Pacific islands are accessing improved information flow about the activities of distant water fishing fleets in their waters through electronic reporting.
Skipjack tuna from a vessel at Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, destined for transfer to canneries in Asia. Photo: AFP
The head of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, Transform Aqorau, says the regional group's system for monitoring fishing is robust and helping the management of its vessel day scheme.
Fishery revenue for the eight PNA member states has risen five fold in the last five years under the scheme where foreign fleets purchase and trade days fishing at sea within allocations among member states.
All purse seiners have to have an observer on board, and observers are increasingly armed with electronic devices.
Mr Aqorau says information flow will continue to improve.
"By moving towards electronic reporting, moving towards port-to-port electronic reporting, and the development of the use of tablets by observers to send almost realtime information back to their home parties, and so the level of information is much, much better."
