Oceans cover 71% of our planet and we all rely on them: for our water, our food, our climate, our air. Nearly half of the World's population depends directly on the sea for their livelihoods. Today oceans are suffering from pollution, overexploitation, coastal degradation and climate change.

To respond to these issues, in 2017, at the “Our Oceans Conference” hosted by the European Union in Malta, the EU and the Government of Sweden launched the European Union Marine Partnership programme (PEUMP). This partnership is implemented in 15 Pacific countries and is supported by 45 million € of EU funding, including a 10 million € contribution by the Swedish Government.

The Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) will support the sustainable management of fisheries, food security and blue growth in the Pacific region, in line with the Regional Roadmap for Sustainable Pacific Fisheries. It will be implemented over six years by regional organisations, in close cooperation with competent authorities from the 15 beneficiary countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. Read more