Transcript
WEZ NORRIS: Yes so Australia is just starting to roll out a very generous program on replacing the Pacific patrol boats that it gifted to the region about 20 years ago. These new patrol boats will be quite a bit more capable both in terms of their size and therefore their ability to go to sea in rough weather. But also in terms of their communications ability so that they can benefit to the greatest extent possible from all of this information that we share around the region.
KOROI HAWKINS: And the timeline on this roll out?
WN: The replacement vessels will be rolled out as of 2018 now obviously each one takes significant time to build and there are 20 patrol vessels throughout the region so that will be a rolling program over the next seven or eight years or so. Now these new Patrol boats will be supplemented with increased aerial surveillance in the region. This is a really exciting opportunity for us because while the Australian Defence Department will contract the aircraft it will be under the operational control of the FFA. Which mean we will be able to deploy it around the region in support of when our members have their patrol boat out at sea and that is when we get best value out of combining that capability.
KH: And it is quite an important development in terms of the increased mandate also of surveillance in terms of the blue boat threat and any emerging threats is that right?
WN: Yes I think, particularly the increased aerial assistance capacity will broaden our scope and the impact that we have on a whole range of issues from the detection of sort of non-tuna illegal fishing like the blue boats that we have seen from Vietnam but also allowing us to over time and as the members get more comfortable to move into looking at broader trans-national crime risks that are not necessarily fisheries specific.
KH: Going back to New York (Oceans Summit), will the Pacific nations be reaching out to Vietnam in terms of that particular issue the illegal poachers from Vietnam?
WN: Yes I think opportunities like the UN oceans conference are very valuable for the leaders of the Pacific and the politicians of the Pacific to reach out to their counterparts in Vietnam. What we ideally seek to do is to make the Vietnamese government a proactive partner in trying to address this issue. So our best bet is to try to work co-operatively with them to reduce the incidence of these vessels coming into the Pacific and also to gain their co-operation if and when vessels are caught and fishermen are apprehended.
KH: With the increased surveillance, the co-operation, everything that is being done by FFA members by the FFA and partners are you seeing a change in the level of infringements or the number of people breaking fishing laws in the region?
WN: Yes we have seen what we think is a very very significant reduction in the magnitude of sort of traditional illegal fishing. So these rogue vessels just coming into your waters and stealing fish and leaving. And that is a very positive sign and we attribute that to the fact that the fishing industry by and large now knows that they are under that kind of scrutiny and it makes that kind of activity very difficult. What we now see is a continuation and perhaps even an increase of licensed vessels operating slightly outside of their terms and conditions. Whether that is mis-reporting and under-reporting their catch whether it is engaging in trans-shipment activities that they shouldn't and that is quite a significant finding from operation Tui Moana. Even though there were no rogue vessels detected our intelligence cell did produce 10 vessel of interest reports that have been sent to various members. So that is from a fine scale examination of the data on each vessel that suggests there is something that needs to be investigated on these 10 vessels.
KH: Finally final comments on the New York Oceans conference how timely is it in terms of where the Pacific is concerned and poised in terms of fisheries and management?
WN: Well the oceans conference in New York is actually quite an exciting opportunity for the Pacific to showcase a couple of very significant achievements that it has made in the areas of oceans governance and fisheries management. And also to learn obviously from experiences in other parts of the world. In terms of its timeliness this is all about how best the global community is going to achieve the sustainable development goals that have been agreed to so it is very timely and then coinciding with Fiji's chairmanship of the United Nations General Assembly is obviously very positive for the Pacific.
