[hdvideo id=290]
By Rolynda Jonathan
A tale about a community whose tuna were lost through unsustainable development won Chelcia Gomese of Solomon Islands first prize for the Parties to Nauru Agreement (PNA) 2013 World Tuna Day contest.
In the short story titled “When seagulls soar the seas again”, Gomese described the small village of Vella la Vella’s dependence on tuna, how the resources were lost through unsustainable development and their return years later.
A poem titled “Drifting canoes” describing the experience of tuna fishing landed Christopher Usuka of Papua New Guinea the runner up prize of $1,000 dollars. A second runner up was awarded to Yvonne Neth of the Federated States of Micronesia for her unique artwork portraying the sadness of overfishing.
Last year, Palau’s Kambes Kesolei won the contest with his short story titled “Tuna, a fish with a special place in my heart”.
A booklet will be released at the Pacific Tuna Forum in September featuring the best entries form each of the PNA member countries.