CAPTION: Mr Aliki Foua Toloa, left, with Dr Jimmie Rodgers. Photo: SUPPLIED.
Mr Aliki Foua Toloa, who is the elected member of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau and a member of the Global Ocean Commission, met with SPC Director-General Dr Jimmie Rodgers at SPC headquarters in Noumea.
The Global Ocean Commission’s objectives are to formulate political and technical recommendation on four issues relating to the high seas:
– overfishing,
– large-scale loss of habitat and biodiversity,
– the lack of effective management and enforcement, and
– deficiencies in high seas governance.
Dr Rodgers congratulated Mr Foua Toloa for his nomination to the Global Ocean Commission, where he will be able to promote Pacific Island high seas issues on a global level. He acknowledged the importance of the work of the Commission, in what is the Pacific’s largest resource, “Our Ocean” and added that the Secretariat looked forward to supporting the Commission through joint collaboration. Recognizing the roles of the Commission and the Secretariat, there was general agreement to the provision of scientific information for the Pacific to inform the work of the Commission.
This meeting provided the opportunity for discussions between the organisations on areas of common interest, such as fisheries management, deep sea mining, and combating illegal fishing.
Mr Foua Toloa applauded SPC for its publication, “Vulnerability of Tropical Pacific Fisheries and Aquaculture to Climate Change”, which he said had been useful as a support for his recommendations to the Global Commission.
PRESS RELEASE