Presidents endorse formation of Micronesian Association for Sustainable Aquaculture
The formation of the Micronesian Association for Sustainable Aquaculture (MASA) was endorsed at the 15th Micronesia Presidents Summit which was held in the Marshall Islands in July. The annual summit allows the presidents of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands to exchange views and information on national, regional and international issues.
Prior to the summit, the establishment of a cooperative arrangement in aquaculture development in the Pacific region was strongly endorsed at several regional and international forums. Based on these endorsements, and in consultations with governments, FAO realized that a sub-regional intergovernmental aquaculture network would be a good start to a Pacific-wide network.
The establishment of MASA in Micronesia will strengthen development in sustainable aquaculture and fisheries for food security, rural and economic development.
Also addressed at the summit was the issue of Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing and other illegal activity in the region. The presidents support the creation of a regional committee or task-force with members from the Ministries of Justice of the RMI, the FSM and Palau with the mandate of the identifying best practises in detecting IUU vessels in the MPS country waters. The Presidents also supported MPS countries coordinated engagement with regional bodies in the negotiation, enforcement and mitigation efforts with flag state member nations responsible for the IUU activity.