Fishing industry in the Marshall Islands adjacent to the Marshall Islands Exclusive Economic Zone. The fishery is composed primarily of Chinese-flagged vessels, which are based out of Majuro in the Marshall Islands; there were 11 vessels participating in this high seas fishery in late 2012. There is limited information available on catch levels and rates of taxa that are vulnerable to overexploitation due to their life history characteristics and susceptibility to capture in pelagic longline gear, due to low onboard observer coverage rates. For seabird interactions, based on analysis of Secretariat of the Pacific Community-held observer program data, from 1995-2009, in 203 observed trips, one seabird
Government of the Marshall Islands Nitijela. The upper house of Parliament, called the Council of Iroij, is an advisory body comprising twelve tribal chiefs. The Nitijela has 33 members, elected for a four-year term in 19 single-seat and five multi-seat constituencies. Members are called Senators. The Legislature was last elected 17 November 2011 without the participation of parties, though part of the members could be members of the AKA and United Democratic Party. The twenty-four electoral districts into which the country is divided correspond to the inhabited islands and atolls. There are currently four political parties in the Marshall Islands: Aelon Kein Ad (AKA), Kien