Introduction: The New Scramble for the Pacific: A Frontier Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-76
Author(s):  
Elodie Fache ◽  
Pierre-Yves Le Meur ◽  
Estienne Rodary
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Island States ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Pacific Island States ◽  
External Powers

Over the last decades, the Pacific Ocean has been the locus of an unequalled rush for space and resources involving intertwined public and corporate interests, external powers, and Pacific Island states and territories. This rush is driven by three intersecting motivations aiming to: (1) exploit marine resources; (2) protect marine biodiversity and mitigate the effects of climate change; and (3) establish sovereignties over marine spaces. In this context, the fluidity of saltwater environments gives rise to specific issues of enforcement, control, and governance. This special issue examines these reconfigurations of/in the Pacific Ocean, stressing potentially conflicting frontier processes, in the light of a structuring tension between trends of ocean grabbing and ocean commoning.

Moving towards a Rights-Based Fisheries Management Regime for the Tuna Fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Transform Aqorau
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Central Pacific Ocean ◽  
Island States ◽  
Management Regime ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pacific Island States ◽  
Tuna Fisheries

AbstractThe 2000 Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPF Convention) establishes a Commission which will be responsible for setting catch limits and effort controls for the fishery. The Convention will require the Pacific Island States to impose some form of catch limits and this presents them with the opportunity to explore ways to enhance the fisheries regimes they manage. This paper explores the legal issues surrounding a possible rights-based regime, both as a collective approach by the Pacific Island States, and individually. The paper suggests possible legal approaches to the introduction of a rights-based fisheries management regime, drawing on ways in which they may structure their fisheries legislation, and on experiences from other regions. The paper concludes by examining the implications for the Pacific Island States of such an approach.

Tuna Fisheries Management in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean: A Critical Analysis of the Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central I Pacific Ocean and Its Implications for the Pacific Island States

2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-431
Author(s):  
Transform Aqorau
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Migratory Fish ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Central Pacific Ocean ◽  
Island States ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pacific Island States ◽  
Conservation And Management

AbstractThe conclusion of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement in 1995 provided the impetus for changes to international fisheries law. The western and central Pacific region provides at least 60 per cent of the world's supply of raw tuna. Since 1994, efforts have been ongoing to develop a comprehensive conservation and management regime there. On 5 September, 2000, the Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean was concluded and signed. It represents a new threshold in international tuna management as it builds on the principles in the Fish Stocks Agreement. The article analyses the implications of the Convention for the Pacific Island States and what it will mean for tuna management in the region. The Convention is an instrument that will empower the Pacific Island States to harness the resource in a way that enhances their sovereign rights. However, the article points out that the Convention is also threatening because fishing states might want to use it to weaken the control Pacific Island States now have over the tuna resource. The article concludes that the Convention increases the economic opportunities to benefit from the tuna resource and clarifies the legal rights over the resource.

scholarly journals Multilateral Resource Negotiations Between Weak and Powerful States: The Case of the 1987 United States-Pacific Island Fisheries Treaty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sōsefo Fietangata Havea
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Island States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pacific Island States

<p>On April 2, 1987, the Treaty on Fisheries Between Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America was signed. The signatories to the Fisheries were the 16 members of the South Pacific Forum and the United States of America. After six difficult years of negotiations, the Treaty permitted American fishing vessels to fish in Pacific Islands’ waters in exchange for a substantial access fee. This thesis identifies key aspects of that treaty and examines what it meant from both a theoretical and practical standpoint. How did a collection of small, comparatively weak Pacific states strike a satisfactory deal with the most powerful state on the planet? What did the agreement mean in terms of its political, legal and environmental consequences? As well as looking at the events and negotiations that led to the treaty, this thesis also attempts to discern the key political lessons that flow from this case that might be relevant for the future development of the Pacific island States in the key area of fisheries regulation. The thesis argues that disputes between Pacific nations and the United States over tuna resources and the presence of the Soviet Union in the Pacific region were the two critical factors that led to the adoption of the Treaty. From the United States’ perspective, the Treaty was seen (at the time) as the only viable option if it were to reconsolidate its long and prosperous position in the Pacific region. The US did not want the Soviet Union to capitalize on American fishing disputes with the Pacific islands, and it could not afford for the Soviet Union to establish a strong association with the Pacific islands. The Treaty therefore served three purposes for Washington: (i) it maintained its long friendship with the Pacific islands, (ii) it maintained its fisheries interests in the region, (iii) and it kept the Pacific communist-free. This fusion of US economic and strategic interests gave Pacific Island States a stronger hand in the negotiations than their size and power would have otherwise offered.</p>

scholarly journals Local Government in the South Pacific Islands

2008 ◽  
pp. 7-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Hassall ◽  
Feue Tipu
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Capita Expenditure ◽  
Island States ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Pacific Island States ◽  
South Pacific Islands

In this paper we seek to answer some basic questions about the condition of local government in the Pacific. Firstly, we examine what is meant by ‘local government’ in the various islands and for that matter how Pacific Island states have perceived and accepted local government institutions in practice; second, we ask basic questions about existing legal and constitutional recognition and powers; and third, we provide initial findings on current per capita expenditure and local government financial viability in a number of Pacific cities and towns. We also make some observations on current moves towards local government reform.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document