The Fisheries Ministry is set to enhance monitoring, compliance, and surveillance efforts in coastal regions to ensure adherence to fisheries laws and regulations. While addressing Parliament, Minister Alitia Bainivalu emphasized the necessity for improved management and development of coastal fisheries resources to meet the daily requirements of Fijians.
The Minister expressed the commitment of the Ministry of Fisheries and Forestry to fulfill expectations, stating that foundational measures will be established to support various projects aimed at ensuring their sustainability and effectiveness in alleviating pressure on overexploited fish stocks.
For the current fiscal year, the Ministry plans to bolster support for coastal fisheries and expand existing initiatives to enhance outcomes and efficiency. Among the key initiatives is the coastal development fisheries project, which comprises five major work programs. These include the Pathway to Market initiative, designed to assist licensed fishers in accessing better market opportunities, enhancing processes along value chains, exploring pelagic and deep-water snapper fisheries to lighten the fishing burden on coral reef areas while maximizing economic returns, promoting locally managed marine areas through species management, and developing high-value coastal species like sandfish. Additionally, the Ministry aims to minimize illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in Fiji’s coastal waters through intensified monitoring, compliance, and surveillance, alongside necessary training and awareness efforts to enhance the coastal fisheries’ resource value chain and overall management.