These Regulations are intended to promote sustainable development, food security, and the sustainable management of fishing activities in Palau s waters by: (I) creating economic returns, employment generation, and export earnings from the sustainable harvesting of tuna and tuna-like species; (II) encouraging the development of domestic fishing industries and a local tuna market; (III) exercising appropriate control over the foreign and domestic tuna fishery in the Republic; (IV) enhancing data collection and monitoring of the tuna fishery in the Republic; (V) ensuring that the tuna fishery does not harm the health of the Republic s pelagic ecosystems and species of conservation concern, including bycatch species such as sharks, rays, turtles, and seabirds; (VI) promoting the effective and efficient administration and management of the longline and purse seine tuna fishery; (VII) adopting measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of highly migratory fish stocks that are based on the best available science and designed to maintain or restore stocks at levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield, as qualified by relevant environmental and economic factors, and taking into account fishing patterns and the interdependence of stocks; and (VIII) applying a precautionary approach and an ecosystem based management approach in accordance with international standards and any Convention, access agreement or fisheries management agreement to which the Republic is a party. These Regulations shall apply to all fishing vessels engaging in fishing activities targeting tuna and tuna-like species in Palau s waters and all commercial exports of fish from Palau s waters.