By Loretta B Manele

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is committed to SDG14.4 and are working with its partners on this endeavour.

Dr Elizabeth McLeod, TNC global ocean director discussed the above at the Honiara Summit last month which catered to Pacific Island leaders, regional and international representatives for discussions around “Achieving Sustainable Fisheries.”

She said they have been leading and working in ocean conservation for over five decades, across a hundred countries through their programs and partner networks.

“We work to support the goals of the 30 percent protection of the ocean.

“Our fisheries work focuses on rebuilding wild fisheries, both ending IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing) and also ensuring sound management of our coastal fisheries and supporting sustainable growth in regenerative aquaculture.

“We’re building on all of the great work by many of you in this room and our partners across the region and globally to bring transparency, accountability and resilience to fisheries.”

Moreover, she spoke about two initiatives that TNC has been involved in.

McLeod said one of them is their recognition that one in five wild-caught marine fish are landed illegally.

She expressed that the majority of this activity is happening on legally licensed but unmonitored vessels so it is easy for illegally caught fish to enter into the supply chain without being detected.

McLeod pointed out that “electronic monitoring” is a proven solution and through the use of onboard cameras, GPS and sensors, electronic monitoring harnesses cutting-edge technology to support human observer programs.

She mentioned that this is not an intention to replace human observers, but to bring additional support and provide independent and verifiable data on fishing activity to improve transparency and ensure compliance with regulations.

“It allows fisheries managers to develop science-based policies. It allows retailers to trace seafood to legal sources.

It provides assurances for consumers so that they have confidence that the fish that they’re purchasing is caught sustainably, but ethically.”

She said TNC is driving global adoption of electronic monitoring by working with Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) to standardize electronic monitoring protocols whilst ensuring there is consistent and comparable data across vessels and jurisdictions.

The other initiative that TNC has been working on is the Tuna Transparency Pledge.

She explained that they launched the pledge last year and it brought together industry and governments to advance 100% on-water monitoring across all industrial tuna vessels within their supply chains by 2027.

“Since the launch of the pledge, we’ve secured major signatories like Walmart, Albertsons, Thai Union, the government of Belize, and FSM.”

She stated that TNC commits to supporting Pacific communities, countries, and organizations in achieving SDG 14.4.

“Our path forward is clear. Strong policies, strong enforcement and strong collaboration will absolutely define the future of our fisheries.

We at the Nature Conservancy are honoured to work in and alongside the Pacific to build a future where fisheries are not just surviving, but thriving for people, for economies and for our ocean.”

She said they are on the march to UNOC (UN Ocean Conference) where together, they will be reinforcing the importance of these robust partnerships, measurable and actionable commitments that strengthen fisheries management, help close data gaps and secure sustainability.

McLeod noted that the Pacific community has been absolutely leading the charge, creating a robust framework for ocean management.

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