Kiribati to open 408K sq km PIPA marine reserve for commercial fishing

Kiribati has announced that it will soon open one of the world's largest marine protected areas to commercial fishing to boost economic befits for its citizens. The decision was confirmed by the Kiribati President's office in a press release published on Monday.

“Our decision as a sovereign country and Government is people-centric and commensurate with holistic options for marine protection and management, economic diversification, sustainable tourism and fisheries, to promote the growth of Kiribati’s blue economy, and uplift the lives of all I-Kiribati,” the statement read as reported by The Guardian.

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) covers approximately 408,250 square kilometres of a marine reserve and was established in the year 2006, with the whole region proclaimed a "no-take" territory in 2015, prohibiting commercial fishing. 

Notably, the country constituting a group of islands in the central Pacific, has an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) bigger than India and harvests 700,000 tons of tuna each year, The Guardian reported. 

However, the decision is unlikely to take effect before next year, according to a statement by Dr Richard Jeo, the senior vice president of Conservation International's Asia-Pacific field office. Dr Jeo was quoted by The Guardian as saying that "in their understanding" the proposition to open the protected zone has not yet been brought to Kiribati's Parliament. 

Decision needs to be formally approved by Parliament

“It would need to be formally approved by parliament before going into effect, which would likely not be until next year at the earliest,” Dr Jeo was quoted by The Guardian as saying.  

Jeo also expressed optimism that Kiribati will keep the marine protected area designation for PIPA and choose to proceed as a global conservation pioneer, further "standing lockstep with a global community that is committed to protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030.”  

Kiribati suffered over Rs 1,000 crore loss after banning commercial fishing in PIPA

Meanwhile, the Kiribati administration stated that when PIPA was founded, it guaranteed that the nation would be able to retrieve the funds lost from fishing permits, which account for over 70% of the country's total yearly revenue. The nation claimed that this did not happen.  

Further, years after its commencement, the government claimed that PIPA was insufficient to address the current demands of Kiribati's population and the nation's upcoming developmental requirements. According to the government, after PIPA was closed to commercial fishing, demand for fishing in Kiribati's EEZ dropped by 8%, resulting in a loss of revenue of up to $146 million (Rs 1087.18 crore) from 2015 till now. 

(Image: AP/Representative)