Government has approved the lifting of a beche-de-mer (BDM) ban when the Fisheries Ministry completes its framework with conditions, says Minister for Fisheries Semi Koroilavesau.
In an interview with this newspaper, he said Cabinet had approved the lifting of the ban at a meeting held last month.
However, he said the ban, which remains in place, would only be lifted once the framework was finalised.
“This has been submitted to Cabinet and we are working on a framework that will ensure sustainable methods are carried out when the ban is lifted,” Mr Koroilavesau said.
“So we need to look at the stock in the sea and this framework will ensure that those using the resources today will not abuse but save enough stock for the future generation.”
Mr Koroilavesau said the ban was introduced because of declining stock of BDM as revealed in a survey.
“Right now, the ban on BDM is still valid and will be lifted once the framework is finalised.
“This is very important because in allowing to lift the ban, we need to ensure that the future generation is not affected.”
Mr Koroilavesau said since the ban was implemented in 2017, the ministry had assisted coastal and island villagers with income-generating projects.
