Samoa has a Marine Resources Use Policy, and is working towards the delineation of its EEZ with the assistance of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the SOPAC.
Traditionally Samoans rely on marine resources for their well-being and daily required sustenance. Over 70% of villages are located on the coastal fringe of the islands, and subsistence fishing is a major activity of the inhabitants of such villages. Fisheries also play an extremely important role in the economy of Samoa as well as contributing significantly to the health and nutrition of the people. Fisheries are the major income-earner for the country. Offshore fisheries, in particular the tuna sector, have been recently developed and now are the most valuable among fisheries contributing significantly to Samoa’s economy. However, pressures arising as a result of overfishing, inshore environment degradation, ongoing coastal developments, pollution, and natural disasters have adversely affected the coastal resources and marine environment.
14 February 2013: The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) has formally launched the Small Grants Country Programme (SGP) in Saint Lucia, at Pigeon Island National Landmark, a key historic site and protected area.
The SGP in St. Lucia will provide grants to civil society organizations (CSOs) with the goal of identifying, replicating and scaling-up best practices in the country and among other Caribbean States. At the launch, Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, UNDP’s Resident Representative, noted that...
February 2013: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)/GRID-Arendal Marine Programme has released the February issue of its newsletter (Marine Newsletter #2), featuring articles on the Pacific Marine Planning Decision Support Tool and on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Oceans and Coasts Knowledge Portal.
The newsletter indicates that the Pacific Marine Planning Decision Support Tool will collate information about the limits of maritime jurisdictions, living and non-living...
28 February 2013: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has reported that countries have adopted the Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance, thereby contributing to efforts to address illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). The guidelines were adopted following five years of consensus-building among FAO member countries.
The guidelines will be presented to the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) for endorsement at its next session, scheduled to take place in...
