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Even in the vast ocean, sharing waters to meet the needs of coastal and offshore fishermen is not so simple. The idea is to create areas where longline and tuna boats cannot fish. Today, there is nothing to prevent these vessels from operating close to the coast, which worries coastal fishermen. The ship owners explained their point of view and defended their activities. “This worries us because we cannot predict the migration of tuna in advance.” explains ship owner Moana Maamaatuaiahutapu. Depending on Alvin, they are either close to shore or far from shore. Tuna are migratory predators and follow the beluga whales. If they are close to shore, we can’t go fishing.”
Many of the fish cooperatives’ presidents came to power to protect their livelihoods. These artisanal fishing zones are different in each archipelago. But they also used the meeting to discuss their desire to get state approval to fish within 30 nautical miles, up from 15. Steve Vanbalou is president of the Punaauia Fishermen’s Cooperative: “All our boat units are no longer 17-20 foot units like they were before. Now we are down to 28-30 feet. These boats are tested and cannot sink. We can go further, which is why we want to discuss distance.”
Artisanal fishing zones have been the subject of discussion since 2018. Progress is being made in the discussions, but from one archipelago to another, the impasse threatens to intensify. Mayors in the Marquesas Islands favor setting a 30-nautical-mile limit. Because, according to the archipelago’s fishermen, fish are becoming increasingly scarce. The presence of tuna boats is a cause for concern. The Marquesas Islands are famous for their abundance of bluefin tuna.
No decisions were made at the end of the meeting. Other roundtables are also planned.
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