The capital of the Marshall Islands, Majuro, will host the first in-person annual meeting of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) since 2019 when the powerful fisheries organisation convenes on Monday.
To coincide with the gathering, PNA will officially open its four-storey headquarters building in Majuro on February 13.
The PNA controls waters where half of the world’s skipjack tuna is caught. It held a “soft” opening for the headquarters building soon contractor Pacific International completed construction in mid-2021 so PNA staff could begin making use of the facility.
The official opening involving leaders from the nine islands involved in PNA had to wait for covid border quarantine controls to be lifted.
Since it was first established in Majuro in 2010, the PNA Office and the member countries have been responsible for a nearly 10-fold increase in revenue generated for the islands through a management scheme known as the “vessel day scheme” that regulates purse seine fishing in the region.