Using the information in Butcher 2004 (Butcher, John G. 2004. The Closing of the Frontier: A History of the marine fisheries of Southeast Asia c.1850-2000. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, 442 pp) and other sources, a review of the history of development of the major industrial marine fisheries in Southeast Asia has been undertaken. The production methods and...

In general, the Pacific Islands increase in size from east to west. Most islands rise steeply from the deep ocean floor and have very little underwater shelf area. Coral reefs characteristically surround the islands, either close to the shore (fringing reef) or further offshore (barrier reef), in which case a coastal lagoon is enclosed. The area includes many atolls, which...

Nine out of every ten of the world's 30 million people who make a living directly from fishing live in Asia and some 80 percent of them are small-scale fisherfolk. However, the food and livelihood needs of a growing population are running up against limited fishery resources, which are fast depleting in most coastal regions of Asia. This...