The 20th Session of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) Ministerial meeting was officially opened by Kiribati president Taneti Maamau in Ambo.
IPresident Maamau said “the importance of the Ocean and our tuna resources cannot be overemphasised and the theme of this session “Our Oceans, Our Tuna, Our Future”, is very fitting.”
“Our future depends on maintaining the health of our ocean and sustainably managing the status of our ocean tuna stocks. Climate change impact on tuna fisheries, nuclear waste dumping, radio water discharges in our Pacific waters, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing among others, are examples of why our collective decisions as
PNA family plays a vital role in shaping the future of the people and nations we serve. This is the very reason why we need to be united in our determination and efforts as PNA.
President Maamau thanked the outgoing Chair of PNA, Fisheries minister from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nestor Giro, for taking charge of PNA affairs in the past year.
“This is the 20th time, the Ministers of the PNA will meet to deliberate on issues facing our valuable tuna resources. For 20 years we have sailed on the same canoe, navigated our course together, to do things, to best serve our respective governments and people. It is not an easy task. But together we will continue to paddle against the many challenges and make decisions that are pertinent to our interests to grow as a PNA family,” added Maamau.