The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission: Management Challenges and Development Imperatives

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) was established by the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, the second regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) created after the negotiation of the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (UNFA). The WCPFC exercises management responsibility over some of the most significant tuna fisheries in the world, and a Convention Area covering a vast expanse of ocean in the Western and Central Pacific (see Figure 1). Recent estimates of the value of the tuna catch in the region highlight the significance of the resource on both a regional and a global scale.