Of the US $3.4 billion earned every year from the Pacific fishing industry, island nations reap only 5 to 6 percent, according to Greenpeace.

Greenpeace Activists made the revelation at a workshop in Port Villa, Vanuatu ahead of the Pacific Islands Leaders Forum which gets underway later today.

Greenpeace activists Lagi Toribau and Seini Nabou said most of this revenue is earned through licensing fees for foreign ships to fish in local waters and that Pacific nations deserve a portion of the huge income foreign countries bring in from local fish stocks.

They say it is like bringing people into our house without them paying.

Greenpeace also said at the same time Island nations have to deal with depleting resources due to overfishing by these boats, especially tuna stocks as the Pacific catch account for about half of the world's total.

Toribau said that some of the boats that fish in the Pacific region cannot be regulated by governments because they fall outside the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zones of the Islands.

According to Greenpeace there are four major high sea pockets in the Pacific area and they are calling for the closure of these areas because while two have successfully been protected from commercial exploitation, efforts are ongoing to further protect two other areas in the North Western Pacific.

"Greenpeace is also monitoring the works of other sea activities such as deep sea mining and the impacts of this on sea life," added Nabou.

The issues highlighted will be presented to the Pacific Islands leaders at the Forum today and tomorrow.

Story by: Roneel Lal