Fiji’s fisheries Minister Joketani Cokanasiga says despite the different challenges posed to fisheries in the African, Caribbean and Pacific states, the overall objectives of this multilateral body were common.
As he made his remarks at the opening of the third ACP States Ministers Responsible for Fisheries meeting in Nadi yesterday, he pointed out that all the 79 states wanted to maximise the use of fisheries resources for their country.
“In the fisheries sector, our challenges are different in some aspects and it is different from country to country; for instance, some countries’ priority areas may be on freshwater fisheries or aquaculture instead of marine fisheries,”
he said in a government statement.
However, Mr Cokanasiga pointed out that member states whose people were connected to the sea for food, income and transportation, must ensure sustainability, add value to their fisheries products and find new market opportunities.
The meetings theme “developing and strengthening partnership” was pertinent in that to meet the challenges, there was a need to work in partnership with developmental partners.
“This will include potential new partners that can expand our options and offer greater potential for the future,” Mr Cokanasiga said.
He said the ACP was a unique institution brought together by its shared vision and relationship with the European Union under the framework of the Cotonou Agreement.
“We should continue to develop and strengthen partnership which is anticipated to bring benefits across a range of areas through sharing of experiences, technical expertise and transfer of knowledge,” Mr Cokanasiga said.
He told the member states that there was a need to expedite the ACP Fisheries Mechanisms that was developed over three years ago.
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