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It's Now Or Never For Solomons Fisheries: Greenpeace

Thursday: April 24, 2008

(Greenpeace)

Greenpeace has launched two reports in the Solomon Islands that highlight the fragility of the nation’s two key natural resources, fisheries and forestry, and provide practical and ecologically responsible solutions to ensure their viability for generations to come.

This was part of the Greenpeace activities as the environmental organizations’ ship, the MY Esperenza, docked in Honiara yesterday after being at sea for three weeks.

The crew of the Esperanza have defended the international waters of the Pacific as no-take marine reserves against overfishing of yellowfin and bigeye tuna.

“The Solomon Islands will be in a dire social, environmental and economic situation if the grave mistakes made with industrial logging, are repeated with tuna fisheries,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO, Steve Shallhorn.

“Greenpeace recommends an immediate review of the logging sector  and  switch to small scale sustainable community logging to save the forests. To ensure the health of the tuna fishery for future generations, the Solomons islands government must call for   the closure of the pockets of international waters and commit to significant cuts to tuna fishing of up to 50%.

Greenpeace is asking the Solomon Islands Government to support recommendations outlined in the two reports to properly manage it’s two key economic natural resources. ” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific Oceans campaigner Lagi Toribau.

“This will secure the future of key ecosystems of the Pacific people including the people of the Solomon Islands.”

Logging has been the key economic resource for the Solomon Islands over the last two decades, but rampant logging has decimated the country’s forests and have had serious impacts on society and the environment. 

“Our country is being logged at over five times the sustainable rate and commercial forests are expected to disappear by 2015,” said Greenpeace Forests campaigner, Geoff Dennis. 

The Greenpeace report “Securing the Future: An alternative plan for Solomon Island forests and economy”, calls for an immediate moratorium on all new logging licences and the cancellation of any license that breaches the law.  It also recommends the forestry sector move away from industrial logging for round log exports and towards community based eco-forestry, exporting sawn timber and investigating the potential for the Solomon Island forests to benefit from carbon trading.

“According to our analysis, eco-forestry timber is 58% more profitable to landowners and the government than round logs for export,” Mr Dennis said. “It also provides direct employment for communities and allows them to retain control over their forest resources and maintain the forest for existing customary uses”.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Oceans campaigner Josua Turaganivalu commenting on the  ‘Taking Tuna Out of the Can’ report said it is a plan that will rescue the future of Pacific tuna and allow sustainable fishing.

”The report tells supermarket retailers across the world not to buy tuna from unsustainable sources and to create supply chains to prove their tuna do not come from foreign industrial fleets. These fleets are ripping off small island states by unfair access agreements and are  depriving sources from coastal states and resource owners,” he said.

Greenpeace International Oceans campaigner Sari Tolvanen recapping on the expedition at sea said Greenpeace found two purse seiners and six longliners from foreign countries contributing to the overfishing of yellowfin and bigeye tuna.

“The Esperanza crew also confiscated a FAD (fish aggregation device) which lures tuna and intensifies overfishing,” she said.