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NZ diplomat challenges Pacific leaders: \Be good stewards of ocean resources\

A New Zealand diplomat and former chairman of that country’s largest fishing company has issued a verbal challenge for Pacific island leaders, calling on them to be good stewards of ocean resources.

 

Shane Jones, New Zealand Ambassador for Pacific Economic Development, which includes fishery issues, was among the off island guests who attended the weekend's official inauguration of Tri Marine International’s $70 million Samoa Tuna Processors Inc. cannery plant in Atu’u.

 

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Jones said he's pleased to attend the local event on behalf of New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully and the New Zealand fishing industry and said he is a “believer in the future of the fisheries of the Pacific.”

 

Jones commended Tri Marine for the big investment in the local cannery and acknowledged the presence of the managing director of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), a group of island countries that control’s the world largest fishing grounds.

 

“...all  investments need continued access to high quality raw material. And therein lies the challenge for those of us who call the Pacific our home — to ensure that our stewardship of this resource enables our future generations to enjoy the same quality of access and well-being that we are seeking in our time,” he said.

 

“The challenge to all the Pacific island leaders is to be good stewards of their resources so that employment opportunities can be enjoyed and export earnings grown in a timely manner,” he said, adding that he looks forward to being as constructive as possible on fishery matters.

 

Jones noted that Saturday’s event was his second visit to the Tri Marine facility and  “it's a pleasure to know that people have...the confidence to invest such a large sum of money in the Pacific. We look forward to the market rewarding that investment by paying a premium on the strength of the sustainability reputation of Pacific fisheries.”

 

(Jones was among Pacific leaders who were in the territory late November last year for the Tuna Open House, coordinated by ASG and the two canneries.)

 

At the outset of his speech, Jones, a former member of the New Zealand Parliament, delivered greetings to Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga in the Maori language. He also presented gifts to the governor and two Tri Marine officials.

 

In his remarks earlier in the ceremony, Tri Marine chief executive officer Renato Curto acknowledged the presence of Jones and said that New Zealand companies played an important role in the design, construction and equipping of the Samoa Tuna Processors plant.

 

“More importantly, New Zealand is taking the leadership role in Pacific sustainable economic growth in the Pacific islands, which depend on tuna,” he said.