The New Zealand funded Tuvalu Fisheries Support Programme Phase 2 (TFSP2), which started in January 2021, recently held its third six-monthly Governance Committee meeting to review the project’s progress. The meeting, between senior officials of the Tuvalu Ministry of Fisheries and Trade and New Zealand’s MFAT, was held by video conference on 10th June.
The meeting noted that there has been quite good progress in a number of areas. These include:
- Fibreglass boatbuilding – completion of the first fibreglass boat specially designed for safe operation when trolling in the open sea; and completion of ten paddling canoes under a project initiated by FAO.
- Community fisheries officers, trained and funded by the project, have been at work in each of the 7 outer islands since the start of the year;
- A shore-based radar system to monitor transhipment in the lagoon has been installed and is fully operational;
- A sea wall and hard standing on the lagoon side of the Fisheries office have been completed
The programme also supports the position of Fisheries Adviser in Tuvalu and the Inshore Fisheries Adviser who has been working remotely with the Coastal section of the Fisheries Department.
While a number of activities have been delayed to restrictions on travel and supply chain problems during the COVID pandemic, the Committee agreed that project progress is satisfactory.
Director of Fisheries for the Ministry of Fisheries and Trade, Mr Samasoni Finikaso, on behalf of the Government of Tuvalu, thanked his colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for New Zealand’s continuing support to the Fisheries sector in Tuvalu. This will be particularly important in the weeks ahead as the World Bank PROP project comes to an end.