Marine fishery resources of the Pacific Islands

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 537

by
Robert GILLETT
Fisheries Specialist
FAO Consultant Lami, Fiji

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Rome 2010

ABSTRACT

Gillett, R.
Marine fishery resources of the Pacific Islands.
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 537. Rome, FAO. 2010. 58p.

This document updates and expands an earlier review by FAO of the marine fishery resources of the Pacific Islands (Gillett, 2005a). The Pacific Islands region consists of 14 independent countries and 8 territories located in the western and central Pacific Ocean. In this area, there are about 200 high islands and some 2 500 low islands and atolls.

The main categories of marine fishing in the area are:

Offshore (oceanic)fishing. This type of fishing is undertaken mainly by large, industrial-scale fishing vessels. Approximately 1 500 of these vessels operate in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Pacific Island countries, mainly using purse-seine, longline and pole-and-line gear to catch tuna.
Coastal fishing. This type of fishing can be divided into three categories: (1) small-scale commercial fishing (also referred to as "artisanal"), which can be further broadly subdivided into those operations supplying domestic markets and those operations producing export commodities; (2) subsistence fisheries, which support rural economies and are extremely important to the region's nutrition and food security; and (3) the industrial-scale shrimp fisheries, which in the region only occur in Papua New Guinea.

The region's fishery resources can be broadly split into two main categories: oceanic (offshore) and coastal (inshore). Oceanic or offshore resources include tunas, billfish and allied species. They are characterized by an open-water pelagic habitat and potentially extensive individual movements. Coastal or inshore resources include a wide range of finfish and invertebrates. They are characterized by their shallow-water habitats or demersal life-styles, and restriction of individual movements to coastal areas. This paper discusses these two resource categories. Information is provided on the major types of fishing, the important species, the status of those resources and the fisheries management that occurs.

In general, the coastal fishery resources are heavily fished and often show signs of overexploitation, especially in areas close to population centres and for fishery products in demand by the rapidly-growing Asian economies. With respect to the status of oceanic fishery resources, it is clear that there is most concern with bigeye. By contrast, the skipjack resource is in relatively good condition, with the large, recent catches considered to be sustainable.

CONTENTS

Preparation of this document Abstract Acknowledgements Acronyms and abbreviations
Introduction
1. The Pacific Islands region
2. Fishery statistics in the region
		Coastal fishery statistics Offshore fishery statistics
3. Main categories of fisheries in the region
	Offshore fisheries Coastal fisheries
4. Coastal fishery resources
		Sources of information on coastal fishery resources Important coastal fishery resources Important types of coastal fishing Export products from coastal commercial fisheries Status of coastal fishery resources Management of coastal fishery resources Some important issues relating to coastal fishery resources and their management
5. Offshore fishery resources
		Sources of information on offshore fishery resources Important offshore fishery resources Important types of offshore fishing Some benefits from offshore fishing in the Pacific Islands area Status of the exploited offshore fishery resources Management of offshore fishery resources Some important issues relating to offshore fishery resources and their management
References

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ISBN 978-92-5-106512-9

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