Coral reefs are among the most precious resources in the Pacific. They feed families, protect coastlines from storms and waves, and hold cultural heritage. Yet these ecosystems face a growing threat from climate change and human pressures. Palau knows this intimately. Palau reefs are some of the most diverse and resilient in the world — […]
Tag: Pacific Ocean
Posted inPacific News
Deep Sea Mining could leave countries liable: Civil Society warns Pacific Leaders
By Pita Ligaiula in Koror, Palau KOROR, 31 AUGUST 2026 (PACNEWS)—Pacific civil society organisations are maintaining their call for a ban on deep sea mining, warning Pacific leaders that seabed extraction could expose countries to major legal, financial and environmental liabilities. The warning was made during a civil society interview at the Pacific Media Workshop […]
Posted inOpinion
Tonga’s future is unfolding in Antarctic waters
By H.E. the Honorable Lord Fakafanua, Prime Minister of Tonga When Pacific leaders meet, we speak for nations whose futures are inseparable from the ocean. Yet some of the decisions affecting our people are made thousands of kilometres away, in negotiating rooms where Pacific countries are few and Large Ocean States are wholly absent. Tonga […]
Posted inPacific News
CNMI leader urges caution as U.S advances Pacific seabed mining plan
SAIPAN, 20 AUGUST 2026 (RNZ PACIFIC)—The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Governor David Apatang says protecting Pacific waters and island communities must come first as the United States moves ahead with plans that could eventually open a vast area of seabed around the Mariana Trench to mineral development. The U.S Marine Minerals Administration, […]
Posted inPacific News
Pacific Civil Society calls for Ocean protection, demilitarisation and regional control
SUVA, 20 AUGUST 2026 (PACNEWS)—Pacific civil society and regional leaders have called for stronger Pacific control over decisions affecting the ocean, rejecting deep-sea mining and warning against growing militarisation, economic exploitation and external pressures on the region. The call was made at the inaugural State of the Pacific Ocean Convening (SOTPOC) in Suva, where Pacific […]
Posted inPacific News
Operation Island Chief identifies 16 vessels of interest in major regional surveillance effort against illegal fishing
HONIARA, 17 AUGUST 2026 (FFA)—Sixteen vessels of interest (VOIs) were identified during Operation Island Chief 2026 (OPIC26), one of the higher numbers recorded in recent FFA coordinated regional surveillance operations, as Members and partners stepped up fisheries monitoring activities across the region. The two-week long operation, coordinated by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) […]