National Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.

This document outlines the Republic of the Fiji’s National Plan of Action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (NPOA-IUU). It has been developed in accordance with the International Plan of Action to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing (IPOA-IUU) adopted in 2001 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The document is divided into four parts: the first providing background information and definitions; the second a brief overview of the fisheries sector; the third compares fisheries conservation and management regulations, policies and practices with the mechanisms provided in the IPOA-IUU; and the fourth a summary of supporting actions to enhance the overall objective of eradicating IUU fishing.
The plan aims to make fisheries more productive and sustainable. Like the IPOA-IUU, the Fiji’s NPOA-IUU addresses general measures targeted at all States, as well as measures targeted specifically at flag States, coastal States and port States. The NPOA-IUU focuses principally on tuna fisheries. These are some of the strategies that shall be implemented: consolidating and enhancing the monitoring, control and surveillance of the offshore fisheries; strengthening tasking activities between responsible government agencies; working with authorities from other national agencies where Fiji vessels are active; working with industry to strengthen national compliance; strengthening human resource compliment and capacity; strengthening the national observer programme; adopting Port State Measures and implementing the required enforcement.