Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a difficult issue to resolve.

Director of Fisheries Neomai Ravitu says fishermen are developing technologies to bypass rules and regulations that govern the fishing sector.

Ravitu says the Fisheries Ministry is addressing this by exploring new and sophisticated technology so they are one step ahead of those fishing Fiji’s waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“We have boarding and inspection mechanisms that we undertake on vessels that visit our ports. We have partnerships with our border enforcement agencies like the Fiji Navy that we take surveillance patrols in our EEZ waters and the same for in-shore.”

Ravitu says development around combating IUU has never been seriously considered but the Ministry has a draft National Compliance Strategy to address both off-shore and in-shore fishing.

She says this is a crucial element in ensuring sustainable fishing practices and preserving fish stocks for the current and future generations.