Pacific Island Countries have rallied their support behind an initiative of the Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC) to set up a working group on marine and oceans services.
The other working group of PMC is on Education, Training and Research.
The new working group was created by Friends of the Chair of the Third Pacific Meteorological Council meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, in response to concerns about lives lost at sea possibly from weather related activities and issues related marine forecasting services.
The PMC Marine and Ocean Services Panel will call on volunteers from within the membership and partners to develop its Terms of Reference of the working group.
Director of Papua New Guinea’s Meteorology Service, Sam Maiha said his country supported the initiative because of the need to ensure the safety at sea of all Pacific Islanders.
“Initiatives such as the working group, now a recognised body within the PMC, will work towards keeping our people safe. Their Terms of Reference is yet to be worked out but it is a good start to dealing with maritime and oceans observations and forecasting for the meteorological community,” said Maiha.
However, national governments need to bring all the stakeholders together to discuss ways they can collaborate to fulfill their mandates.
Maiha was referring to state and private agencies like the National Met Service, National Maritime Safety Authority, Fisheries and shipping services to come together to map out how they can use their available resources, manpower, equipment and funding to support maritime and ocean safety.
“We realise that if we are to save lives, then the Met Service and other relevant agencies like the Maritime Safety Authority, Fisheries and Shipping Service must work together and co-ordinate their activities.”
“Our mandate is that we know the sciences for weather and climate prediction and we need to translate that to save lives.”
Maiha said PNG has had a number of major tragedies at sea, the latest was the Rabaul Queen that sank in February 2012 claiming more than 300 lives.
“Just this week, eight people are missing at sea in Milne Bay. The missing includes six primary school students. We see more of these tragedies often in the Pacific.”
“It is our role as National Met Service to put in place a plan that can help minimise the lives lost at sea from weather related activities,” said Maiha.
During the conference, Tonga and Cook Islands raised concerns of the many lives lost at sea.
Tonga’s director of Met Service, Ofa Fa’anunu said 74 people have died at sea in the past decade, more than those that died from natural disasters.
Similarly, the director of Cook Islands Met Service, Arona Ngari said he was concerned because hundreds of people will be converging on Rarotonga later this year to celebrate the island’s 50th year anniversary. Most of these people will travel from the outer islands to the capital.
“We must not overlook the safety of our people who rely on maritime transportation, said Ngari.