MIMRA - Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority

Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority’s engagement in the commercial tuna industry generated another year of record-breaking revenue. This is the result, principally, of membership in the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and management of the purse seine industry through its Vessel Day Scheme (VDS). Simply put, we would not be where we are in terms of sustainable management of the purse seine fishery and the financial benefits this is bringing were it not for PNA. In 2017, PNA nations continued to progress implementation of a VDS for the longline industry, a fishery that for decades has been in need of management and control. There are still uncertainties in the Oceanic fishery due to deficiencies in provision of catch data by distant water fishing nations and ability to collect data in certain sectors of the Oceanic fishery. These, however, have been greatly reduced over the past several years through ongoing improvements in management of the commercial tuna fishery.