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NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

FIA PNG Biodiversity Commitment 2018 and Update by 2025

  • Writer: Christian Demien Culanag
    Christian Demien Culanag
  • Oct 4
  • 7 min read

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INTRODUCTION

According to PEW, the U.N.’s Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Requires Fisheries Managers to Protect Ecosystems


In December 2022, 196 member governments of the United Nations the Convention on Biological Diversity, agreed to an ambitious plan to safeguard the natural world: the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Signatory nations pledged to drastically reduce threats to wildlife and ecosystems and to help people live in harmony with nature. The framework outlines a set of targets for urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by preserving and sustainably using Earth’s resources and by protecting and conserving at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030.


Exploitation of wild populations, particularly fish, is one of the largest drivers of biodiversity loss in marine ecosystems. The GBF’s 23 action-oriented targets, particularly 5 and 10, require that fisheries managers contribute to the protection of biodiversity:


Target 5 — Ensure Sustainable, Safe, and Legal Harvesting and Trade of Wild Species

“Ensure that the use, harvesting and trade of wild species is sustainable, safe and legal, preventing overexploitation, minimizing impacts on non-target species and ecosystems, and reducing the risk of pathogen spill-over, applying the ecosystem approach, while respecting and protecting customary sustainable use by indigenous people and local communities.”


Target 10 — Enhance Biodiversity and Sustainability in Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fisheries, and Forestry

“Ensure that areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry are managed sustainably, in particular through the sustainable use of biodiversity, including through a substantial increase of the application of biodiversity friendly practices … [that contribute] to the resilience and long-term efficiency and productivity of these production systems and to food security, conserving and restoring biodiversity and maintaining nature’s contributions to people.”


Despite clear rules for sustainable management laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA), and the Sustainable Development Goals, implementation in Fisheries management of essential practices to safeguard biodiversity is still lacking.


One tool, ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) – a holistic approach that incorporates marine ecosystem health considerations into the management of fish populations – is readily available now to help fisheries managers deliver on these commitments and could help assimilate biodiversity conservation into management on the ambitious scale envisioned by the GBF.


DEVELOPMENT:

The FIA PNG fleet is constantly innovating and making the improvements needed to protect ocean biodiversity.


Our success and positive impact are the result of collaboration between research scientists, NGOs, government, and fishers, whose shared knowledge in deeper insights, Marcelo Hidalgo,

FIA PNG COO


In 2018, FIA PNG developed its log frame and strategic plan til 2030, with four areas to focus its efforts for improvement.


The second area or map route includes CSR and Sustainability, where FIA PNG is committed to protecting Biodiversity. Since then, FIA PNG committed to protecting the Ocean biodiversity within the Papua New Guinea Tuna Fishery, which includes Endangered, threatened and Protected species. Our fishing operation is offshore at the ocean; we do not have any impact in freshwater sources, aquaculture or land-based operations.


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Our FIA PNG fleet has robust monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) measures that provide a high level of assurance against IUU fishing, in addition, the Government of Papua New Guinea has signed and ratified the Port State Measurement Agreement (PSMA) whose main objective is to prevent, deter, and eliminate IUU fishing by preventing vessels engaged in IUU fishing from using ports and landing their catches.


In this way, the agreement reduces the incentive for such vessels to continue operating while also blocking fishery products derived from IUU fishing from reaching national and international markets.


Since May 2020, after obtaining the Marine Stewardship Council certification for the good practices at the tuna fishery, FIA PNG embarked into a continuous evaluation of the tuna fishing operation, joining forces with the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) to place observers in each fishing trip to monitor and report biodiversity interaction direct with the tuna target species; focusing on target species and bycatch.


Also, FIA PNG has implemented good practices to minimize the impact of Fish Aggregating Devices that are used by the fleet. FIA PNG MSC tuna fishery cares about the marine ecosystem and cares about the Ocean Biodiversity that it contains.


Since 2020, FIA PNG's tuna fishery has contributed to ocean biodiversity conservation. We are using several Key Evaluation Indicators:


By Sustainable Fishing Practices; By adhering to MSC standards, FIA PNG ensures that its tuna fishing methods are sustainable. This means minimizing overfishing, which helps maintain healthy fish populations and the overall balance of marine ecosystems.


By Improving Ecosystem Management, FIA PNG is likely involved in assessing the impact of its fishing activities on the wider marine ecosystem. This includes considering bycatch (non-target species caught during fishing) and implementing measures to reduce it. This effort helps protect various marine species and habitats.


By Monitoring and Reporting; Through the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) observer program, FIA PNG tuna fleet is actively monitoring its environmental impact, including ETP impact. The outcomes of the Monitoring and reporting help to improve Sustainable fisheries management, which often includes protecting important habitats such as coral reefs and spawning grounds. By ensuring responsible fishing practices, FIA PNG helps safeguard these critical areas that support diverse marine life.


By integrating these practices into their operations, FIA PNG's tuna fishery aims to contribute positively to ocean biodiversity while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the fishing industry. Our fishing practice relies on the FIA PNG Strategic Plan to mitigate Bycatch and the FIA PNG incentive Model to avoid setting nets on ETP.


At the beginning of 2025, we carried out an in-house assessment of the impact of our Tuna fleet on Ocean Biodiversity, taking observers’ data from the 48 tuna purse seiners from 2020 to 2025, and saw how our tuna fleet impacts increased or decreased mortality rates of species, habitat fragmentation, which can lead to species loss or extinction.


FIA PNG has engaged with the University of Queensland to carry out a proper scientific evaluation with this collected data and see the Impact of our fleet during the MSC tuna five-year fishery certification.


By releasing our Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to Global Fishing Watch. In October 2022, the PNG government signed with GFW an agreement to release the VMS signal for the FIA PNG tuna fleet in real time. GFW works on marine biodiversity underpinning the strategic plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity, otherwise as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Using a unique combination of open data, cutting-edge tools, and in-depth research, Global Fishing Watch is supporting the effective design, monitoring, and management of MPAs and other area-based management tools. GFW is also supporting the PNG government in making decisions that promote, rather than undermine, marine biodiversity. The marine manager portal is making it easier to get a more complete view of commercial fishing, maritime transport, and tourism activities, as well as providing insights into critical environmental and oceanographic data that affect MPAs.


By decreasing the use of Drifting FAD and Anchored FADs, the FIA PNG MSC tuna fleet (49 tuna purse seiners, updated 2024 vessel list) deployed an average of 150 dFADs between 2019 and 2024 (see Table 1.a https://www.fia-png.com/fads-tracking ). Since 2020, all of the FIA deployed dFADs have been non-entangling designs. Filmalter et al. (2013, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 11: 291-296) had a mean estimate that one (1) drifting FAD with an entangling design results in the entanglement mortality of 0.008 silky sharks per year. Thus, in 2019, the 81 deployed entangling dFADs, conservatively estimating that all of these FIA deployed dFADs were in the water continuously and simultaneously over the year, results in the rough estimate of 0.65 collateral silky shark mortality due to entanglement in dFAD appendages in 2019, but 0 collateral mortalities from 2020, or 0.2 silky shark collateral mortalities per year for the period 2019-2022.


FIA deployed 50 anchored FADs in 2020 and none in 2019, 2021,2022, and 2024 (Table 1.b of https://www.fia-png.com/fads-tracking ), and we estimate no entanglement risk in aFADs. Our sets on dFADs are also kept low.


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The FIA PNG tuna fleet consistently targets free school tuna sets, with an annual average of 90,8% in the last five years; the main incentives are market prices, processing prices, and the FIA PNG ETP mitigation strategic plan based on NFA regulations and WCPFC CMM. However, we recognise that the PNG Economic Exclusive Zones enjoy adult tuna schooling, which helps the FIA PNG tuna fleet achieve these catch rates.


CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FIA PNG recognises the key role that the NFA observer plays in data collection. Based on the analysis of 2019 to 2024 Observer Data sourced from SPC TUFMAN2, we can conclude that the FIA PNG ETP and bycatch strategy, FIA PNG incentive model to reduce impact on ETP, are working together with the NFA monitoring and enforcement of the WCPFC CMM.


  • We recommend that the FIA PNG tuna fleet maintain and improve these practices and request the PNG NFA 1 to maintain 100% observer coverage on board our tuna fleet.

  • It is necessary and important to maintain the regular best practices for ETP handling workshops across FIA PNG fishing companies, Crew, and Skippers.

  • Global Fishing Watch is a “must” for any fishery that claims to be accountable and transparent.

  • It is key to move to a shark tagging program to verify the fate of silky sharks initially,


This comprehensive approach not only highlights the positive outcomes of FIA PNG’s sustainability initiatives but also demonstrates a commitment to transparent reporting and ongoing improvement in fishing practices by protecting the Marine Biodiversity.


Papua New Guinea Lobster

Biodiversity is a great part of the Lobster fishery because the lobster is caught by hand, one by one, which means there is no impact on the Ocean ecosystem and biodiversity in this fishery. During the Marine Stewardship Council Fishery certification, the fishery experts did not raise any conditions against Principle # 2 or Gear impact in the fishery due to this fact.


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FISHING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

HT HAUS
Sect 54 Lot 03,
Ago Street Gordons,
National Capital District
Papua New Guinea

© 2025 Fishing Industry Association - Papua New Guinea

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