In this bulletin:
1.FIJI — Australian PM Albanese receives traditional welcome ahead of treaty
2. PACIFIC — AFP to push Australia’s Pacific police training model to reduce UN costs
3. PACIFIC — Pacific leadership recognised in global plastics negotiations
4. PACIFIC — New U.S Ambassador wants nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to visit NZ
5. FIJI — Fiji Election bodies back coup candidate bans
6. PACIFIC — Disposing of world war’s deadly remnants 80 years on
7. PACIFIC — Fiji, Solomon Islands reaffirm unity ahead of pre-COP31
8. TUVALU — Tuvalu launches National Early Childhood Policy to give every Child the best start
9. PACNEWS BIZ — $359.8m investment by Australia aims to close skills gaps
10. PACNEWS BIZ — NOAA Fisheries unveils reforms to boost U.S Seafood industry
11. PACNEWS IN FOCUS — Behind every typhoon name is a country and a culture
12. PACNEWS DIGEST — Scholar centres I-Kiribati knowledge, women and cultural resilience
FIJI – DIPLOMACY: AAP PACNEWS 2: Mon 06 Jul 2026
Australian PM Albanese receives traditional welcome ahead of treaty
SUVA, 06 JULY 2026 (AAP) — Australia is set to sign an alliance with Fiji in a major diplomatic win over China.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was given a traditional welcome by Fijian leaders on Monday ahead of the alliance’s unveiling, which will be the Pacific nation’s first mutual defence pact.
Albanese will also sign the Vuvale Union agreement with his Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka in Suva.
During the welcoming ceremony, the prime minister drank kava out of a shell, finishing it in one go.
Addressing the gathering, the prime minister thanked his Fijian counterpart for the warm welcome and for honouring Australia.
“Our countries share such strong cultural and people to people links demonstrated here today with representatives joining me from the Yolngu Nation in Northern Australia,” Albanese said.
“Our partnership is strong, from my Vuvale (family) to yours, Vinaka (thank you).”
The deal with Fiji is expected to elevate the relationship to a level close to Australia’s mutual defence pact with Papua New Guinea.
Albanese arrived in Fiji on Sunday evening, receiving a ceremonial welcome that included an inspection of a guard of honour.
The visit to the Pacific comes ahead of the PukPuk treaty with Port Moresby coming into effect on Wednesday, the same day Albanese is due to meet his PNG counterpart James Marape.
In an attempt to bolster Australia’s key relationships in the region, Albanese will also host the leaders of PNG and Tonga in Brisbane at the final State of Origin game on Wednesday.
“Through one of Australia’s favourite sporting codes, we are bringing our Pacific family closer together,” Albanese said.
“This important series of meetings in Brisbane comes at a time where we are working closely with our Pacific family on the issues that matter to our region.”
Following his visit to Fiji, Albanese will head to the Solomon Islands to meet with his counterpart Matthew Wale after the two nations agreed to further discussions on a security deal
While visiting Honiara on Tuesday, Albanese will participate in the Solomon Islands’ 48th Independence Day celebrations.
The trip follows the sealing of a long-awaited $500 million (US$346 million) deal with Vanuatu, called the Nakamal Agreement.
Under the agreement, Port Vila agreed to close the door on foreign military bases in its territory.
The pacts form a key part of an attempt to stave off Chinese influence in the Pacific.…PACNEWS
PAC – POLICE: ABC PACIFIC PACNEWS 2: Mon 06 Jul 2026
AFP to push Australia’s Pacific police training model to reduce UN costs
NEW YORK, 06 JULY 2026 (ABC PACIFIC) — An Australian Federal Police model could help train United Nations peacekeepers in weeks, not months, while a new Pacific policing bloc is designed to address growing regional security concerns.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett will make a pitch for both this week, as Australia hosts the United Nations Chief of Police Summit (UNCOPS) in New York for the first time.
Commissioner Barrett, also set to meet with FBI director Kash Patel and NYPC chief Jessica Tisch, will discuss co-operating in counter-terrorism and elevating Australia’s role in international policing.
Australia’s top cop will make the case that a leaner and more agile training model for the UN is possible “without lowering the bar”, pointing to Australia’s success in training 100 police officers from across the Pacific last year.
It comes a week after the UN cut its peacekeeping budget to US$5.1 billion for 2026-27, down 10 percent, amid ongoing questions over the financial sustainability of its peacekeeping missions.
“When we say leaner, we mean a programme delivered in five weeks instead of many months,” Commissioner Barrett will say in her address on Wednesday to a police delegation from over 140 countries.
“When we say more affordable, we mean a model member states can actually sustain year on year, not one that strains a peacekeeping budget already under pressure.”
Last year, the UN was forced to cut its global peacekeeping force by 25 percent due to a lack of funding.
Commissioner Barrett said the Australian model will ensure more countries have UN-ready officers and protect police peacekeeping in the long-term.
A further 50 officers will be trained under the Pacific programme’s second tranche in late July, with another course scheduled for early 2027.
The commissioner will also try to shore up support for PACPOL, a new policing bloc in the Pacific, to ensure sovereignty and security in the region.
“One of my priorities is to champion the views and role of Pacific Island Police Chiefs, who want a greater say at global forums about security and safety matters that concern their region,” she will state in her address.
“A decision will also be made by Pacific Chiefs of Police in October about whether they will agree to a new bloc, PACPOL.
“This will allow them to collectively establish priorities, with one voice at global and regional forums.”
Unlike many regions, the Pacific does not have a specialised intergovernmental policing and law enforcement cooperation body to facilitate intelligence sharing and dismantle transnational organised crime.
A bilateral security and policing agreement struck between China and the Solomon Islands in 2022, securing China the right to send police and armed forces as well as replenish supplies from the islands, escalated concerns about Beijing’s growing influence.
In 2024, Australia committed $190 million (US$131 million) to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force and set up a new police training centre in the capital Honiara.
In recent weeks, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale showed growing support to form a Pacific-wide regional security agreement.
Adding to agreements struck with Tuvalu, Nauru and Papua New Guinea, Australia has set its sights on a new security treaty with the Solomons.
Negotiations on the treaty started last month, with PM Wale also confirming his government will review the pact with China…. PACNEWS
PAC – PLASTIC NEGOTIATIONS: SPREP PACNEWS 2: Mon 06 Jul 2026
Pacific leadership recognised in global plastics negotiations
NAIROBI, 06 JULY 2026 (SPREP) — Pacific voices have led from the head table in the global plastic negotiations as the world works together to develop a legally binding instrument to address plastic pollution including in the marine environment.
Fiji served as co-facilitator for Cluster C – Means of Implementation, together with Austria during the Informal In-Person Meeting of Heads of Delegation that took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 30 June to 03 July 2026.
Cluster C outlines the key points as to how the instrument will happen, the guidance for Parties that are related to Finance, Capacity Building, Technical Assistance and Technology Transfer, including International Cooperation.
Discussions within this cluster are expected to play a critical role in ensuring that countries have the support needed to deliver on treaty commitments once adopted.
Dr Sivendra Michael the Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change served as co-facilitator with Elfriede More of Austria. The role will also continue during a second informal meeting scheduled from 27 to 30 September 2026.
“As co-facilitator, my role has been to help guide a constructive discussion on how the future plastics treaty can be supported by a financial mechanism that is predictable, adequate, accessible and responsive to country needs. The discussions have shown that ambition must be matched by implementation support, particularly for developing countries and Small Island Developing States,” said Dr Michael.
“Together with my co-facilitator, Elfriede More of Austria, our focus is to help delegations identify areas of convergence, clarify differences, and move toward a credible finance outcome that can turn treaty commitments into real action.”
The Informal Heads of Delegation meeting united over 190 governments to advance discussions ahead of the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) tasked with developing an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution.
Every year over 19 million tonnes of plastic waste leaks into aquatic ecosystems, polluting lakes, rivers and seas with over 75 million tonnes of plastic now estimated to be in the ocean.
In March 2022 a historic resolution was adopted to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution including in the marine environment. This work has been conducted through an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) consisting of representatives from over 190 countries to develop text for this instrument.
Across the period of four years from 2022 to 2026, seven sessions have led to the Heads of Delegation meeting that was held in Nairobi. These are known as INC’s with INC 1 to 4 having taken place as well as three sessions of INC 5, those being INC 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3.
Gwen Sisior of Palau is also a co-facilitator in these global negotiations for a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, having undertaken this role throughout the INC process. During the INC 5 in Korea, she was the Co-Chair of the Finance and Means of Implementation Contact Group. s
The Informal in-person meeting of Heads of Delegation to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution took place from 30 June to 3 July 2026 in Nairobi.
The Pacific was represented by the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu and supported by SPREP…. PACNEWS
PAC – DIPLOMACY: TVNZ PACNEWS 2: Mon 06 Jul 2026
New U.S Ambassador wants nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to visit NZ
WELLINGTON, 06 JULY 2026 (TVNZ) — The new U.S Ambassador to New Zealand has told the media he’d like to host a basketball game on the flight deck of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Auckland.
Jared Novelly became the United States’ Ambassador to New Zealand this week and, in speaking to media for the first time, he said he’d like to go back in time to change New Zealand’s mind on its nuclear-free policy.
“I want to go into a DeLorean and go back to 1985, maybe I could fix this nuclear thing,” Novelly said when asked about New Zealand’s nuclear-free stance.
He mentioned the size of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in San Diego and Pearl Harbour.
“I would love to see one of our aircraft carriers come down, in Auckland Harbour, the City of Sails, so that you can see what it is and what we have. They say the only thing better than having a boat is having a friend with a boat.
“We could stage a basketball game on the flight deck. You need to see these things and realise that it’s not some sort of boogie-man that you have to worry about, I’d really like the opportunity to work with New Zealand on that exact topic.”
However, he added his role is not to change New Zealand domestic policy.
“I’m not here to change your mind, I’m here to respect your opinions.”
The Ambassador’s post has been vacant since January 2025, with Novelly arriving in the role with a celebration of U.S independence in Wellington on Thursday. The U.S Embassy hosted a party at Wellington’s Tākina event centre, featuring a DeLorean from the film trilogy Back to the Future.
In speaking with media on Friday, Novelly also emphasised the economic potential for the Cook Islands on critical minerals in its Exclusive Economic Zone.
“Critical minerals, particularly in the Cooks, is either 1A or 1B of my priorities,” said Novelly.
He said it was critical for the U.S to diversify sources for cobalt, mentioning China’s refining industry involving the minerals mined in Central Africa.
“It is something that would be transformative for the Cook Islands,” he added.
“I can definitely introduce them to U.S companies that can help, I will definitely do that if allowed,” he said.
When asked about New Zealand’s defence spending, he reinforced comments from U.S Secretary of War Pete Hesgeth around countries boosting their defence spending to 3.5 percent of their national spending.
“The administration collectively has asked the rest of the world to carry their own water, and it is important, I’m paraphrasing, I think, but it’s important that you care about your defence as much as we care about your defence, and that does mean increasing spending.”
In May, Hegseth named New Zealand as one of the countries “freeloading” off the American military.
“I don’t have anything against New Zealand, I want partners to step up,” Hegseth said.
A survey by the Asia New Zealand Foundation last month found Kiwis’ “friend perceptions” of China had increased from 39 percent to 43 percent while the same perceptions of the US fell from 61 percent to 39 percent.
Novelly said he was disappointed by those numbers.
“The free press is important for any democracy or any relationship to survive and thrive; you know what you know about President Trump and you know what you know about America because of the free press.
“That’s what’s done here as well, that’s not what you get in China. So, I question the poll, whether you really know who your friends are,” he said.
Regarding his relationship with Donald Trump, he said he met him many times before he became President.
“We have a lot in common,” said Novelly.
Novelly grew up in St Louis, Missouri and mentioned he worked in a factory and Blockbuster Video before getting a job at telecommunications company AT&T.
He went on to be a director of the Apex Oil Corporation and owns the Australian basketball team the Illawarra Hawks.
He has a Masters of Property Development at the University of Technology Sydney and a BA from Saint Louis University in St Louis, Missouri.
Novelly is also the U.S Ambassador to Samoa and said he’ll make a trip there to present his credentials in August…. PACNEWS
FIJI – ELECTION/POLITICS: FIJI TIMES PACNEWS 2: Mon 06 Jul 2026
Fiji Election bodies back coup candidate ban
SUVA, 06 JULY 2026 (FIJI TIMES) — The Electoral Commission and the Fijian Elections Office have recommended that people who rely on constitutional immunity for coup-related actions should be permanently barred from contesting elections.
In their joint submission to the Constitution Review Commission, the Commissioners said candidates benefiting from coup-related constitutional immunity should not be eligible to stand for public office.
“The Commissioners recommended that any person who relies on coup-related constitutional immunity be permanently disqualified from standing as a candidate.”
However, the submission acknowledges that the Electoral Commission does not have the authority to make such a change and says the matter must be decided through constitutional reform.
“The Commission considers this question to fall outside its administrative mandate and defers to the Commission of Review.”
The submission also notes that the Supreme Court, in its 2025 advisory opinion, deliberately left the constitutional immunity provisions untouched.
“It notes that the Supreme Court, in its 2025 advisory opinion, declined to disturb the immunity and transitional provisions preserved by the Constitution.”
The Commission says the interaction between candidate eligibility and constitutional immunity is ultimately a matter for constitutional policymakers.
“The interaction between candidate disqualification and those provisions is a matter of constitutional policy for the Commission of Review and Parliament.”
The recommendation forms part of the Electoral Commission and the Fijian Elections Office’s submissions to the Constitution Review Commission as it considers possible reforms to Fiji’s constitutional framework.… PACNEWS
PAC – UXO DISPOSAL: AAP PACNEWS 2: Mon 06 Jul 2026
Disposing of world war’s deadly remnants 80 years on
FUNAFUTI, 06 JULY 2026 (AAP) — It’s been more than 80 years since the guns of World War II fell silent, yet the deadly remnants of conflict continue to pose danger in the South Pacific.
Millions of tonnes of unexploded munitions still litter the globe, many of them scattered in the waters surrounding Australia’s near neighbours.
The latest edition of Operation Render Safe also involves the deployment in July of a reconnaissance task force in Tuvalu.
The northernmost atoll of the tiny archipelago is home to about 600 residents, but during WWII was the site of a U.S bomber base and staging area.
Thousands of kilogrammes of war debris were dumped in and around Nanumea Lagoon post-1945, including unused heavy ordnance and ammunition.
Not only are many of the long-forgotten artefacts explosive, as their metal casings corrode, they release toxic heavy metals and chemicals into soil, water and coastal ecosystems.
A partial survey of Nanumea by hydrographers in 2022 scanned 2.5 square kilometres of sea floor during 47 hours of dive time. It returned 22 individual 226kg aerial bombs and four .50 calibre small arms dumps.
The latest underwater foray is a “significant deployment”, according to Lieutenant Commander Andrew Penfold aboard HMAS Yarra.
“Australia has been working with Pacific partners for more than 20 years under Operation Render Safe,” he says.
“We are proud to be the latest to contribute to the safety of the Pacific region.”
He says Yarra’s crew and those attached to accompanying Huon-class minehunter HMAS Diamantina are ideally suited to the mission.
“Our clearance divers have specialist capabilities such as hand-held sonar and GPS mapping,” he says.
“This will (specifically) allow them to search along the bottom of the lagoon,” he said.
For Chief of Joint Operations Vice Admiral Justin Jones, the undertaking at the request of Tuvalu to help clear the lagoon of lethal relics is key to a unified and secure Pacific.
“We work side-by-side with our regional partners and local authorities to conduct safe and deliberate identification and disposals,” he said.
“Working together on Pacific-led solutions to Pacific challenges strengthens our combined security capabilities.”
The Tuvalu mission coincides with Australia inking a $500 million (US$346 million) security deal with Vanuatu, closing the door on the establishment of foreign military bases in the Pacific nation and locking out China.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is also in Fiji and the Solomon Islands this week to progress negotiations on a treaty with Honiara and close an agreement with Suva.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale has meanwhile raised the prospect of a Pacific-wide security deal to counter Chinese influence, with Australia open to the idea.
Like Tuvalu, the Solomons and Vanuatu have been heavily contaminated by WWII-era explosive remnants and are long-term Render Safe recipients.
The expedition to Nanumea takes on personal significance for RAN Medical Officer Lieutenant Jake West.
He is sailing in the ‘footsteps’ of his father, who served as a warrant officer 25 years ago as part of a program delivering patrol boats to South Pacific partner nations.
His last deployment was to Tuvalu, where he supported patrol vessel Te Mataili, given to the fledgling island nation by Australia to assist its exercise of sovereignty.
“It feels like things have come full circle,” Lieutenant West says.
“It’s really awesome to be able to give back to the same community my father once helped.
“Hearing all his stories about Tuvalu makes me very excited to go and see what’s changed and what’s stayed the same.
“When I go home, I can share my stories with him.”
Officer West senior’s naval service helped shape the Palawa man’s sense of responsibility to community from a young age.
In 2021, he graduated from the University of Tasmania with a bachelor of medical science and commenced his own service.
Studying medicine with the navy was a way gain both the qualifications and experience he needed to support his community.
“I’m passionate about Indigenous health,” he said.
“‘My end goal after Defence is to return to community and work there; it’s what got me into medicine.”
For now, though, Operation Render Safe is his priority.
“I’m excited to get out of the office and into the middle of the ocean. I’m getting experiences you won’t get anywhere else,” he said.
The munitions disposed off PNG, across East New Britain, in June took in the districts of Rabaul, Kokopo and Gazelle.
For the more than 430,000 people living in the region, removing the hazards represents safer communities, returned land and more opportunity for social and economic development.
“The number of war remnants in our communities is huge,” said East New Britain disaster and emergency services centre director Donald Tokunai.
“While many items have already been disposed of, new discoveries continue to be reported.
“Because of the nature of unexploded ordnance, incidents can have devastating consequences for individuals, families and communities.
“Clearing these items promotes community safety and supports development across our province,” he said…. PACNEWS
PAC – CLIMATE CHANGE: FIJI GOVT PACNEWS 2: Mon 06 Jul 2026
Fiji, Solomon Islands reaffirm unity ahead of Pre- COP31
BANGKOK, 06 JULY 2026 (FIJI GOVT) — Fiji and the Solomon Islands have reaffirmed their strong partnership on climate action and regional cooperation ahead of pre-COP31.
This was highlighted during a bilateral meeting this week in Bangkok, between Fiji’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change Lynda Tabuya and Solomon Islands Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology Wayne Ghemu.
The two countries stressed closer cooperation ahead of the Pre-COP meeting in October, which will set the stage for COP31, with a focus on climate finance, keeping the 1.5°C goal within reach, ocean protection, and resilience for Pacific communities.
“Pre-COP31 must tell a story not only of our vulnerability but of our Pacific stewardship, our solutions, and our unity,” she said
Meanwhile, “Let this be the era of implementation and action.”
That was the message from Minister for Environment and Climate Change Lynda Tabuya as she called on Asia-Pacific leaders to turn environmental commitments into practical results.
Speaking at the Ministerial Roundtable on Strengthening Regional Cooperation for Environment and Development in Bangkok, Tabuya updated Ministers on Fiji’s progress since hosting the first-ever Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific (AP6) in the Pacific, reaffirming Fiji’s commitment to delivering on regional priorities.
The Minister highlighted stronger cooperation on tackling plastic pollution, improving access to climate finance, protecting biodiversity, recognising Indigenous knowledge, and advancing the interests of Small Island Developing States.
Tabuya said plastic pollution remains one of the region’s greatest environmental threats and pointed to Fiji’s growing network of Trashbooms, installed in partnership with municipal councils and Trashboom Pacific, to intercept rubbish in rivers before it reaches the ocean.
“It is our collective responsibility to safeguard our rich biodiversity and build resilience to climate change through decisive action,” Tabuya said.
She also highlighted Fiji’s leadership in securing the UNEA-7 resolution on accelerating global action to strengthen the climate resilience of coral reefs, reaffirming Fiji’s commitment to protecting the Pacific Ocean through regional cooperation and practical solutions…. PACNEWS
TUVALU – EARLY CHILDHOOD: TUVALU GOVT PACNEWS 2: Mon 06 Jul 2026
Tuvalu launches National Early Childhood Policy to give every Child the best start
FUNAFUTI, 06 JULY 2026 (TUVALU GOVT) — The Government of Tuvalu has officially launched the Fakaafuga Early Childhood Development Policy – Te Fakaafuga: Nurturing and Care for all our Children, reaffirming its commitment to giving every Tuvaluan child the best possible start in life.
Launching the policy, Prime Minister Feleti Teo said the occasion was more than the launch of another government policy, “Today we are reaffirming a national promise, that every child born in Tuvalu will be cherished, protected, nurtured, and given the opportunity to flourish.”
Teo stressed that investing in children is investing in Tuvalu’s future, adding, “Our most important investment is not found in buildings or infrastructure alone. It is found in raising the potential of every Tuvaluan child.”
Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, Leilani Saitala, said the policy is “our national commitment to ensuring that every child has the best possible start in life,” and called on families, communities, churches, government agencies and development partners to work together to make that vision a reality.
The policy was developed with the support of UNICEF and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).
Speaking at the launch, UNICEF Representative to the Pacific Hamish Young and MFAT representative Emily Elia Laafai reaffirmed their continued commitment to supporting education and early childhood development in Tuvalu.
The Fakaafuga Policy provides a national framework to strengthen health, nutrition, early learning and family support, ensuring every Tuvaluan child has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive…. PACNEWS
PACNEWS BIZ
FIJI – SKILLS GAP: FIJI SUN PACNEWS BIZ: Mon 06 Jul 2026
$359.8m investment by Australia aims to close skills gaps
SUVA, 06 JULY 2026 (FIJI SUN) — Australia is committing AUD$229.5 million (FJD$359.8m) to help bridge skills gaps in Fiji’s job market under the Australia Pacific Skills programme.
The funding that runs from 2025 to 2029 also covers similar programme in Timor Leste.
Pacific Australia Skills country director for Fiji Gareth McGrath says skills training under Pacific Australia Skills is designed to keep graduates working in Fiji, not to open doors for jobs in Australia.
Asked whether graduates from the hub would get a chance to work in Australia after completing their training, McGrath said the programme was built around Fiji’s own labour market.
“The training that we’re developing is meant to lead to employment outcomes,” he said.
“Not within Australia, within Fiji to meet the domestic market, and that’s what this facility has been based on.”
The official opening of the refurbished Australia Pacific Skills training centre at Walu Bay today in line with the high-level visit by Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.
Higher Education Commission Fiji (HECF) communications officer Epineri Rawalai said Fiji was part of a wider regional trend of labour movement.
“We lose our workers to Australia and New Zealand, Australia and New Zealand lose them to the United States, and Bangladesh loses to Fiji,” he said.
“But skills gaps still exist.”
Rawalai pointed to a national skills gap report, accessible through the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation (FCEF), which outlines work currently undertaken by Fiji’s Government and partners to address skill gaps through local training.
The newly refurbished Vuvale Skills Hub can accommodate up to close to 170 students.
It was previously used for training under the now-concluded Australian Pacific Training Coalition (APTC), will serve as a shared space for Fiji’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training providers.
“Pacific Australia Skills will be looking at enabling our partners, our close friends and colleagues, our peers within the TVET community to achieve success through skills training,” McGrath said.
He confirmed qualifications earned under APTC, managed by TAFE Queensland, remain valid.
McGrath said Pacific Australia Skills would work closely with the Fiji Commerce and Employment Federation (FCEF) and the National Employment Centre to address identified skills gaps.
“Maritime, the digital economy, as well as construction, and all of those areas regarding trades in relation to skills gaps,” he said, naming key sectors of focus.
Recruitment for training opportunities, he said, would be “fair, equitable and inclusive to all”, including students from maritime schools nationwide…. PACNEWS
PAC – FISHERIES: PACNEWS PACNEWS BIZ: Mon 06 Jul 2026
NOAA Fisheries unveils reforms to boost U.S Seafood industry
WASHINGTON, 06 JULY 2026 (PACNEWS) — NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler has announced a series of regulatory priorities aimed at increasing domestic seafood production, reducing burdens on the fishing industry and improving the competitiveness of U.S seafood.
Piñeiro Soler said he has spent the past year meeting with regional fishery management councils and industry representatives to understand the challenges facing fishermen.
“I have served in my role as assistant administrator of NOAA Fisheries for just over a year. In that time, I have prioritised meeting with members and leadership of each regional fishery management council and participating in as many council meetings as possible,” he said in a statement.
He said the message from the fishing industry has been consistent.
“Fishermen just want to fish, and they are asking for our support in overcoming the barriers preventing them from doing so.”
Piñeiro Soler said the United States has a strong record in fisheries management but that the seafood sector has come under increasing pressure.
“The United States is a global leader in sustainable fisheries management. Our participatory, science-based system under 50 years of the Magnuson-Stevens Act has shown that we know how to rebuild stocks and keep them healthy.”
“But despite this foundation, our seafood sector has faced growing pressure from global competition and evolving market demands. Americans want American seafood, but our landings have decreased since 2019. We need to put U.S seafood first,” he said.
He said NOAA Fisheries received input from 787 individuals and organisations, as well as action plans from each regional fishery management council, in response to the President’s Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.
“We received input from 787 individuals and organisations, as well as detailed action plans from each of the regional fishery management councils. I believe this volume of input underscores the urgency of our shared mission and I am grateful to everyone who contributed.’
Following consultations with councils, the fishing industry and the public, NOAA Fisheries identified regulatory actions that it says will reduce burdens on domestic fishing, increase production, stabilise markets, improve access and enhance profitability.
The priorities include measures across all U.S fishing regions, such as implementing rotational access for the Northern Edge scallop fishery in New England, reviewing vessel baseline restrictions in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, revising snapper-grouper permit policies in the South Atlantic, shifting management of spiny lobster and queen conch to territorial authorities in the Caribbean, refining Individual Fishing Quota participation requirements in the Gulf of America, reconsidering catch monitoring requirements in the Pacific, reviewing Steller sea lion closure boundaries in the North Pacific, removing several longline fishing restrictions in the Western Pacific, and reviewing regulations affecting highly migratory species.
Piñeiro Soler said the reforms are intended to support the President’s goal of strengthening the U.S seafood industry.
“Identifying and implementing these actions are critical steps in our efforts to fulfill the President’s vision of making the United States the world’s dominant seafood leader.”
He thanked the regional councils for their work and encouraged them to continue improving fisheries management.
“I urge them to further maximize our regulatory efficiency by systematically assessing current Fishery Management Plans and considering the removal of species that no longer require conservation and management.”
He also encouraged greater use of Exempted Fishing Permits.
“As stated in the Seafood Executive Order, I strongly encourage the council to collaborate with NOAA Fisheries on the expanded and continued use of Exempted Fishing Permits as an agile management tool to test gear innovations, enhance value-added quality, explore additional fishing opportunities, and safely increase domestic production.”
Piñeiro Soler said NOAA Fisheries is also reviewing internal measures to support the reforms.
“As I have said at many of the council meetings I have attended, ‘I will be back, and I want to come back with good news.’ These are the types of actions that will keep the industry moving, and that’s why I do this job: to make sure we do things better.”
He added, “I look forward to advancing these vital reforms together with our councils and all who want to propel our industry,” he said…. PACNEWS
PACNEWS In Focus
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
Behind every typhoon name is a country and a culture
By Bryan Manabat
HAGATNA/SAIPAN, 06 JULY 2026 (PACIFIC ISLAND TIMES) — When a tropical storm forms somewhere in the vast stretch of ocean between Guam, Japan, and Vietnam, the first question island residents often ask is simple: What’s its name?
For decades, those names — Pamela, Omar, Karen— felt familiar, almost local.
But around the year 2000, the naming system changed and the western North Pacific entered a new era of typhoon identity.
“It’s one of the most frequently asked questions we get,” said Marcus Landon Aydlett, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service Guam. “People want to know where these names come from and why they sound so different from the ones they grew up with.”
For years, the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, then based in Guam, assigned names in alphabetical order, much like the Atlantic hurricane list. But when JTWC relocated to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, naming authority shifted to a United Nations body: the ESCAP-WMO Typhoon Committee, a 14‑member group representing nations across the Asia-Pacific.
“The Typhoon Committee is made up of 14 member nations, and the United States is one of them,” Aydlett said. “Each country submits names, and those names make up a rotating list used for storms in the western North Pacific.”
Aydlett serves as part of the U.S delegation to the committee, currently as vice chair of the Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction, one of five technical groups that guide regional policy. It’s a role that places Guam—often in the direct path of these storms—squarely in the conversation about how they’re named.
The naming list contains five columns, each with contributions from all 14 countries, arranged alphabetically by nation. Cambodia, China, Japan, Micronesia, the Philippines, the United States, Vietnam and others appear twice in each column. The list cycles continuously, meaning names return every few years unless retired.
“These names are retired when a country affected by a significant storm requests it,” Aydlett said. “If a typhoon causes major casualties or destruction, the country that contributed the name can ask for it to be removed.”
When a name is retired, the contributing nation submits three replacements, which are then reviewed and approved by the committee. It’s a process that blends meteorology with culture, language and national identity.
Some names are instantly recognisable to island residents—Bolaven, Sanba, Jelawat Maliksi—while others reflect places or natural features from faraway countries.
The current list includes Bavi, a name contributed by Vietnam.
“Bavi is a district in a stunning mountain range about 48 kilometers west of Hanoi,” Aydlett explained. “Internationally, the name appears as an official name for Western Pacific tropical cyclones contributed by Vietnam.”
Naming authority rests with the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Tokyo Typhoon Centre, the region’s specialised forecasting hub. Once JMA determines a tropical depression has reached tropical storm intensity, it assigns the name.
“Sometimes JTWC will call something a tropical storm before JMA does,” Aydlett said. “That’s why you might see a storm with a number but no name. It’s just one of those technicalities.”
For Aydlett, certain names carry personal weight. His early years in Guam were filled with stories of Pamela, Karen, Omar, Pongsona and Chata’an—storms that defined earlier generations.
In his own 16-year career, several typhoons stand out: Dolphin in 2015, Mangkhut and Yutu in 2018, Soudelor, Mawar, and most recently Sinlaku.
“Mangkhut was my first typhoon where I had to step into the role, I’m in now,” he said. “It was incredibly nerve-wracking—lots of nerves and anxiety—but also one of the most rewarding experiences serving the community.”
As for Bavi, the name has returned to the list after appearing in 2015. This time, the storm is stronger, more dangerous, and poised to leave its own mark on the region.
“Oh my gosh, this is potentially a monster,” Aydlett said. “This is going to go down in the record books for islands.”
Behind every typhoon name is a story—of geography, culture, and international cooperation. But for island communities, the meaning becomes personal only when the storm arrives.
And as Aydlett reminds residents, the name is just the beginning…. PACNEWS
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
Scholar centres I-Kiribati knowledge, women and cultural resilience
AUCKLAND, 06 JULY 2026 (UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND) —As Kiribati Language Week (05-11 July) is celebrated across Aotearoa, University of Auckland doctoral candidate Roi Burnett hopes people will look beyond familiar narratives about rising seas and climate change to recognise the depth, richness and resilience of I-Kiribati culture.
For Burnett, language is far more than a means of communication. It is a vessel for knowledge, identity and cultural practice, carrying generations of wisdom across oceans and through time.
“Language is one of the ways we hold onto who we are,” she says. “It carries our stories, our values and the ways we understand the world.”
Now in the second year of her PhD in Pacific Studies, Burnett (Beru, Onotoa, I-Matang) recently passed her doctoral confirmation milestone and is preparing for fieldwork in Kiribati. Her research focuses on menstrual experiences and reproductive health, exploring how cultural understandings and language shape the ways menstruation is discussed, understood and experienced in Kiribati.
Over the past year, her research has evolved.
“When we last spoke, I was really wanting to look at menstrual health,” says Burnett. “Now that I’ve done a lot more reading and talking with people, where I’ve landed is that I’m really interested in the way how we talk about menstruation influences menstrual health practice.”
The work sits at the intersection of health, culture and Indigenous knowledge systems, examining both the challenges and strengths within I-Kiribati society.
“On the one hand, it is taboo,” she explains. “But on the other hand, we have our own practices in Kiribati that celebrate menstruation. It’s part of our culture that we celebrate when a girl first gets her period.”
That complexity is what fascinates her.
Rather than viewing culture as a barrier, Burnett’s research seeks to understand the nuanced ways cultural knowledge, language and social practice shape women’s experiences.
To support the work, she is partnering with a trusted community organisation in Kiribati, Nei Mom Uprising, which began by supporting teenage mothers and has since expanded into reproductive and menstrual health initiatives.
“Working with an already trusted community group that’s doing that kind of work is a really good way to build trust to be able to have conversations like that,” she says.
As she prepares to begin interviews and community engagement, Burnett says the prospect she is most looking forward to is simple: listening.
“Honestly, just talking to people. I think that’s the most exciting part about research – when you actually co-produce knowledge with knowledge holders and experts. You learn so much through the process.”
A family research journey
Burnett’s journey into academia has been shaped by both sides of her family.
Her mother, Takeua, will accompany her during fieldwork, playing a crucial role in helping facilitate conversations with elders and navigating cultural protocols around discussing reproductive health.
In many settings, Burnett explains, it can be difficult for younger, unmarried women to discuss such topics with older generations.
“I’ll be bringing my mum with me to do my fieldwork,” she says. “When you’re talking about reproductive health, it can be a little bit taboo to talk to a younger woman, especially an unmarried younger woman.”
Burnett is quick to acknowledge the expertise her mother brings to the project, even if Takeua doesn’t always see it herself.
“I told her, ‘Mum, you’re a researcher now,” Burnett laughs. “She never sees herself as being someone that has a lot of knowledge or expertise. And I’m like, ‘No mum, you do.’ That knowledge, that skill – that is research.”
For Burnett, recognising community knowledge is a vital part of decolonising research and valuing the expertise that exists beyond universities.
Following in her father’s footsteps
Burnett also credits her father, educator and academic Greg Burnett, with inspiring her own path into research.
“My dad is a big part of my research journey also. It seems I’m following in his footsteps,” she says. “He’s an academic and educator, and the only person in our family to have completed a PhD.”
Her parents met on her mother’s home island of Beru in Kiribati while Greg was working as a high school teacher.
“He really embraced the island lifestyle – learning how to climb coconut trees and cut toddy. He learnt the language and our customs,” she says. “His love for Kiribati and the Pacific inspired me to also pursue research that centres our people and our voices.”
Toddy, known in Kiribati as te karewe, is a sweet sap harvested from coconut blossoms and remains an important part of everyday life and culture. It can be consumed fresh, transformed into syrup known as kamaimai, or fermented into kaokioki.
Greg Burnett grew up in Wollongong, Australia, and has spent decades teaching across the Pacific, including in Nauru, Kiribati, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. He later completed a doctorate focused on education and now teaches and researches at James Cook University, specialising in Pacific education, culture and social difference.
Centring I-Kiribati voices
Under the supervision of Professor Yvonne Underhill-Sem and Associate Professor Emalani Case, Burnett believes research should create space for Pacific communities to tell their own stories in their own ways.
That commitment feels especially important during Kiribati Language Week.
Too often, she says, discussions about Kiribati focus exclusively on vulnerability and climate impacts. While those issues are real, they are only one part of a much larger story.
Kiribati’s language, traditions, knowledge systems and cultural practices continue to thrive across generations and across the Pacific diaspora. For Burnett, protecting and celebrating those forms of knowledge is itself an act of cultural resilience.
As she prepares to return home for fieldwork, she hopes her research will contribute to a deeper understanding of I-Kiribati women’s experiences while demonstrating the value of Indigenous knowledge and community expertise.
“When you actually co-produce knowledge with knowledge holders,” she says, “you learn so much” …. PACNEWS
Media contact
Kim Meredith | Pacific media adviser
0274 357 591
