2 May 2017

New technology to improve Pacific fisheries management

3:30 pm on 2 May 2017

The WWF says new technology should allow close to real time management of the Pacific's key purse seine tuna fisheries.

It says the new 'Observer eReporting App' will change the game for fisheries management.

Technology to help monitoring Pacific fishing

Technology to help monitoring Pacific fishing Photo: supplied

An analysis last year by the Forum Fisheries Agency showed that non-reporting, misreporting or under--reporting were responsible for the bulk of the $US600 million dollars in illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing in the region.

WWF's Pacific tuna programme manager Bubba Cook said the new technology was a major step towards combatting that loss.

He said it vastly improve transparency and accountability in the industry.

WWF has been supporting the trial of the app, which has been developed by Integrated Fisheries Information Management System and first used by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, whose members control the world's large sustainable tuna purse seine fishery.