[Gov’t reiterates it would not lose revenues from Marine Sanctuary Plan] The Ministry of Environment and Tourism reiterated that Palau would not lose current revenue streams if it is successful to implementing the proposed Marine Sanctuary plan, and stressed that it could be far more profitable to close down 80 percent of the island national Exclusive Economic Zone. Minister of Environment and Tourism Umiich Sengebau during yesterday’s press conference assured that benefits from a Marine Sanctuary can replace revenues lost from banning commercial fishing in Palau. “It is not going to happen, in fact, there will be more opportunities for funding with the marine sanctuary plan,” he added. Earlier [President] Remengesau has said that the revenues Palau generates from allowing foreign commercial fishing in its waters is at least $5 Million annually, the amount also includes indirect revenues from fishing. Remengesau called fisheries money, “as a drop in the bucket,” which can easily be replaced by incorporating a fee on tourists into the cost of airline tickets, as proposed in the marine sanctuary legislation. Remengesau told reporters yesterday that if the government doubles the current green fee of $30, it could make up for the loss of revenues. The latest tourism numbers of Palau for 2014 showed that it registered an all-time high over 140,000 arrivals. He said raising the fee to at least $50 dollars and with the current tourism numbers Palau can earn over $5 million from the fees. Latest data from fishing license and access fees showed that as of August 15, 2014, Palau has made just over $400,000 from domestic based fishing fleet and Japanese fleets. Palau as a member of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement also benefits from its vessel day scheme (VDS), but the revenues from this depends on whether it can sell its fishing days. The Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) is an arrangement where vessel owners can purchase and trade days fishing at sea in places. As of August 2014, Palau has earned $2,250,000 under the VDS. The distributions of the VDS income are subject to appropriation law. Tia Belau New. January 15, 2015.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 01:03:26 +0000
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