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People of the Year People of the Year

said after Moss-Christian’s election. Group. Falemaka has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting
The bench goes deep when it comes to women holding impor- for Pacific Island WTO members in recent negotiations.
tant roles elsewhere in the sector. On the water, the region’s first all-female deck crew,
Niue’s Dr Josie Tamata is the new chair of the Western and dubbed the ‘Seaka Pirates’, cast off on their fishing trip
Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Tamata is Director of Natural on a tuna longline vessel in June, fulfilling the ambi-
Resources of the Niuean government and immediate former vice tions of a program devised by the Pacific Islands Forum
chair of the WCPFC. Fisheries Agency (FFA), Fiji Maritime Academy and fishing
Cook Islands Dr Lara Manarangi-Trott, who also contested the company SeaQuest Fiji, to get more women working on
role of WCPFC Director General, has worked at FFA, and the Pa- boats in the important industry.
cific Community (SPC) before her current position at the WCPFC, Dr Tupou-Roosen said the women were pioneers: “The
and earned the respect of Moss-Christian. research tells us that most women’s jobs in Pacific fisher-
“She’s dealing with a lot of technical issues and a lot of detailed ies are in processing (small scale and commercial) and
information and managing the Commission’s monitoring pro- marketing for the domestic market. Women working on
grammes. These aren’t easy things to do. And she’s a big part of fishing vessels are exceedingly rare.”
that development and evolution over the years.” Rare for now, but as the program continues to train
In Geneva, Mere Falemaka, the Pacific Islands Forum Ambas- more women, it is anticipated that will be less and less
sador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisa- the case and that women will continue to take the helm
tion (WTO), has a deep understanding of recent fisheries subsidies at every level of one of the region’s most critical indus-
negotiations with the WTO. She has been Geneva-based since tries.
2018 and is a former Chief Economist with the Fiji government
and Director of Trade and Investment at the Melanesian Spearhead editor@islandsbusiness.com

Photos (L-R) The FFA’s Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen, PNA’s Dr Sangaalofa Clark,
WCPFC Chair Dr Josie Tamata, Pacific Islands Forum Ambassador Mere
Falemaka, WCPFC Executive Director, Rhea Moss-Christian.

Islands Business, December 2022 17