The Fishing Industry Association (FIA) of the country of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has released its first-ever annual environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report.
Papua New Guinea has been working to overhaul its fisheries sector, with the FIA working together with the government to reform the industry. FIA has worked to drive sustainability and traceability in the country and was the entity behind the country’s purse-seine tuna fishery achieving Marine Stewardship Council certification in 2020 and the MSC certification of the country’s rock lobster fishery.
“We believe that transparency is essential to building trust, and through this report, we aim to share our journey toward responsible business conduct,” FIA Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Hidalgo said.
FIA Chairman and President Sylvester Pokajam, in a forward written for the ESG report, which covered 2024 statistics, said the country continued to work throughout 2024 to adhere to international sustainability standards, including through the ratification of the Port States Measures Agreement – a United Nations agreement designed to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“Our joint initiatives with the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) have emphasized the importance of transparency, promoting open dialogue, inclusion, collaboration, and accountability in every stage of our operations,” Pokajam said. “This is adding value to our current efforts to share our Vessel Monitoring System with the Global Fishing Watch in real time and be capable of transferring key Data Elements from our fishing operation after passing the interoperability test of the Global Dialogue of Seafood Traceability.”
FIA’s traceability program uses an integrated management system, syncing data between the country’s National Fishery Authority and an application that presents data in real-time.
The new report, Hidalgo said, is also a milestone for FIA as it works to align the reports with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards.
“The GRI framework will serve as our reference for management and reporting, helping us integrate environmental and social objectives into our organizational Log-frame, the strategic structure that guides FIA PNG’s operations through its Responsible Sourcing Policy [RSP],” Hidalgo said. “By embedding sustainability within our Log-frame, we ensure that environmental protection, social equity, and sound governance are not isolated goals, but central to how we plan, operate, and measure our progress.”
That RSP contains four key pillars for due diligence, including sustainability, fishery traceability, marine litter and fishing gear, and social responsibility and crew welfare.
MSC certification is the “backbone” of the fishing industry’s sustainability efforts, FIA PNG said. During 2024, FIA PNG completed its third MSC surveillance audit for its purse-seine fishery, which found continued compliance with the standard. FIA PNG said it also continued its work in the rock lobster fishery, which achieved MSC certification, and the mud crab fishery, which in 2024 was still undergoing its assessment.
Fishery traceability is handled through operational 100 percent observer coverage of purse-seine trips, and its real-time vessel monitoring system shared with Global Fishing Watch, FIA PNG said.
For social welfare, FIA PNG said its social commitments utilize a combination of audits and the FISH Standard for Crew certification. The FISH (Fairness, Integrity, Safety, and Health) standard was created in 2021 and recently achieved recognition from the Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative benchmark.
“These audits assess contract conditions, safety practices, accommodation standards, access to water and food, worker voice mechanisms, and grievance resolution. Findings are addressed through corrective action plans and reviewed annually to ensure continuous improvement,” the FIA ESG report states.
Pokajam said the country’s fishing industry will continue to focus on enhancing sustainability throughout the fleet, including through the training of fishing crews.