The importance of national associations

Jonathan Manieva*
The importance of national fishing industry associations in representing private sector views and interests is recognised in many countries in the region.

These associations tend to rely on the voluntary efforts of a few members who are also preoccupied with running their own, often small, fishing companies.

The Tonga Export Fisheries Association (TEFA) is a case in point. To assess the benefit of giving it more teeth, funding was provided to enable the association to appoint an executive officer for a six-month trial period.

The EU-funded DEVFISH1 project that supported the Tonga trial is jointly facilitated by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The main objective of DEVFISH is to increase economic benefits to Pacific Islands countries from tuna fisheries through creating a policy and an economic environment that encourages development of fishing and processing operations. The emphasis is on private sector operations.

Naitilima (Tima) Tupou, a Tongan national with several years experience in the tuna industry, was appointed as TEFA’s executive officer in November 2006. She was previously quality control manager at the Niue Fish Processing Plant.

The establishment of the executive officer position has proved to be a positive step, not only for members of the association, but for the industry in Tonga as a whole. Before Tupou’s appointment, TEFA was represented on five fishery-related bodies such as the Pacific Islands Tuna Industry Association and Fisheries Management & Advisory Committee.

As a result of the availability of a full-time representative, the association is now able to participate in wider forums which have impacts on the export sector including the National Economic & Development Council and WTO Facilitation Committee.

The private sector and government agencies have recognised the strategic value of having someone specifically dedicated to promoting the industry’s interests.

In addition, Tupou has initiated contacts with lead donors and development agencies to identify potential future support for industry initiatives.

The achievements noted during the trial period include better communication between association members and improved relationships with government officials, with continual dialogue now the norm.

These changes have enabled the industry to contribute a cohesive viewpoint to the deliberations of core policy-making committees with tangible results. The new Customs Act to be implemented in early 2008 includes tax concessions favourable to the fishing industry, and the Snapper Fishery Management Plan will place a cap on vessel numbers.

TEFA represents companies in the tuna longline, deep bottom fish and aquarium fish businesses.

“With such a diverse membership, there are both common interests and conflicting issues between members,” acknowledges Tupou.

“Building better rapport between the members themselves is important. It’s also important to maintain objectivity in presenting the association views to ensure they’re not marginalised or seen as pursuing personal interests. In this respect, it helps that I’m independent from the industry and also represent  the broader industry.’

In recognition of the integrity displayed by Tupou, the government of Tonga nominated her in her capacity as executive officer of TEFA as the official delegate for Tonga to the Tuna Commission meeting in December 2007.

An assessment of the six-month trial voted it a success, with results indicating that the Tonga experience could provide a model for in-country assistance to other Pacific countries.

The project has, for example, been brought to the attention of the multiple fishing industry associations that exist in Samoa and Fiji. It has generated at least some interest in those associations in putting differences aside and forming umbrella associations to focus on the  limited number of policy issues of common concern.

Although DEVFISH cannot support the TEFA executive officer position indefinitely, other potential sources of funding have been identified along with revenue generating initiatives.

Given this situation, DEVFISH has approved TEFA’s request for an extension of the support officer position and has provided funding for a further six months. DEVFISH has also provided similar assistance to three other countries.

Other donor agencies interested in supporting private sector fisheries development in the region may wish to consider this kind of assistance to fishing industry associations.

• Jonathan Manieva is SPC Fisheries Development Officer working in the Nearshore Fisheries Development and Training Section. For more information on DEVFISH assistance and project technical reports, visit: www.ffa.int/node/542.