BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Director General Noan Pakop has welcomed chief justices, high court judges and international fisheries legal experts for the Judicial Symposium 2025 currently underway in Honiara.
The symposium brings together the region’s chief justices, high court judges and international fisheries legal experts to strengthen understanding of legal developments impacting fisheries management at the national, regional and global levels.
In his welcome remarks yesterday, Pakop said it is both an honour and a profound privilege to welcome them to the Regional Judicial Symposium on “Recent Developments in International Fisheries Law.”
Speaking at the FFA conference Centre in Honiara, he also expressed his deepest gratitude to the Chief Justice of Solomon Islands, Sir Albert Palmer, for his leadership and partnership in co-hosting the important event.
He extended a special thanks to the event keynote speaker, Judge Dr Kathy-Ann Brown, a Judge from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
“Also, our esteemed resource persons and all our distinguished contributors for their generosity, for their time, expertise and insights in support of this symposium, our judicial leaders and delegates from across the Pacific and to our international legal partners, welcome,” said Pakop.
He acknowledged their presence in terms of collective commitment to uphold the rule of law and protect one of the region’s most vital resources; the oceans, particularly the tuna fishery resource.
“The Blue Pacific continent is unique not only in its geography, but in its legal and economic configuration. Across more than 30 million square kilometres of exclusive economic zones, our nation’s stewards bring ecosystems of immense biodiversity, including tuna stocks that are among the most commercially valuable in the world,” he said.
“These resources are not simply economic assets, they form the backbone of our cultures, food systems and national development pathways,” said Pakop.
He said Pacific nations have emerged as global leaders in official governance, pioneering innovative, legal, institutional and technological approaches over the years.
He said as the pressure of the ocean space grows from climate change and evolving geopolitical dynamics in energy technology, so must the legal institutions that safeguard them.
“Our judiciaries are central to this adaptive agenda. This proportion speaks directly to their imperative,” he told delegates yesterday.
“The ocean is the greatest resource of our region and our tuna stock is the backbone of our societies and economies.
FFA was born in 1979. We shall realise the leadership of our founding fathers. The FFA was created to enable regional cooperation so that Pacific states can not only claim those rights but enforce them effectively,” he said.
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