Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, saw the number of tuna transshipment operations taking place in its port skyrocket in March.
A total of 47 transshipments took place in March, more than double the 19 that took place in February and the 18 in January, according to the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority.
However, the average number of monthly transshipments is still down in 2018 compared with the prior year. The first three months of 2018 have seen 84 transshipments, giving Majuro an average of 28 per month, while the monthly average in 2017 was 39 transshipments. The average transshipment load was approximately 700 metric tons, according to the authority.
The Parties to the Nauru Agreement, a coalition of Pacific Island nations that jointly manage a large portion of the tuna fishery in the Pacific Ocean, have in recent years attempted to reduce at-sea transshipment, or the transfer of fish to another vessel, with the twin goals of reducing illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and upping in-port economic activity.
As a result, Port Majuro and other fishing hubs in the South Pacific have started playing host to more transshipments from tuna purse-seiners. In 2016, Majuro recorded 704 transshipments involving nearly 450,000 metric tons of tuna, worth an estimated USD 630 million (EUR 509 million), according to Francisco Blaha
Photo courtesy of Francisco Blaha
