Kiribati celebrates the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022

The Kiribati Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with INFOFISH and The Pacific Community (SPC) joined efforts to organize a side event to promote the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (IYAFA 2022). The celebration took place on 25 August 2022, on the sidelines of the 19th Regional Fisheries Forum Meeting held on Tarawa, Kiribati. The side event promoted IYAFA 2022 and its key messages to the high-level delegations which included regional Fisheries Ministers and distinguished delegates from 13 Pacific countries.

Mr Michael Savins, CTA for the FishFAD project in the FAO Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands (FAO SAP) provided opening remarks and the Director of Coastal Fisheries Division in Kiribati, Ms Tooreka Temari gave a presentation outlining the importance of celebrating IYAFA 2022. Mr Ekueta Ieremia, one of the country’s leading artisanal fishers spoke passionately about his life as an artisanal fisher and as boat builder in Kiribati.

The Fisheries Ministers and other delegates visited the IYAFA 2022 booth where they were presented with an assortment of IYAFA 2022 branded communications and knowledge management materials as well as packs of boutique packaged tuna jerky. They were all very impressed with the taste of the tuna sausages and tuna samosas that were also available at the booth. All tuna products were made by community fish processing activities and tuna was caught by small-scale artisanal fishers. Te Keang ni Marawa (translates as Grass of the Sea), a traditional dance troupe, performed several traditional dances for the occasion. Each delegate received a "te itera," a unique floral garland made in the tradition of Kiribati, as part of the greeting dance.

The “small-scale fisheries and aquaculture” booth featured a fisher mending a flying fish net and a two-person outrigger canoe among other items. In the backdrop, educational videos were playing on two big screens. With such high-level regional Fisheries Ministers and officials showing tremendous responsiveness and interest, the event was considered very successful . Celebrating IYAFA 2022 acknowledges the millions of small-scale fishers, fish farmers and fish workers who provide healthy and nutritious food to billions of people and contribute to achieving Zero Hunger.