Palau Legl News: Burning More VietNamese Fishing Boats; Masked Robbers; Palau Compact in US Congress
Palau Burns Illegal Fishing Vessels
WRITTEN BY L. N. REKLAI
THURSDAY, 26 MAY 2016 23:41
Zero-tolerance policy continues as new enforcement strategy underway
Koror, Palau -On May 25, Palau authorities burned Vietnamese vessel caught fishing illegally near the Tobi Island in the southwest of the nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Over the past three years similar vessels have been seized by the Bureau of Marine Law Enforcement with sea cucumbers, shellfish, turtles, and protected reef fish. This seizure included black coral and numerous shark fins. The quality of these “Blue Boats” is generally too poor to repurpose or sell, therefore last year Palau began to destroy them as part of a deterrent campaign.
“As I’ve said in the past, we will not tolerate poachers in Palau,” said President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. “Now that the Palau National Marine Sanctuary is law, we are developing partnerships, strengthening capabilities, and implementing strategies to protect our resources from illegal fishing.”
On May 4, President Remengesau formally adopted a Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Plan that details a five-year strategy to combat illegal activity and manage emergency responses in its ocean waters. The plan is the result of comprehensive analysis and advice from global maritime surveillance experts who were brought together at a workshop organized in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The MCS Plan outlines 25 detailed recommendations to be implemented over the next five years including advancements in internal and external communications, refining the roles and responsibilities of the organizations involved in enforcing marine protection laws, and building additional technical capacity into Palau’s ocean monitoring and surveillance capabilities. Improved MCS will aid in the deterrence, detection, interdiction, and prosecutions of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing violations and illegal drug and human trafficking in Palau’s EEZ.
“We may be a small country, but we have taken big steps to protect our ocean. The MCS action plan is already enhancing our capabilities and showing results,” continued Remengesau.
To help build upon the capacity currently provided by the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Australia, the United States and other partners, Palau will be working with Pew and the U.K.-based Satellite Applications Catapult to explore using Project Eyes on the Seas to enhance surveillance of the country’s waters. This cutting-edge technology merges various types of satellite tracking and imagery data with other sources of information, such as fishing vessel databases and oceanographic data, to help monitor seas around the globe.
In February, Palau also announced a partnership with the Japanese-based Nippon and Sasakawa Peace foundations to enhance enforcement capabilities. Under the partnership, the foundations will give Palau an additional enforcement vessel that can patrol more remote areas of national waters. They also will provide assistance with training and communications upgrades. The resources provided by the Nippon-Sasakawa partnership addresses several short and long term needs identified in the recently adopted MCS plan.
Palau is in close consultation with Pacific Mission Aviation to provide aerial surveillance, an important component of the MCS plan, and monitoring for illegal fishing activity. The Memorandum of Understanding when signed will also provide emergency medical evacuation of patients from outlying states. PMA is a nonprofit corporation existing under the laws of the Republic of Palau and voluntarily providing aviation services to support the Republic.
“By monitoring our ocean from land, on the sea, in the air and from space, we can fight illegal fishing as well as other crimes and make Palau more secure. The Palau National Marine Sanctuary is not just a conservation policy; it is also a national security policy,” concluded Remengesau.
On Oct. 28, 2015, President Remengesau signed the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act into law, fully protecting an area about 500,000 square kilometers in size, or 80 percent of the country’s EEZ. With this action, Palau dedicated a higher percentage of its waters for protection than any other country in the world and created the world’s sixth-largest fully-protected marine reserve. The act also maintains 20 percent of the EEZ for Palau’s domestic market and local fishermen
http://islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1201%3Apalau-burns-illegal-fishing-vessels&catid=6%3Apalau-news-a-current-events
Zero-tolerance policy on illegal fishing continues as new enforcement strategy underway
Posted on May 26, 2016 by admin
Koror, Palau -On May 25, Palau authorities burned a Vietnamese vessel caught fishing illegally near the Tobi Island in the southwest of the nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Over the past three years similar vessels have been seized by the Bureau of Marine Law Enforcement with sea cucumbers, shellfish, turtles, and protected reef fish. This seizure included black coral and numerous shark fins. The quality of these “Blue Boats” is generally too poor to repurpose or sell, therefore last year Palau began to destroy them as part of a deterrent campaign.
“As I’ve said in the past, we will not tolerate poachers in Palau,” said President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. “Now that the Palau National Marine Sanctuary is law, we are developing partnerships, strengthening capabilities, and implementing strategies to protect our resources from illegal fishing.”
On May 4, President Remengesau formally adopted a Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Plan that details a five-year strategy to combat illegal activity and manage emergency responses in its ocean waters. The plan is the result of comprehensive analysis and advice from global maritime surveillance experts who were brought together at a workshop organized in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The MCS Plan outlines 25 detailed recommendations to be implemented over the next five years including advancements in internal and external communications, refining the roles and responsibilities of the organizations involved in enforcing marine protection laws, and building additional technical capacity into Palau’s ocean monitoring and surveillance capabilities. Improved MCS will aid in the deterrence, detection, interdiction, and prosecutions of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing violations and illegal drug and human trafficking in Palau’s EEZ.
“We may be a small country, but we have taken big steps to protect our ocean. The MCS action plan is already enhancing our capabilities and showing results,” continued Remengesau.
To help build upon the capacity currently provided by the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Australia, the United States and other partners, Palau will be working with Pew and the U.K.-based Satellite Applications Catapult to explore using Project Eyes on the Seas to enhance surveillance of the country’s waters. This cutting-edge technology merges various types of satellite tracking and imagery data with other sources of information, such as fishing vessel databases and oceanographic data, to help monitor seas around the globe.
In February, Palau also announced a partnership with the Japanese-based Nippon and Sasakawa Peace foundations to enhance enforcement capabilities. Under the partnership, the foundations will give Palau an additional enforcement vessel that can patrol more remote areas of national waters. They also will provide assistance with training and communications upgrades. The resources provided by the Nippon-Sasakawa partnership addresses several short and long term needs identified in the recently adopted MCS plan.
Palau is in close consultation with Pacific Mission Aviation to provide aerial surveillance, an important component of the MCS plan, and monitoring for illegal fishing activity. The Memorandum of Understanding when signed will also provide emergency medical evacuation of patients from outlying states. PMA is a nonprofit corporation existing under the laws of the Republic of Palau and voluntarily providing aviation services to support the Republic.
“By monitoring our ocean from land, on the sea, in the air and from space, we can fight illegal fishing as well as other crimes and make Palau more secure. The Palau National Marine Sanctuary is not just a conservation policy; it is also a national security policy,” concluded Remengesau.
On Oct. 28, 2015, President Remengesau signed the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act into law, fully protecting an area about 500,000 square kilometers in size, or 80 percent of the country’s EEZ. With this action, Palau dedicated a higher percentage of its waters for protection than any other country in the world and created the world’s sixth-largest fully-protected marine reserve. The act also maintains 20 percent of the EEZ for Palau’s domestic market and local fishermen.
Source: (1) Zero-tolerance policy on illegal fishing… - Office of the President, Republic of Palau
http://palaumarine.org/?p=172
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No progress made on armed robbery incident
WRITTEN BY L. N. REKLAI
THURSDAY, 26 MAY 2016 23:38
May 26, 2016 (Koror) No official word has been released on the recent attempted robbery incident on Monday night which resulted in serious bodily injuries to 2 Bangladesh workers.
No one has been arrested for this incident and rumors abound of possible suspects including current inmates in jail.
This would be a 3rd such incident of masked individuals attacking Bangladesh store operators. One such incident occurred at Malakal store in October of last year. Two or three masked individuals attacked the workers with hammers resulting in the death of one of the Bangladeshi workers. In each of these incidents, there were security video camera footage of the attacks and the attackers but no one has been charged with these crimes to date. Attempts to get updates from the Bureau of Public Safety have been unsuccessful.
http://islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1196%3Ano-progress-made-on-armed-robbery-incident&catid=6%3Apalau-news-a-current-events
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Palau COFA bills pushed in U.S. Congress
WRITTEN BY L. N. REKLAI
THURSDAY, 26 MAY 2016 23:38
Momentum to get the COFA agreement ratified by US Congress seems to be picking up as both Senate and House of Representatives introduced bills to ratify Palau COFA agreement. Senate Bill 2610 introduced by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska seeks to ratify COFA funding agreed to by both US and Palau in 2010. “The delay to getting this agreement ratified is the US Congress policy requiring a source of fund to offset the COFA fund amount, to be identified,” stated Minister of State Billy Kuartei in the recent interview. A possible source has been identified recently from National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), according to sources.
“We worked with U.S. House members when they drafted House version and in that version we inserted certain provisions, such as the inflation adjustment clause to compensate for the delay in U.S. ratifying the agreement,” stated Minister Billy Kuartei. “Either way, we will work with both houses of the U.S. Congress to have the Senate version reflect the changes we included in the House version, once it gets to the floor,” added Minister Kuartei.
According to the GAO testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Senate Bill 2610 will “improve the prospects for Palau’s Compact Trust Fund” and provide annual funding for FY 2017 to FY 2024. Senate Bill 2610 approves $20 million for the Compact Trust Fund.
The agreement agreed to by US and Palau in 2010 provides $216 million funding for COFA for fiscal years 2011 to 2024. To date, $79 million has been paid and the proposed Senate bill seeks to ratify and pay the final portion of $137 million.
U.S. Senate bill 2610 was introduced and referred to U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 1, 2016.
http://islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1197%3Apalau-cofa-bills-pushed-in-us-congress&catid=6%3Apalau-news-a-current-events
WRITTEN BY L. N. REKLAI
THURSDAY, 26 MAY 2016 23:41
Zero-tolerance policy continues as new enforcement strategy underway
Koror, Palau -On May 25, Palau authorities burned Vietnamese vessel caught fishing illegally near the Tobi Island in the southwest of the nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Over the past three years similar vessels have been seized by the Bureau of Marine Law Enforcement with sea cucumbers, shellfish, turtles, and protected reef fish. This seizure included black coral and numerous shark fins. The quality of these “Blue Boats” is generally too poor to repurpose or sell, therefore last year Palau began to destroy them as part of a deterrent campaign.
“As I’ve said in the past, we will not tolerate poachers in Palau,” said President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. “Now that the Palau National Marine Sanctuary is law, we are developing partnerships, strengthening capabilities, and implementing strategies to protect our resources from illegal fishing.”
On May 4, President Remengesau formally adopted a Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Plan that details a five-year strategy to combat illegal activity and manage emergency responses in its ocean waters. The plan is the result of comprehensive analysis and advice from global maritime surveillance experts who were brought together at a workshop organized in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The MCS Plan outlines 25 detailed recommendations to be implemented over the next five years including advancements in internal and external communications, refining the roles and responsibilities of the organizations involved in enforcing marine protection laws, and building additional technical capacity into Palau’s ocean monitoring and surveillance capabilities. Improved MCS will aid in the deterrence, detection, interdiction, and prosecutions of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing violations and illegal drug and human trafficking in Palau’s EEZ.
“We may be a small country, but we have taken big steps to protect our ocean. The MCS action plan is already enhancing our capabilities and showing results,” continued Remengesau.
To help build upon the capacity currently provided by the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Australia, the United States and other partners, Palau will be working with Pew and the U.K.-based Satellite Applications Catapult to explore using Project Eyes on the Seas to enhance surveillance of the country’s waters. This cutting-edge technology merges various types of satellite tracking and imagery data with other sources of information, such as fishing vessel databases and oceanographic data, to help monitor seas around the globe.
In February, Palau also announced a partnership with the Japanese-based Nippon and Sasakawa Peace foundations to enhance enforcement capabilities. Under the partnership, the foundations will give Palau an additional enforcement vessel that can patrol more remote areas of national waters. They also will provide assistance with training and communications upgrades. The resources provided by the Nippon-Sasakawa partnership addresses several short and long term needs identified in the recently adopted MCS plan.
Palau is in close consultation with Pacific Mission Aviation to provide aerial surveillance, an important component of the MCS plan, and monitoring for illegal fishing activity. The Memorandum of Understanding when signed will also provide emergency medical evacuation of patients from outlying states. PMA is a nonprofit corporation existing under the laws of the Republic of Palau and voluntarily providing aviation services to support the Republic.
“By monitoring our ocean from land, on the sea, in the air and from space, we can fight illegal fishing as well as other crimes and make Palau more secure. The Palau National Marine Sanctuary is not just a conservation policy; it is also a national security policy,” concluded Remengesau.
On Oct. 28, 2015, President Remengesau signed the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act into law, fully protecting an area about 500,000 square kilometers in size, or 80 percent of the country’s EEZ. With this action, Palau dedicated a higher percentage of its waters for protection than any other country in the world and created the world’s sixth-largest fully-protected marine reserve. The act also maintains 20 percent of the EEZ for Palau’s domestic market and local fishermen
http://islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1201%3Apalau-burns-illegal-fishing-vessels&catid=6%3Apalau-news-a-current-events
Zero-tolerance policy on illegal fishing continues as new enforcement strategy underway
Posted on May 26, 2016 by admin
Koror, Palau -On May 25, Palau authorities burned a Vietnamese vessel caught fishing illegally near the Tobi Island in the southwest of the nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Over the past three years similar vessels have been seized by the Bureau of Marine Law Enforcement with sea cucumbers, shellfish, turtles, and protected reef fish. This seizure included black coral and numerous shark fins. The quality of these “Blue Boats” is generally too poor to repurpose or sell, therefore last year Palau began to destroy them as part of a deterrent campaign.
“As I’ve said in the past, we will not tolerate poachers in Palau,” said President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. “Now that the Palau National Marine Sanctuary is law, we are developing partnerships, strengthening capabilities, and implementing strategies to protect our resources from illegal fishing.”
On May 4, President Remengesau formally adopted a Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Plan that details a five-year strategy to combat illegal activity and manage emergency responses in its ocean waters. The plan is the result of comprehensive analysis and advice from global maritime surveillance experts who were brought together at a workshop organized in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The MCS Plan outlines 25 detailed recommendations to be implemented over the next five years including advancements in internal and external communications, refining the roles and responsibilities of the organizations involved in enforcing marine protection laws, and building additional technical capacity into Palau’s ocean monitoring and surveillance capabilities. Improved MCS will aid in the deterrence, detection, interdiction, and prosecutions of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing violations and illegal drug and human trafficking in Palau’s EEZ.
“We may be a small country, but we have taken big steps to protect our ocean. The MCS action plan is already enhancing our capabilities and showing results,” continued Remengesau.
To help build upon the capacity currently provided by the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Australia, the United States and other partners, Palau will be working with Pew and the U.K.-based Satellite Applications Catapult to explore using Project Eyes on the Seas to enhance surveillance of the country’s waters. This cutting-edge technology merges various types of satellite tracking and imagery data with other sources of information, such as fishing vessel databases and oceanographic data, to help monitor seas around the globe.
In February, Palau also announced a partnership with the Japanese-based Nippon and Sasakawa Peace foundations to enhance enforcement capabilities. Under the partnership, the foundations will give Palau an additional enforcement vessel that can patrol more remote areas of national waters. They also will provide assistance with training and communications upgrades. The resources provided by the Nippon-Sasakawa partnership addresses several short and long term needs identified in the recently adopted MCS plan.
Palau is in close consultation with Pacific Mission Aviation to provide aerial surveillance, an important component of the MCS plan, and monitoring for illegal fishing activity. The Memorandum of Understanding when signed will also provide emergency medical evacuation of patients from outlying states. PMA is a nonprofit corporation existing under the laws of the Republic of Palau and voluntarily providing aviation services to support the Republic.
“By monitoring our ocean from land, on the sea, in the air and from space, we can fight illegal fishing as well as other crimes and make Palau more secure. The Palau National Marine Sanctuary is not just a conservation policy; it is also a national security policy,” concluded Remengesau.
On Oct. 28, 2015, President Remengesau signed the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act into law, fully protecting an area about 500,000 square kilometers in size, or 80 percent of the country’s EEZ. With this action, Palau dedicated a higher percentage of its waters for protection than any other country in the world and created the world’s sixth-largest fully-protected marine reserve. The act also maintains 20 percent of the EEZ for Palau’s domestic market and local fishermen.
Source: (1) Zero-tolerance policy on illegal fishing… - Office of the President, Republic of Palau
http://palaumarine.org/?p=172
-------------------------------------------------------------
No progress made on armed robbery incident
WRITTEN BY L. N. REKLAI
THURSDAY, 26 MAY 2016 23:38
May 26, 2016 (Koror) No official word has been released on the recent attempted robbery incident on Monday night which resulted in serious bodily injuries to 2 Bangladesh workers.
No one has been arrested for this incident and rumors abound of possible suspects including current inmates in jail.
This would be a 3rd such incident of masked individuals attacking Bangladesh store operators. One such incident occurred at Malakal store in October of last year. Two or three masked individuals attacked the workers with hammers resulting in the death of one of the Bangladeshi workers. In each of these incidents, there were security video camera footage of the attacks and the attackers but no one has been charged with these crimes to date. Attempts to get updates from the Bureau of Public Safety have been unsuccessful.
http://islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1196%3Ano-progress-made-on-armed-robbery-incident&catid=6%3Apalau-news-a-current-events
------------------------------------------------------------
Palau COFA bills pushed in U.S. Congress
WRITTEN BY L. N. REKLAI
THURSDAY, 26 MAY 2016 23:38
Momentum to get the COFA agreement ratified by US Congress seems to be picking up as both Senate and House of Representatives introduced bills to ratify Palau COFA agreement. Senate Bill 2610 introduced by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska seeks to ratify COFA funding agreed to by both US and Palau in 2010. “The delay to getting this agreement ratified is the US Congress policy requiring a source of fund to offset the COFA fund amount, to be identified,” stated Minister of State Billy Kuartei in the recent interview. A possible source has been identified recently from National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), according to sources.
“We worked with U.S. House members when they drafted House version and in that version we inserted certain provisions, such as the inflation adjustment clause to compensate for the delay in U.S. ratifying the agreement,” stated Minister Billy Kuartei. “Either way, we will work with both houses of the U.S. Congress to have the Senate version reflect the changes we included in the House version, once it gets to the floor,” added Minister Kuartei.
According to the GAO testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Senate Bill 2610 will “improve the prospects for Palau’s Compact Trust Fund” and provide annual funding for FY 2017 to FY 2024. Senate Bill 2610 approves $20 million for the Compact Trust Fund.
The agreement agreed to by US and Palau in 2010 provides $216 million funding for COFA for fiscal years 2011 to 2024. To date, $79 million has been paid and the proposed Senate bill seeks to ratify and pay the final portion of $137 million.
U.S. Senate bill 2610 was introduced and referred to U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 1, 2016.
http://islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1197%3Apalau-cofa-bills-pushed-in-us-congress&catid=6%3Apalau-news-a-current-events