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Some 1.7 million square miles off limits

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, April 23, 2010) – Officials from the eight member nations of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement have declared plans to close off four and a half million square kilometres [1,737,450 square miles] of ocean area to fishing to save rapidly depleting tuna stocks.

The decision, made at a PNA ministerial meeting in the Marshall Islands’ capital Majuro, extends a tuna fishing ban to high seas areas stretching from Palau and Papua New Guinea in the West to Kiribati in the East, Marshall Islands in the North to Tuvalu in the South.

The ban on purse seine fishing in these high seas areas will take effect on January the first of next year.

Officials agree it won’t be easy to get acceptance of the closure but the impact on bigeye tuna being overfished will be significant.

They says the closure will help in the fight against illegal fishing,...

Unlicensed, unauthorized logging part of litany

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (Solomon Star, April 24, 2010) – SOLOMON Islanders and their government have been surviving on monies derived from illegal logging activities since logging came to the country more than 20 years ago.

Logging revenue has been the main foreign income earner for the country in the last 20 years.

But estimates say this will be no longer the case after 2012.

The Solomon Islands Diagnostic Trade Integration Study Report 2009 launched recently explicitly described what is meant by illegal logging in its forestry chapter.

The report says many logging operations here were carried out illegally.

"Illegal logging takes place when timber is harvested, transported, bought or sold in violation of national and or international laws," the report said.

It spells out what can be described as illegal logging.

They include logging protected species, duplication of felling...

‘Fakatou Hama’ pushing for legislative seats

NUKU΄ALOFA, Tonga (Matangi Tonga, April 23, 2010) - Targeting to get as many women candidates to be elected in the Tonga Legislative Assembly in the next election, is the aim of a newly formed Women's Group named "Fakatou Hama" in Tonga.

Chaired by Siosiane Bloomfield with Dr. 'Ana Taufe'ulungaki as Secretary, a first meeting on April 21 attracted about 16 attendees, including the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General 'Alisi Taumopeau, a former MP Lepolo Taunisila, former candidate Fuiva Kavaliku, a broadcaster Katalina Tohi, businesswoman Jessie Prema and Polotu Paunga from the Women's Division of the Ministry of Education.

The aim of the meeting was to find a name for the group and agree upon its mission statement, vision, principles and working plan.

Dr. 'Ana Taufe'ulungaki said the group is to be registered as a Non-Profit Organization is aimed at supporting any woman candidate who would be...

Whaling commission would allow more killing

By Brigid Glanville AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Radio Australia, April 23, 2010) –The New Zealand government says it does not support the details of a new International Whaling Commission proposal to allow some whales to be killed, calling it "offensive".

The IWC's proposal would allow 400 minke whales and 10 fin whales to be killed each year in the Southern Ocean.

New Zealand's foreign affairs minister says the proposal is offensive and it falls seriously short of providing a strong basis for a diplomatic solution.

This goes against what New Zealand said three weeks ago when it announced it would consider supporting a proposal to kill some whales.

But the government now says the numbers are too high and the killing of fin whales - which are endangered species - was never to be negotiated. Green groups say this is a return to commercial whaling.

Members of the IWC will decide whether to adopt the...