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Pacific News Minute: 16 Pacific Nations and US Agree on New Tuna Treaty

Wikipedia Commons
Wikipedia Commons

After what were described as tortuous negotiations, the US reached agreement with 16 Pacific nations on a new Tuna Treaty last week.  The agreement awaits formal ratification but is expected to be signed next month and will take effect January first. We have details from Neal Conan in the Pacific News Minute.

A treaty in place since 1988 collapsed at the start of this year.  When the price of skipjack tumbled, some members of The American Tunaboat Association couldn't come up with their share of a $17 million dollar quarterly payment and the FFA...the Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency...lifted the licenses of all 40 US flagged vessels.  The US fleet sat idle, while Pacific nations struggled without payments they had counted on.  After three months, they hammered out an agreement for the rest of this year, but no one was happy.

After what James Movick, executive Director of the FFA described to the San Diego Times Union as often frustrating and sometimes tortuous negotiations, both sides hailed a new six year deal reached in Aukland, New Zealand last week.  US tuna boats get a more flexible arrangement with fewer fishing days and a lower overall payment...the nations of the FFA get a higher rate per fishing day, and should be able to sell days unused by American boats.  They also retain 21 million dollars per year in US Foreign Aid.  It's especially important for American Samoa, where the majority of the US fleet lands its fish.  One of the big canneries there, Tri-Marine, said it can now proceed with plans to develop a regional tuna processing hub.  Over all, the vast fisheries covered by the agreement provide 60% of the tuna on the shelves of US supermarkets.

Over 36 years with National Public Radio, Neal Conan worked as a correspondent based in New York, Washington, and London; covered wars in the Middle East and Northern Ireland; Olympic Games in Lake Placid and Sarajevo; and a presidential impeachment. He served, at various times, as editor, producer, and executive producer of All Things Considered and may be best known as the long-time host of Talk of the Nation. Now a macadamia nut farmer on Hawaiʻi Island, his "Pacific News Minute" can be heard on HPR Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
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