Kaya Selby
RNZ Pacific journalist
Tokelau has lost more than
60 percent of its fishing revenue between February and June,
according to New Zealand officials, following its expulsion
from a key Pacific fisheries agreement.
The small
self-governing territory was expelled from the Vessel Day
Scheme (VDS) of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA),
which allows Pacific member countries to license fishing
time in their waters, but no clear reason for the decision
has yet emerged.
Correspondence released under the
Official Information Act (OIA) revealed that Tokelau had
been forced to revise its government budget “following
significant loss of revenue” since the
expulsion.
Offshore fisheries are Tokelau’s only
source of independent revenue.
The minutes of a June
meeting between New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters
and Ulu o Tokelau Alapati Pita Tavite stated that: “NZ
officials are working to better understand the matter in
detail with a view to supporting Tokelau to seek
readmission.”
Tokelau’s finances are not readily
available. However, the latest estimate of revenue from its
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) according to the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), was about
NZ$15 million in 2024.
Based on that figure, the loss
could be near to NZ$9m – and that is just in five
months.
As a result, Tokelau has become more dependent
on New Zealand monetary assistance.
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The New Zealand
government has budgeted $138m for Tokelau between June 2024
and 2027, although no allowance has been made for the
shortfall in Tokelau’s revenue.
The New Zealand
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has maintained
that it is actively lobbying the PNA, the coalition of
Pacific countries that administers the VDS, to re-admit
Tokelau.
However, PNA officials may not be persuaded
by MFAT’s lobbying, as concern has been raised about the
degree to which New Zealand influences Tokelauan fisheries.
New Zealand is not a PNA member.
RNZ Pacific has seen
minutes taken from a PNA summit in November that included an
“expression of regret at Tokelau’s situation with New
Zealand”, but did not outline any clear path to readmit
Tokelau to the scheme.
“Tokelau’s latest update in
their letter to Parties was that New Zealand’s position was
not likely to change, which meant that Tokelau could no
longer operate as it used to.”
“Certain Parties were
already experiencing the effects of this in their dealings
with Tokelau which were now proving difficult; past
activities done in the past, such as trading of days were
now proving difficult to undertake with
Tokelau.”
Shortly after this was reported, the minutes
were removed from the PNA website.
A Tokelau
government spokesperson refused to comment, calling the
matter “sensitive”.
An MFAT spokesperson said New
Zealand is voicing its support for Tokelau at regional
fora.
“Tokelau is seeking readmission to the PNA
Vessel Day Scheme as a priority and is engaging with PNA
members directly.”
“The decision on Tokelau’s
readmission to the VDS is a matter for PNA Ministers to
consider.”
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