A private members bill will be introduced into the country's parliament banning all purse seiners from fishing in PNG's waters, be they super or not.
But fishing authorities there say the move is unnecessary and would be economically disastrous.
PNG correspondent Liam Fox reports
Presenter: Liam Fox
Speaker:Ken Fairweather, the member for Sumkar on PNG's north coast, Sylvester Pokajam, the managing director of the National Fisheries Authority
FOX: In Papua New Guinea many people in coastal and island areas depend on the sea to feed their families or to earn a living by selling their catch at the local market.
But Ken Fairweather, the member for Sumkar on PNG's north coast, says they're finding it harder and harder to catch fish.
FAIRWEATHER: It's very difficult now in the coastal waters to catch anything, it's very difficult. The people are truly suffering and in many cases, it's their real only source of protein.
FOX: Mr Fairweather blames the mostly foreign fishing boats that deploy large purse seine nets that can catch entire schools of fish like tuna and mackerel.
FAIRWEATHER: Purse seiners are the danger to the species, I mean not only tuna, but everything else because they collect everything else, whereas Pole tuna takes less stock and doesn't harm the other species in the sea. These purse seiners take everything.
FOX: He says not only are purse seiners environmentally destructive but there's little financial benefits that come from allowing them to fish in PNG waters.
FAIRWEATHER: None of the provinces or the districts get any money or any return whatsoever. It's just money that's wasted in Port Moresby by the National Fishing Authority.
FOX: Mr Fairweather looked on with interest as the Australian government rushed legislation into parliament last week to prevent the super trawler Abel Tasman from operating in Australian waters.
He wants to go a step further and says he'll introduce legislation to ban all purse seiners whether they're super or not.
FAIRWEATHER: A private members bill is aimed at protecting the fishing waters of PNG, aimed at protecting the fish stock.
POKAJAMl: If he says that he is going to ban purse seine fishing in PNG waters, then we're going to lose it. You use economic opportunities, because PNG contributes about 10 per cent of the world tuna catch.
FOX: Sylvester Pokajam is the managing director of the National Fisheries Authority, the body charged with managing PNG's marine resources.
He says commercial fishing is sustainable thanks to a range of measures including caps on fishing days, vessel observers and by catch monitoring.
Mr Pokajam says if there was a ban purse seiners would simply follow migratory species like tuna elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean and fish for them there.
Most of the fish caught here are sent overseas for processing but moves are underway to establish a massive cannery precinct near Madang, on PNG's North coast.
Mr Pokajam says a ban on purse seiners is not only unnecessary but would endanger efforts to add value to the fish caught in PNG waters.
POOKAJAM: It's going to be a huge loss, a massive loss for Papua New Guinea in terms of employment because at the moment we are getting towards bringing in more employment, especially for women, as we put more build more processing plants.
FOX: It looks like it will be some time before the Mr Fairweather's proposed ban could become a reality.
He says he only has the support of around 30 MPs in the 111-seat parliament.
