PACIFIC governments have stepped up their joint maritime surveillance campaign, completing a three-week operation that officials say shows how fisheries enforcement in the region is becoming more intelligence-driven and more closely tied to wider Pacific security.
Operation Tui Moana 2026 ran from May 4-22 across the Exclusive Economic Zones of 10 Pacific Island countries and adjacent high seas waters in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
Led by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), the operation brought together fisheries, maritime and law enforcement personnel from across the region, with support from Australia, New Zealand, France and the United States.
Authorities said the operation carried out 61 vessel inspections, verified more than 200 vessel detections and identified four vessels of interest.
Two apprehensions followed suspected fisheries-related offences, including non-reporting of vessel monitoring system data, unauthorised bunkering and transhipment activity, and logsheet compliance issues. Investigations are continuing.
FFA Director-General Noan David Pakop said the operation underscored the value of regional cooperation.
“Over the past three weeks, we have once again demonstrated the strength of regional solidarity and collective action in protecting our fisheries resources and strengthening the Pacific’s fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing and other associated transnational crimes,” he said.
He called the operation a powerful demonstration of intelligence-led, cooperative fisheries surveillance in action across a vast area spanning 10 Exclusive Economic Zones.
The campaign leaned heavily on surveillance technology and shared intelligence. Participating countries received daily briefings, risk assessments and vessel activity analysis supported by satellite monitoring and remote sensing.
At the FFA Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre in Honiara, 21 secondees from member countries, partner agencies and monitoring and control organisations coordinated planning and surveillance throughout the deployment.
The operation also brought together patrol boats, aircraft and naval support from multiple partners.
Six Guardian-class patrol boats from Pacific Island countries were backed by the US Coast Guard and the French Navy, while aerial surveillance missions were conducted by the Australian Defence Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the US Coast Guard, and regional aircraft operating under bilateral fisheries surveillance arrangements.
Pakop said the exercise strengthened cooperation under the Niue Treaty Subsidiary Agreement through joint boarding exercises and intelligence sharing.
More broadly, the operation reflects a shift in how Pacific governments are framing the issue: illegal fishing is no longer treated solely as a resource-management problem but as a transnational security threat that spans borders and waters.
The operation is part of the FFA’s wider monitoring, control and surveillance programme and supports the Pacific’s 2050 Blue Pacific strategy.
