Ocean Law Bulletins

Fiji is on the brink of adopting its first National Fisheries Policy that will provide an overarching framework explaining how Fiji will manage its fisheries. The Honourable Minister for Fisheries, Semi Koroilavesau explains in the foreword to the draft policy that the purpose of the National Fisheries Policy is to "provide a clear and unequivocal policy that will provide direction for the development and management of Fiji's fisheries."

In this bulletin we provide a brief update on the National Fisheries Policy and how it intends to assist in the management of Fiji's fisheries across the 3 fisheries sectors being: Offshore, Inshore and Aquaculture.

 Mangroves, like the ocean and the reefs, surround or should surround Fiji. They are a hardy species that inhabits the intertidal zone, on State “land”, and if they are left alone or lightly managed they regenerate. Despite the many benefits that accompany mangroves, they are vulnerable in the face of development pressures including pollution, and their fate rests in the hands of our decision makers.

Mangroves and development is a topical issue that concerns many in Fiji. For example at the recent Parliamentary Speaker’s Debate held in Suva on 1 February 2017, the Honourable Minister for Fisheries, Mr Semi Koroilavesau noted the importance of mangrove stands and stated that he is considering a recommendation that any coastal development in Fiji must include preservation of mangrove. The Honourable Minister was responding to a question from a concerned citizen who had noted to her despair that there had been a recent increase in clearing of Fiji’s mangrove stands for development purposes.

In this legal bulletin, we briefly consider how Fiji law protects mangroves, who in Fiji’s complex governance system decides whether they should be cleared in the face of development and consider ways to improve decision-making in relation to mangroves which should follow an approach that involves multiple government agencies and views from various stakeholders.

The world’s oceans are the largest international commons on earth. All nation States have an equal right to navigate and traverse the oceans through their registered ships under the international legal principle of freedom of navigation. Maritime law requires every ship to be registered (flagged) to a nation State (flag State), and when duly registered that ship is regulated by its flag States and enjoys protection from interference or regulation from other States. While the protection from interference has its origins in the law of the sea's first principles it also means that flagged vessels can avoid regulation, and this is leading to human rights abuses at sea going unchecked. This legal bulletin aims to explain the international legal context that is facilitating a lack of regulation, examines why the issue needs to be addressed and briefly considers how New Zealand is responding and other potential solutions.