On the 6th of May, the National Oceanic Resource Management Authority (NORMA) with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) invited FSM Department of Resource and Development (FSMRD), Pohnpei State Office of Fisheries and Aquaculture (OFA) and the Conservation Society of Pohnpei (CSP) for a one day in-house workshop on tuna and coastal data at the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) headquarters. The workshop was opened by Mr. Patrick Mackenzie, NORMA Executive Director. He welcomed all workshop participants and in his opening remarks he noted: The timing of the workshops coincides with World Tuna Day, 2nd of May 2015. Which has been celebrated for the past three years since the Parties of the Nauru Agreement (PNA) declared World Tuna day in 2011.
The workshop participants received vital information about the importance of tuna data collection methods for national and regional reporting obligations, database software, electronic technology and discussed areas of possible future collaboration especially in artisanal data. SPC reiterated the importance of why we need to collect data for national and regional reporting obligations that FSM ratified; the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, 1995 United Nations Conventions of Fish Stock Agreements and WCPFC convention text.
Workshop participants agreed that this was a very useful exercise and recognized the valuable opportunity that this workshop provided for sharing information on data base systems and emerging electronic technologies. It was hoped that this continued in the future with the other FSM states given the importance of the workshop issues.
NORMA would like to acknowledged these donor agencies: Japan Trust Fund (JTF) administered by the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Australian Aid, WCPFC for their workshop facilities and SPC for providing technical staff support.