Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission

Living aquatic resources play a fundamental role in sustaining the livelihoods of many of the rural poor in Asia, providing crucial buffers to shock and food insecurity, and offering opportunities for diverse and flexible forms of income generation. As with any production-based intervention, the poorest groups face significant constraints to entry into aquaculture. However, aquaculture offers many opportunities for livelihood benefits that other sectors do not. Aquaculture technologies appropriate for poor people are now largely in place. Emphasis must therefore be given to more effective extension of low-cost technologies, appropriate management practices and securing rights of access and control, rather than technical research. This report provides a background to the issues of focusing aquaculture on poverty alleviation based on the conclusions of an expert consultation which was organized in order to provide field-level professionals in Asia with a unique opportunity to come together to share experiences on working in the field of poverty alleviation and aquaculture, and to prepare a platform for future networking.

A pictorial guide illuistrating some common issues related to local fishing boat construction. This is related to post tsunami rehabilitation efforts.

The Asian region accounts for about 50 percent of global wild capture fisheries production and about 90 percent of aquaculture production. The sustainable management of these fisheries resources, therefore, is an activity of global importance as well as being critical to countries of the region. However, the history of exploitation of wild fish stocks of the region has been one of sequential overexploitation, open access fisheries and low profitability. Despite this history, there has been a growing recognition in recent years of the need to manage fish stocks for long-term sustainability. This regional synthesis summarizes information, based on responses to questionnaires sent to 15 countries of the region and previously available information, on the current status of the management of fishing capacity and how countries of the region are addressing illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing by both national and foreign fleets. National Plans of Action (NPOAs) on fishing capacity in the region are now more common than in 2002 and some progress has been reported in attempting to assess fishing capacity in major fisheries, particularly small-scale fisheries. In addition, the number of specific capacity reduction programmes undertaken in the region has increased since 2002, again with the emphasis on small-scale fisheries.

However, the effectiveness, on a regional scale, of these initiatives is not yet apparent since fishing capacity in both industrial scale and small-scale fisheries has continued to rise in the region and is now, on average, 12.5 percent above 2002 levels. Production has also decreased in the majority of fisheries for which data were provided. A lack of policy and operational tools in the region was highlighted by many countries, with only 50 percent of the major fisheries having management plans. Methods for measuring fishing capacity, such as vessel licensing systems or census data, and catch and effort data systems are often being poorly developed and monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) capabilities generally inadequate. IUU remains a major issue to be addressed although the recent Asia-Pacific Fisheries Commission (APFIC)

A study of the fisheries post-harvest and market supply chains in Nias island, North Sumatera province, Indonesia

The post-harvest overview (PHO) of Nias was undertaken as a starting point for the project in order to develop a good understanding of the Nias post-harvest sector both to help the project development and, in the long term, to inform and support the long-term planning and development processes on the island.

The Nias Post-Harvest Overview (PHO) is expected to provide: an understanding of how the sector contributes to national development objectives; the characteristics of the supply, processing and consumption of fish; the changes which are taking place in the subsector and their impacts on the local livelihoods; and a description of the institutions and interventions which support the subsector. The potential for improvement in each of these areas are highlighted in order to facilitate implementing suitable interventions.

The Fisheries Post-Harvest and Marketing Systems for Fisheries Products Project in Nias, Indonesia, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN), focuses on improving the livelihoods of the fishers and traders involved in post-harvest and marketing activities in Nias Island.

This review by the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) examines the trends in fisheries and aquaculture policy in selected countries in Asia. The analysis is based on national policy documents and relevant literature as well as feedback from fisheries officials/experts in the region. The review assesses the policy status and trends relating to the use of development and/or management targets, natural resource management issues, financial, economic and marketing issues, and socio-economic and poverty issues. Some of the specific policy issues examined to see whether they are included in policy documents were: co-management; exploitation of offshore fisheries by local fleets; marine protected areas; subsidies; increases in value-added and exports; poverty reduction; and the use of alternative livelihoods. Individual country information was analysed to generate a regional synthesis of fisheries and aquaculture policy content and direction in the region, and the key drivers for change.

The review highlights the differences in fisheries and aquaculture policy between countries, but also reveals a surprising degree of similarity between main policy directions, the issues included, and the strategies being used to manage the sector. Many countries

Gillett, R. (2011). Fisheries of the Pacific Islands: Regional and national information. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP publication 2011/03, 279 pages.

The Pacific Island region consists of fourteen independent countries and eight territories located in the western and central Pacific Ocean. These comprise about 200 high islands and some 2 500 low islands and atolls. Coastal fishing is of fundamental importance in the Pacific Islands. Much of the region’s nutrition, welfare, culture, employment, and recreation are based on the living resources in the zone between the shoreline and the outer reefs. The continuation of current lifestyles, the opportunities for future development and food security are all highly dependent on coastal fisheries resources.

Although dwarfed in both volume and value by the offshore tuna fisheries, the Pacific Island fisheries that are based on coastal resources provide most of the non-imported fish supplies to the region. Coastal fisheries harvest a very diverse range of finfish, invertebrates and algae. Unlike the tuna fishery, virtually all the coastal catch is undertaken by Pacific Islanders themselves, with very little access by foreign fishing vessels.

In contrast to the coastal fisheries, offshore fishing is dominated by large industrial-scale fishing vessels. Approximately 1 500 of these vessels operate in the EEZs of Pacific Island countries, mainly using purse seine, longline, and pole-and-line gear to catch tuna. There are about 327 vessels operated by national operations and approximately 1 200 foreign-based vessels operating in the waters of Pacific Island countries. It is important to note that the license fees paid to Pacific Island countries by these foreignbased vessels is substantial, and in some countries represents the major source of government revenue.

Statistics and information are of variable quality in the region. This publication attempts a significant effort to consolidate a variety of sources into a single coherent review. As such it is a timely contribution to our general understanding of the status of the fisheries in the Pacific Islands. The region’s fishery resources can be broadly split into two main categories: oceanic, and coastal or inshore. Oceanic resources include tunas, billfish and allied species. They are characterized by an open-water pelagic habitat, 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 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. The report also provides information on the fisheries in the 14 independent Pacific Island countries in following categories:
– General geographic and economic data
– Fisheries data
– Fishery sector structure
– Post-harvest use
– Fishery sector performance
– Fishery sector development
– Fishery sector institutions
– General legal framework

These guidelines for fisheries co-management are important steps towards building the technical capacity to manage capture fisheries and conserve aquatic biodiversity in Lao PDR. The guidelines are the result of collaboration between Department of Livestock and Fisheries and the WWF. The steps outlined in this book are based upon the field experience of these partners in the development and extension of fisheries co-management in Lao PDR.

The importance of living aquatic resources to the people of Lao PDR is increasingly well understood. Their role is woven into the culture food and tradition of Loa people from every part of the country and each of its eco-regions. Lao PDR?s fisheries resources are an important source of nutritional quality in the diet as well as providing an important element of food security and source of income to the Lao People. The effective management of both fisheries and aquaculture is a critical need, as Lao PDR is rapidly changing its agriculture and water control systems. Declining fisheries resources as a result of increasing population pressures and environmental change are an increasing feature of the Lao landscape.

The Government of Lao PDR has recognized the need for a national legal framework to be developed to enable the effective management of fisheries and aquaculture and requested the Department of Livestock and Fisheries to undertake this task. This review forms a background document to a legal review process for fisheries and aquaculture in Lao PDR. The output of this process has been the development of a draft framework for fisheries and aquaculture for further development into national legislation.

This manual provides information on the farming of Macrobrachium rosenbergii. Many of the techniques described are also applicable to other species of freshwater prawns that are being cultured. The manual is not a scientific text but is intended to be a practical guide to in-hatchery and on-farm management. The target audience is therefore principally farmers and extension workers. However, it is also hoped that, like the previous manual on this topic, it will be useful for lecturers and students alike in universities and other institutes that provide training in aquaculture.

Shrimp farming is one of the fastest growing aquaculture sectors in many parts of the world and also one of the most controversial. Rapid expansion of this sector generated income for many countries, but has been accompanied by rising concerns over environmental and social impacts. The International Principles for Responsible Shrimp Farming provide the basis upon which stakeholders can collaborate for a more sustainable development of shrimp farming. The International Principles have been developed by the Consortium on Shrimp farming and the Environment, which consists of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA), the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP/GPA), the World Bank (WB) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The principles address issues including:
* Farm siting.
* Farm design.
* Water use.
* Broodstock and postlarvae.
* Feed management.
* Health management.
* Food safety.
* Social responsibility.

This document contains the report of the FAO/APFIC Regional Workshop on Port State Measures toCombat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing for the South Asian Subregion, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 10 to 13 February 2009. The objective of the Workshop was to develop national capacity and promote bilateral, subregional and/or regional coordination so that countries would be better placed to strengthen and harmonize port State measures and, as a result, implement further the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, the 2005 FAO Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the Chairperson’s Draft Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, if and when it enters into force.

AO. Report of the FAO Regional Workshop on the Elaboration of National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing − South Asian Subregion. Bangkok, Thailand, 19–23 June 2006. FAO Fisheries Report. No. 809. Rome, FAO. 2006. 68p.

This document contains the report of, and the papers presented at, the FAO Regional Workshop on the Elaboration of National Plans of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing − South Asian Subregion, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 19 to 23 June 2006. The purpose of the Workshop was to assist countries in the subregion to develop capacity to elaborate national plans of action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (NPOAs–IUU). The Workshop addressed issues relating to the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA–IUU) and the FAO Fisheries Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries No. 9 that have been developed to support the implementation of the IPOA–IUU; decision-making about IUU fishing and skills enhancement through the identification of key issues relating to the elaboration of NPOAs–IUU, the primary vehicle by which the IPOA–IUU will be implemented by countries. Working groups were formed to encourage maximum participation in the Workshop. A review of the major IUU fishing problems in the region and their possible solutions were discussed.

The world’s dependence on the capture fisheries and aquaculture sector is threatened not only by misuse of these aquatic resources but also by factors external to the sector, such as pollution runoff, land use transformation, other aquatic resources uses and climatic changes. As significant coastal inhabitants (whether riparian, lacustrine or marine), fishers and fish-farmers are particularly vulnerable to the direct and indirect impacts of predicted climatic changes including changes in physical environments and ecosystems, fish stocks, infrastructure and fishing operations, and livelihoods.

FAO, in recognizing the likely changes to come and the interactions between fisheries and aquaculture, agriculture, and forestry and these changes, held a High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy at FAO headquarters in Rome, from 3 to 5 June 2008.1 This Conference addressed food security and poverty reduction issues in the face of climate change and energy security. The FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department (FI) held an Expert Workshop on Climate Change Implications for Fisheries and Aquaculture, from 7 to 9 April 2008, in order to provide the FAO Conference with a coherent and high quality understanding of the fisheries and aquaculture climate change issues. This Workshop provided inputs into the High-Level Conference and also constitutes a response to the request from the twenty-seventh session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) that “FAO should undertake a scoping study to identify the key issues on climate change and fisheries, initiate a discussion on how the fishing industry can adapt to climate change, and for FAO to take a lead in informing fishers and policy-makers about the likely consequences of climate change for fisheries".

The Expert Workshop identified and reviewed the key issues of climate change in relation to fisheries and aquaculture, from the physical changes, the impacts of those on aquatic resources and ecosystems and how these ecological impacts translate into human dimensions of coping and adapting within fisheries and aquaculture. The Workshop also evaluated policy options and activities at the international, regional and national levels that can help minimize negative impacts of climate change, improve on mitigation and prevention, and maintain and build adaptive capacity to climate change. This report includes an overview of the presentations and discussions held during the Expert Workshop and presents the conclusions and recommendations agreed upon by participants. Three background documents commissioned by FAO formed the basis for the technical discussions.