Fiji, Dec. 5 -- The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) have issued a firm warning to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC22) in Manila, rejecting any attempt to lock a Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) closure requirement into the design of the future Bigeye tuna Management Procedure (MP).

In a statement delivered by the Marshall Islands on behalf of PNA, the bloc -responsible for the world's largest sustainable purse-seine tuna fishery said the Commission risks creating an unworkable and unrealistic framework unless it allows flexibility in how future fishing mortality adjustments are applied.

"PNA Plus maintains that the back closure should not be locked into the MP design. We therefore request that SPC also evalu...