The European Commission Director-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Ms Charlina Vitcheva made the announcement at the ministerial East New Britain Initiative (ENBi) event hosted by the Forum Fishery Agency (FFA) ahead of the Honiara Summit this week.

This EU funding, channelled through FFA, will support the Pacific tuna industry by enhancing value-adding processes and by finding collective and inclusive investment pathways in the tuna fisheries, in line with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

During the ministerial ENBi event, the Director General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries highlighted that, “the support of the European Union for this innovative initiative reflects our respective commitment not only to ocean matters but also to regional integration and cooperation, recognising that the ocean, and in particular its tuna resources, are at the core of the Pacific’s cultures, livelihoods, and economic development.”

Background East New Britain initiative (ENBi)

At the 23rd Special Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC) Ministerial meeting in Kokopo, East New Britain Province, the Pacific Island Forum Fishery Agency/ Fisheries Ministers members adopted a Joint Communique to enhance the benefits of tuna fisheries for member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA).

This communique officially launched the East New Britain initiative (ENBi), which supports the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ vision in the 2050 Strategy to leverage their shared tuna resources and find collective and inclusive investment pathways.

The 2025 Honiara Summit focuses on meaningful action and innovation towards achieving SDG14: Life Below Water with a dedicated focus on the conservation and sustainable use of ocean, seas and marine resources for our sustainable development. The Summit brings together Heads of State, Fisheries ministers and global, regional and local representatives from around the world working on achieve these SDG14. The Honiara Summit is also an important event in the run up to the United Nations Ocean Conference due to take place in Nice, France in June 2025.

The support provided by the EU also complements EU’s long term partnership with the Pacific on ocean matters. Namely, the EU with the Swedish Government has been implementing the European Union – Pacific Marine Partnership (PEUMP) Programme with four CROP agencies (SPC, SPREP, FFA and USP) since 2018, providing €45 Million. More recently, the EU has also been supporting the Pacific’s commitment to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) through its Pacific Solution: Integrated Ocean Management

 For more information on the EU’s engagement in the Pacific, please visit: Pacific region (europa.eu).