Samoa Press Secretariat – Samoa plans to host the next ACP (Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific) Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture in 2019.

Returning home from the Bahamas where the 5^th ACP Ministerial meeting took place last week, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Lopao’o Natanielu Mu’a says that bringing the meeting to Samoa falls in line with the Cabinet endorsement for international events to be staged in the country.

“Prime Minister Tuilaepa has time and time again urged Cabinet Minister to attract international meetings to Samoa because it translates to fresh revenues to our economy,” says Hon Lopao’o.

In the Bahamas, the Minister said that some ACP countries had campaigned to host the 2019 event.  But they did not deliver when bids were called giving Samoa the sole rights to host the event.

As for the Ministerial gathering which takes place every two years, this year’s session centered on reinforcing shared commitments to improve governance and boost development of fisheries and aquaculture resources, in the areas of the implementation of the ACP strategic plan of action for fisheries and aquaculture, combating and eradicating Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, ensuring long-term sustainable use of fisheries resources, optimizing benefits from fisheries and aquaculture under Blue Economy, securing access to resources and markets for small-scale fisheries and aquaculture development, and fisheries subsidies.

Of the 79 ACP Group of States, more than 60 export fisheries products, both from maritime and inland fisheries and from aquaculture. Of these, more than 50 countries are coastal states, most of them with important coastal fishing communities.

The meeting also allowed the countries to share regional good practices, deepen partnerships, and discuss priority issues for multilateral engagement.

MAF’s Chief Executive Tilafono David Hunter and Theresa Penn of the Samoa Embassy in Brussels accompanied the Minister to the meeting.