Negotiations this week in Brisbane, Australia have failed to produce a new long term South Pacific Tuna Treaty agreement between the United States and 17 Pacific Island nations — members of the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA). The treaty allows the US purse seiner fleet to fish in the exclusive economic zones of FFA members within terms of the agreement.

At the conclusion of the three-day meeting Wednesday (Australia time), the parties failed to reach an agreement that would renew the Tuna Treaty, according to a media statement from San Diego based South Pacific Tuna Corporation, whose executive director J. Douglas Hines, and business partner Max Chou attended the meetings along with representatives and owners of the U.S Fleet.

Although participants worked late into the night Wednesday, there remain material obstacles to reaching a term agreement, the statement notes, but didn’t provide further details of “material obstacles.”

However, members of the U.S. State Department, and U.S. Commerce did agree at the eleventh hour to accept an interim agreement for 2016 in coordination with representative members of the Pacific Island Parties, FFA, and fisheries executives of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, the statement notes.

Additionally, the Pacific Island Parties (PIPs) have committed to present to their leadership in the coming weeks a longer term plan with the hope to salvage the existing agreement. (The current Tuna Treaty agreement is worth $90 million, paid by the US, and covers only 2015.)

Hines says State Department officials did a tremendous job to bring a conclusion to a six-year process in which they have worked diligently over time. “That said, all parties must have a desire to continue this relationship for this effort to be successful; and that did not appear to be the case,” he said.

Brian Hallman, executive director of the American Tunaboat Association added: “We don’t know what the lack of a U.S. Treaty arrangement will mean to the future of the US Fleet, its processors who rely on our supply in [American] Samoa, or the other canneries on the Mainland, our service providers and employees.”

“This remains a dramatic and challenging issue; our industry has a lot of work ahead of us,” he said.

According to South Pacific Tuna Corp leadership, there remains an opportunity for the process to continue, but that opportunity is now in the hands of the Pacific Island Nations. “We do have some time,” said Mr. Hines, “but it appears to be quickly slipping away.”

Terms of the 2016 agreement were not disclosed.

Hallman didn’t immediately response to Samoa News email questions and request for comments on the outcome of the treaty meeting.