The Autonomous Region of Bougainville is located in the tropical waters of the Coral Triangle, one of eight major coral reef zones in the world and a global center of marine biodiversity for species like manta rays and sea turtles. It consists of two main islands, but also several atolls including remote places like Nissan, the Carterets, the Takuu Atoll, the Nuguria Islands and the Nukumanu Islands. Home to some of the most remote Melanesian and Polynesian communities in the world, the islands are internationally known as “the sinking islands” due to rising sea levels from climate change.

Climate change and illegal fishing pose major threats to the people of Bougainville, especially as subsistence and artisanal fishing are a pillar of the economy.

Since the conclusion of the ten-year long civil conflict known as the Bougainville Crisis through the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 2001, Bougainville is recognized as an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea (PNG) that—unlike the provinces of the rest of PNG—has its own policing authority within internal waters.

In 2019, the people of Bougainville voted overwhelmingly for independence from Papua New Guinea, the results of which currently await ratification by the parliament of PNG.

Under the MoU, signed by President Ishmael Toroama and the Honorable John Bosco Ragu, Minister for Police, Sea Shepherd’s 54.6-meter vessel Allankay will accommodate a detachment from the Bougainville Police Service and the ABG Department of Primary Industry and Marine Resources, with the authority to board, inspect and arrest fishing vessels engaged in criminal activity in the internal waters of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

Sea Shepherd Global is grateful for the introduction made to the Autonomous Government of Bougainville by Mr. Brent Thomson and Mr. Bruce Mita.

“Sea Shepherd Global is proud to partner with the Autonomous Bougainville Government during this historic moment of transition from pre-independence to self-determination. When Bougainville achieves independence, the county’s maritime domain will be greater than its land area, making at-sea patrols like those made possible by Allankay essential for deterring illegal activity in the world’s newest country”, said Peter Hammarstedt, Sea Shepherd Global’s Director of Campaigns. 

Earlier this year, Tuvalu Police Service officers stationed on board the Allankay patrolled the waters of Tuvalu under the direction of the government of Tuvalu, launching Sea Shepherd Global’s first government partnership in the South Pacific.

Since 2016, Sea Shepherd Global has collaborated with governments around the African continent, assisting eight country partners—Gabon, Liberia, Tanzania, The Gambia, Benin, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone and Namibia—to arrest 99 vessels for illegal fishing and other fisheries crimes. 

For more information about Sea Shepherd Global’s campaigns against IUU fishing, visit: https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/our-campaigns/