The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iceland Ocean Cluster, marking a new step in efforts to drive innovation, reduce waste, and create greater value from Pacific fisheries.
The three-year agreement brings together two organisations with a shared interest in making better use of marine resources and strengthening the blue economy. It also opens the door for closer collaboration between the Pacific and the North Atlantic on seafood innovation, knowledge sharing, and sustainable business development.
‘This partnership is about connecting ocean regions, people and ideas in ways that can create practical benefits for communities and the seafood sector,’ said FFA Director-General Noan David Pakop.
‘It gives us an opportunity to learn from global innovation while also exploring what full utilisation and value creation can look like in a Pacific context.’
At the heart of the partnership is a strong focus on full utilisation of seafood resources, including the untapped potential of tuna side streams in the Pacific. By finding new uses for parts of the fish that are often discarded or underused, the partnership aims to support more sustainable practices while creating new economic opportunities for Pacific communities.
Under the MoU, FFA and Iceland Ocean Cluster will work together in key areas, including sharing knowledge and best practices on sustainable seafood utilisation, exploring joint research and innovation projects, promoting education and awareness, and supporting more sustainable harvesting, processing and use of marine resources.
The collaboration will also look at opportunities linked to FFA’s Pacific Island Tuna Ventures Programme to create new commercial ventures, and to the global 100% Fish movement, which encourages the use of all parts of seafood to create value-added products and minimise waste.
