Tokelau and the Parties to the Nauru Agreement react to New Zealand fisheries action

Tokelau, a New Zealand territory with about 1,500 residents, significantly benefited from joining the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) tuna cartel in 2012. Revenue from its fishery became as much as 40 percent of the national budget. However, this arrangement ceased early this year when the PNA terminated Tokelau's participation in its Vessel Day Scheme (VDS), which manages purse seine fishing in Pacific waters. The reasons for this termination remained unclear until recently. New Zealand government officials repeatedly stated that Tokelau was seeking readmission to the VDS and that New Zealand backed these efforts. Documents obtained by RNZ Pacific, including correspondence between Tokelau and PNA leaders, reveal a different narrative. One former Tokelau leader cited New Zealand's "interference" in Tokelau's fisheries management as the cause for the disruption. A spokesperson for New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) stated that there had been no material change to the management of Tokelau's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and offshore fisheries, asserting that while New Zealand is responsible for the EEZ under international law, Tokelau has always managed its day-to-day operations. This account is disputed by Tokelauan and PNA fisheries officials. They describe New Zealand actions starting in 2024 that increasingly involved overseeing Tokelau's Fisheries Management Agency. Tokelau officials themselves reportedly informed the PNA that this oversight threatened the basis of Tokelau's PNA membership, which was contingent on its autonomy as a territory of New Zealand. Dr. Transform Aqorau, founding CEO of the PNA Office, explained that Tokelau's participation was premised on its ability to autonomously manage its fisheries and participate in the VDS. He stated that New Zealand's increased oversight materially constrained Tokelau's capacity for independent decision-making regarding its fisheries.

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Tokelau's participation in the PNA arrangements had been premised on its ability to exercise a sufficient degree of operational autonomy over the management of fisheries within its Exclusive Economic Zone.