Officers to learn fisheries laws - Fiji Times Online
POLICE officers in Fiji still lag in terms of enforcing the laws that protect fishing boundaries, including poaching issues, says World Wildlife Fund for Nature policy officer Alfred Ralifo. Speaking at a recent workshop in Labasa, he said police were still not sure of fisheries laws and failed to observe the legal processes required resulting in cases being dropped from court. "Police need more training on this issue and its provisions so that they can fully enforce it to prevent illegal fishing activities taking place in the North," Mr Ralifo said. Responding to the statement by Mr Ralifo, police chief operations officer Assistant Commissioner of Police Rusiate Tudravu said they were aware of the problem and they would deal with it by providing more training to their police officers. "We are training police officers in ensuring that our officers are well versed with the Fisheries Act and the powers that they have under the Act to prosecute offenders especially for ille...