16th & 17th May 2017

A 2 days workshop was held at the Ministry of Fisheries for reviewing of Special Management Areas (SMA) in Tonga conducted by the FAO and the Ministry of Fisheries on the 16th and 17th of May.

As the Honourable Minister for MAFFF, Hon. Semisi Tauelangi Fakahau mentioned in his opening speech regarding the SMA "This is very important and of course as you all know it is one of the most successful activities of the Ministry of Fisheries. It didn't just start but it started sometimes back then and with the Australian government as the initiative it started going, and we know up to now we know how successful this project is going."

The purpose of the workshop is to review the status of new established and existing SMAs in Tonga. The Special Management Areas (SMA) is an ongoing activity and the Ministry is hoping that from 2015 to the end of June 2017, a total of 16 SMAs to be established in Tonga.

 

Consultants from FAO conducted the review and several participants participated including representatives from other government Ministries, Non-Government Organizations (NGO), Ridge to Reef (R2R), Tonga Health Project, town officers as well as the Staffs of the Ministry.