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Pohnpei endorsed as host of tuna commission headquarters

Palikir, POHNPEI (FSM Information Services): December 9, 2004 - Pohnpei State has been endorsed as the host for the Headquarters of the newly established Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

The announcement came today, following the Inaugural Session of the Commission for the conservation of tuna stock in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean or the body commonly referred to as the Tuna Commission.

The Commission will manage and monitor the Pacific region's tuna stock and enforce controls in international waters beyond each country's 200 nautical mile maritime boundaries.

Following a series of preparatory conferences that began in 2001, the 7^th and Final Preparatory Conference (PrepCon VII) in Pohnpei submitted its final report and recommendations to the Tuna Commission today, during which it adopted among other matters, Pohnpei as the seat of the Commission's Headquarters.

The Commission has also selected Michael Lodge, the head of the interim Secretariat for the conference, as the Executive Director of the new body.

The Tuna Commission is founded in particular, on the premise of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the subsequent agreement relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. This subsequently led to the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

Of the 29 government entities involved in the preparatory process to establish the commission for the conservation and management of the pacific tuna stock, only 18 have ratified the Convention and they include 15 from the Pacific plus China, South Korea and Chinese Taipei.