COOPERATION ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN
THE MINISTRY OF MARINE RESOURCES OF THE COOK ISLANDS,
THE MINISTRY OF FISHERIES OF NEW ZEALAND,
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES OF NIUE,
THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES OF SAMOA,
THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FOOD, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES OF
TONGA, AND
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NATURAL RESOURCES AND
ENVIRONMENT OF TOKELAU
Hereafter referred to as the “Te Vaka Moana Arrangement”
In order to further the shared interests of the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa and the
Kingdom of Tonga as coastal states and Tokelau as a coastal territory of New Zealand, within
the Polynesian Subregion, including the sustainable use of domestic and high seas fisheries
resources to secure, protect and enhance associated long-term economic benefits able to be derived
from such fisheries, and protect their important contribution to the food security of communities;
Recognising the shared interests of the Countries and Territory, in a number of regional
organisations and international fora dealing with fisheries issues, including the Pacific Islands
Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Western and
Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management
Organisation (SPRFMO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO);
To foster the growing economic links and cooperation between the fishing industries of the
Countries and Territory;
Recognising the importance of existing cooperation arrangements between fisheries administrations
and that this arrangement would look to compliment them;
Recognising the importance of fisheries administrations working together and seeking to
complement existing fisheries administration cooperation arrangements;
The Ministry of Marine Resources of the Cook Islands, the Ministry of Fisheries of New Zealand,
the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Niue, the Ministry of Agriculture and
Fisheries of Samoa, the Ministry of Agriculture & Food, Forestry and Fisheries of Tonga, and the
Council for Ongoing Government’s Department of Economic Development Natural Resources and
Environment of Tokelau (hereafter referred to as “the Participants”) have reached the following
understanding to guide their cooperation:
PARAGRAPH 1
Objectives
1.1
The objectives of this Te Vaka Moana Arrangement are to:
a) Strengthen cooperative relationships between the Participants, based on mutual trust and
understanding, with the aim of furthering shared goals with respect to the sustainable use of
fisheries resources, including increasing the economic benefit that can be derived from fisheries
resources and protecting the contribution they make to the food security of communities;
b) Assist with ongoing fisheries related capacity development and enhancing sub-regional
capability through enabling the sharing of resources, including fisheries monitoring control,
surveillance and enforcement (MCS) resources;
c) Promote the sharing of information between the Participants with regard to fisheries policy,
fisheries management, fisheries development, fishing industry related issues, fisheries science,
MCS, and other technical expertise in fisheries;
d) Enhance the ability of the Countries and Territory to cooperate and promote the interests of the
sub-region in regional organisations and international fora dealing with fisheries issues,
including where appropriate, in collaboration with the FFA and SPC;
e) Promote cooperation between the Participants with regard to MCS, both domestically and on
the high seas, including in seeking to increase the value of fisheries through countering illegal,
unregulated and unreported fishing; and
f) Support and strengthen fisheries development initiatives, including via links between the
fishing industry sectors.
PARAGRAPH 2
Sharing of general information
2.1
The Participants will share general information on policy and processes in relation to the
following topics:
a) Policy and policy frameworks including the legal and institutional frameworks for fisheries;
b) Fisheries management frameworks including rights based fisheries management systems,
aquaculture and management of their flagged vessels and their nationals, including on the high
seas;
c) Fisheries development;
d) Fisheries science including stock assessment processes and research related to associated and
dependant species and the wider aquatic ecosystem;
e) Fisheries regulatory processes;
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f) Systems development including technical information related to rights based fisheries
management and the delivery of fisheries services by the fishing industry; and
g) Fisheries MCS policies, systems and processes.
PARAGRAPH 3
Exchange of Personnel
3.1
The Participants will collaborate on initiatives to facilitate the exchange of personnel
between the Participants with the aim of furthering the objectives of this Te Vaka Moana
Arrangement.
PARAGRAPH 4
Regular Meetings
4.1
The Participants will hold regular meetings, at times and locations to be decided by the
Participants, for the purpose of furthering the objectives of this Te Vaka Moana Arrangement and
to take decisions on any significant programmes or initiatives designed to further achieve the
objectives of this arrangement.
PARAGRAPH 5
Fisheries Management
5.1
The Participants will cooperate in the area of fisheries management. Such cooperation may
include but is not limited to the following areas:
(a) Working individually, bilaterally or as a group including within the context of the
Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee, the SPC and the WCPFC, to develop national
and subregional approaches to fisheries management issues that secure the collective
strategic interests of the Participants in shared fisheries, whilst ensuring the impacts on
these fisheries, including by other fisheries, are minimised; and
(b) Cooperating to ensure that fisheries management approaches taken at a national,
subregional or regional level will improve the long-term sustainable economic performance
of shared fisheries, including through exchanging information on and exploring the
implementation of: rights based fisheries management frameworks, legal frameworks,
allocation, ecolabelling, aquaculture, licensing/access arrangements, the use of
transshipment and the management of vessels and nationals, including on the high seas.
PARAGRAPH 6
Fisheries Development
6.1
The Participants will cooperate in the area of fisheries development. Such cooperation may
include, but is not limited to, working individually, bilaterally or as a group to develop national,
bilateral and subregional approaches to fisheries development issues with the objective of deriving
greater economic benefits from sustainably managed fisheries. These may include, but are not
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limited to, cooperation in the areas of vessel licensing, vessel access, processing, marketing,
distribution and broader regional fisheries development research.
PARAGRAPH 7
Fisheries Science
7.1
The Participants will cooperate in the area of fisheries science. Such cooperation may
include, but is not limited to, the exchange of information and the provision of assistance in the
following areas:
a)
Data collection;
b)
Port sampling;
c)
Use of observers;
d)
Research, planning and evaluation; and
e)
Stock assessments and analysis.
PARAGRAPH 8
Fisheries MCS
8.1
The Participants will cooperate in respect of fisheries MCS. Such cooperation may include
but is not limited to:
a) Exchange of information and cooperation relating to fisheries MCS processes, systems,
activities and procedures; and
b) Promoting the development of more comprehensive arrangements with regard to fisheries MCS
cooperation, including, but not limited to, Niue Treaty Subsidiary Arrangements.
PARAGRAPH 9
Sharing of information for fisheries MCS purposes
9.1
The Participants may share specific information for the purposes of supporting one another
in fisheries MCS for the maintenance of relevant fisheries laws, including where they
reasonably believe doing so will enable:
(i) the prevention, detection, investigation and punishment of fisheries offences; and
(ii) the protection and maintenance of fisheries management frameworks, systems and
processes.
9.2
The management and use of information, and any derivatives of such information, shared
between the Participants will be conducted in such a way so as not to prejudice:
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(i) the entrusting of information or the international relations of the governments to whom
each Participant corresponds, on a basis of confidence by the government or agency of the
government of either Participant; or
(ii) the relationship between the Participant and any international organisation; or
(iii) any applicable laws and regulations that might be in force in either of the Countries or
Territory ; or
(iv) the maintenance of the law, including the prevention, detection, investigation, and
punishment of offences, and the right to a fair trial; or
(v) the relationship between the Governments of the Participants.
9.3
The Participants will take reasonable security safeguards to ensure that such information
and any derivatives of such information are protected against:
(i)
Loss;
(ii)
Access, use, modification, or disclosure except with the express authority of the
Participant sharing the information; and
(iii)
Other misuse.
9.4
If it is necessary for a Participant to share information, provided by another participant
pursuant to paragraph 9, with a third party in connection with the provision of services, the
sharing Participant will take reasonable measures to prevent unauthorised use, or
unauthorised disclosure of that information or derivatives of such information.
9.5
The Participants will ensure that information or derivatives of such information provided
pursuant to this Te Vaka Moana Arrangement, that is no longer required for the purpose for
which it was provided, are destroyed as soon as practicable after use.
PARAGRAPH 10
International Fisheries Issues
10.1 The Participants will work to identify areas of common interest that are within the
competence of each Participant in the context of regional and international fora dealing with
fisheries issues and to cooperate in those fora in order to progress shared national objectives. Such
cooperation may include, but is not limited to:
a) Holding meetings in advance of the meetings of WCPFC;
b) Exchanging information on fisheries issues for discussion in regional and international fora,
including WCPFC, FFC, FAO, WTO and SPRFMO;
c) Establishing a single point of contact in each Participant for that Participant’s work related to
each regional organisation or other fisheries related fora in which the Participants have an
interest.
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PARAGRAPH 11
Fishing Industry Cooperation
11.1 The Participants will seek to further the cooperation and collaboration between the fishing
industries of the Countries or Territory by:
a) Encouraging the expansion of opportunities for contact between the Participants in the fishing
industries of the Countries or Territory; and
b) Promoting the exchange of information and ideas between the fishing industries of the
Countries or Territory including exploration of opportunities for joint ventures.
PARAGRAPH 12
Te Vaka Moana Arrangement Initiatives
12.1 The Participants will consider and implement specific Te Vaka Moana Arrangement
initiatives at bilateral and sub-regional levels designed to further the objectives of this arrangement.
Subregional initiatives pursued formally at the sub-regional level will be accountable to the meeting
of the Participants.
12.2 The meeting of the Participants will act as a governance and coordination body for
subregional initiatives designed with a view to development assistance support. This would include
decision making on: Identification and agreement of the programme concept; design processes;
final programme design and results frameworks; agreement to proceed with a specific substantial
subregional initiative; agreement with respect to management arrangements; monitoring of
programme implementation and reporting; evaluation and assessment of results and impact.
12.3 Subregional initiatives designed with a view to development assistance support would also
coordinate with established frameworks and mechanisms to prioritise and manage bilateral and
regional development assistance.
PARAGRAPH 13
General Provisions
13.1 This Te Vaka Moana Arrangement will enter into effect on the date of signature and will
remain in effect until one of the Participants gives at least 90 days notice in writing to the other
Participants that it wishes to terminate this Te Vaka Moana Arrangement
13.2 The Participants will ensure delegates taking part in activities or initiatives developed or
implemented pursuant to this Te Vaka Moana Arrangement are suitably mandated to do so.
13.3 Each Participant will nominate a contact point responsible for representing that Participants
interest in the Te Vaka Moana Arrangement.
13.4
The Participants will review this arrangement annually along with any activities or
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initiatives that have been developed to support it.
13.5 The Participants may mutually determine amendments to this Te Vaka Moana Arrangement
at any time by exchange of written notes.
13.6 The cooperative activities and understandings covered by this Te Vaka Moana Arrangement
will be carried out in conformity with the respective laws and regulations of the Governments of
the Participants.
Signed at ______________ on this ______________ day of ___________________, 2009 in the
English language by
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(FOR THE MINISTRY OF MARINE RESOURCES OF THE COOK ISLANDS),
AND
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(FOR THE MINISTRY OF FISHERIES OF NEW ZEALAND),
AND
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES OF
NIUE)
AND
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
(FOR THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES OF SAMOA),
AND
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(FOR THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FOOD, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES OF
TONGA),
AND
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(FOR DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NATURAL RESOURCES AND
ENVIRONMENT OF TOKELAU)
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