that EEZ, over time,” she said.
