Government of the Federated States of Micronesia

Construction of Tuna HQ underway in Pohnpei

Palikir, POHNPEI (FSM Information Services): May 13, 2005 - Construction is underway in the Federated States of Micronesia to seat the Secretariat of the newly established Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

The 1,884 sq. m Headquarters is being constructed in Pohnpei - the capital State of the FSM, next to the old national Capital complex in Kolonia. A groundbreaking ceremony on April 22 launched the project that is being funded by the Government of the People's Republic of China.

The Jiangsu Provincial Construction Engineering Co. of China is retained to construct the Headquarters in collaboration with the FSM Department of Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure (TC&I).

According to Aurio Saimon - Project Manager/Designer, completion of the Tuna Commission Headquarters is expected within seven months.

Headquartered in Pohnpei, the overall responsibilities of the new regional fisheries management body or the Tuna Commission (as it is commonly referred to), encompass the management, conservation and optimum utilization of one of the Pacific region's richest natural resources - fish stocks, specifically the tuna stocks.

The four key tuna species of concern are Albacore, Bigeye, Skipjack and Yellowfin which together form the world's largest tuna fishery. These highly migratory species move freely within a zone that covers almost a third of the globe, a regional mass that encompasses the whole of Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.

Inaugurated in December 2004, the Tuna Commission is mandated to manage the fish stocks on the high seas outside of the member nation's 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Functions of the Commission therefore include:

  • the adoption of conservation and management measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of stocks;

  • the promotion of cooperation and coordination between members of the Commission to ensure that conservation and management measures for highly migratory fish stocks in areas under national jurisdiction and on the high seas are compatible;

  • introduce new standards of responsible fishing of shared tuna stocks ending unregulated fishing on the high seas of the region.

Guided by the Tuna Commission, these measures would secure for the pacific region a sustainable future for what is by far the world's largest tuna fishery.