Transcript
"I am a fisherman, like my forefathers, and like all island people through the millennium who are inevitably and historically connected to the ocean."
The President of Palau Tommy Remengesau stressing his personal bond to the ocean on the opening day of the United Nations Ocean Conference in New York. The week-long gathering of leaders, civil society groups, businesses and charities aims to come up with a Call for Action as well as a list of commitments to help conserve and develop the ocean and its resources. Mr Remengesau says the world has forgotten to look after the goose that laid the golden egg in its quest for wealth, but he had hope.
"As a proud Pacific fisherman, I can finally say that our world leaders have listened to the ancient fishermen of our Planet and once again have decided to give our Ocean a primary and a respected place in our home."
The president says Palau has turned 80 percent of its marine area into a sanctuary and he urged countries to work together to have a third of the ocean protected by 2030.
"Within this worldwide network of protected areas, we must take into account the need for sustainable development and create opportunities for food security initiatives in developing countries enhancing small-scale and artisanal fisheries and building capacity in sustainable fisheries, tourism, and aquaculture."
Mr Remengesau also suggested a Blue fund be set up to focus solely on ocean issues. The President of Nauru Baron Waqa called for international co-operation to stop illegal fishing in its waters. He says illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is akin to piracy and must be addressed urgently.
"It is simply impossible for Nauru alone to police the 300,000 square kilometers of our EEZ. We do not have the people, the boats, or the technology. What we need is international cooperation, particularly with surveillance and the capacity to apprehend IUU boats."
The Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna said fish stocks were threatened by weak management and even weaker compliance on the high seas.
"This week we seek action to address the disproportionate burden of responsible of our ocean space and we call for renew and reinvigorated commitment to action on climate change."
The prime minister of Tuvalu Enele Sopoaga says his country was probably the most fishery-dependent nation on earth with 24 square kilometres of land lying in 27 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean. He called for action against pollution from plastic and shipwrecks and the expoitation of fish stocks.
"We must have human solution to reverse the woes humanity has put upon the oceans. We are all accountable as co-owners and co-inhabitants on this planet of whose blood is blue."
In an admonishment of the United States' pullout from the Paris Agreement, Mr Sopoaga said no country should walk away from the climate deal. Fiji's prime minister Frank Bainimarama is co-president of the conference alongside the deputy prime minister of Sweden Isabella Lovin.
