SolomonStar reports that this was revealed to the Guadalcanal premier in a meeting with Guangdong officials in China early this month.
The Premier traveled to China early this month to follow up on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on fisheries agreement signed in 2009 between the two provinces.
He said during the meeting he met with Guangdong People’s Association for Friendship with foreign countries, a group that deals with the foreign relations to discuss the MOU.
“The outcome of the meeting held with the Guangdong officials and representatives from private sectors is that China had asked to assist the fisheries sector in Guadalcanal,” Mr Veke said.
He said after the MOU was signed in 2009 there has been a lack of communication between the two provinces to fulfill the agreement.
However he said the meeting have settled on the decision to develop the fisheries sector in Guadalcanal Province which Guangdong agrees to assists Guadalcanal with.
He said the province have already submitted in details to China in terms of fishing in the Guadalcanal Province waters.
“I’ve met and discussed with our fisheries officers about the sector and have already submitted details about the two existing fisheries centres in Guadalcanal, Lambi and Marau to China,” he said.
He said they soon came to settle on a deal for Guangdong officials to visit Guadalcanal, and agreed to send their boats to fish in the Solomon Islands.
Mr Veke highlighted an agreement was also decided on how to train Guadalcanal fisheries officers to maintain the fisheries sectors in the province.
He said they submited the needs of training, needed to develop the fisheries sectors in Guadalcanal Province.
“Under the fisheries sector there is a plan to develop aquaculture in the province so we need skills, knowledge and technical people to maintain these areas,” he said.
He outlined the needs of training including the development of fishery sectors, refrigerator training, safety, skills on aquaculture development and the possibility of farming sea cucumber.
Mr Veke said these were the areas of investment they looked at and discussed which aline with the provincial policy that was launched this year.
China Develops Fisheries In Solomon Islands
CHINA and SOLOMON ISLANDS - China has asked the Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal Province (GP) Premier, Anthony Veke, to help develop the fisheries sectors in Guadalcanal Province.
