Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission

Gillett, R. "The marine fisheries of Cambodia."FAO/FishCode Review. No. 4. Rome, FAO. 2004. 57p.

This review of the marine fisheries of Cambodia is based on in-country mission work carried out in early 2003 in order to: (a) describe the marine fishery sector; (b) identify opportunities, constraints, and paths to solutions for the sector; and (c) identify areas for follow-up investigation. Excess fishing effort and associated declines in abundance of target species are the most serious problems facing Cambodia

Using the information in Butcher (2004) 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 fisheries considered were: (a) pearling; (b) trawling; (c) purse seining; (d) shrimp trawling; (e) tuna longlining, poling and purse seining; (f) driftnetting; (g) trolling; and (h) other industrial fishing operations, including failed types of industrial fishing. For each of these production methods and fisheries, the main features of the history of development from about 1850 to the present day are highlighted with some commentary on their current status. In examining the history of fisheries development, the common feature is that of a boom-and- bust development where, one by one, stocks and habitats were exploited by new or improved fishing techniques to supply a rapidly increasing regional population and developing export markets. In all areas, this exploitation was done in an often uncontrolled, unregulated manner. When stocks were depleted by these new fishing methods, fleets moved on to the next area or stock. This sequential plunder also occurred across fisheres as the declining economic performance of one fishery spurred the transfer of vessels and fishers to a new, developing fishery (very often with government assistance) which in its turn also declined. For example, trawling began with sailed-powered beam trawlers operated by Japanese fishers in the early 1990s. With the change to diesel-powered vessels in the 1930s, concerns about the status of stocks were already being made and the fleet expanded into other trawl grounds in the Philippines. Japanese fleets were also active in waters around Taiwan Province of China, the South China Sea and the Tonkin Gulf off Viet Nam. The trawling technology was exported from the Philippines to Thailand by a joint Thai-German Government initiative in the early 1960s. This was so successful that soon demersal stocks in the Gulf of Thailand were under pressure and this led to an expansion of the fleet

Lymer D., Funge-Smith S., and Greboval D. (2009). The fishing fleet in Aceh Province, Indonesia. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2009/09, 39 pp.

The fishing fleet of Aceh Province (Provinsi Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) in Indonesia has been subject to much scrutiny over the last five years. In response to the impact of the tsunami in 2004 a considerable national and international effort has been directed to restoring the fishing fleet to pre-tsunami levels through a variety of fishing vessel building schemes. Furthermore, there have been complementary activities to assess the success of this fleet rehabilitation and development activity and associated issues.

The main characteristics of the fleet in Aceh Province, as found in the census, are that it comprises relatively newly built and highly motorized vessels, most of which have inboard engines. The fleet is largely privately owned and the vessels were acquired by private funding, although in 2005 and 2006 a large proportion of the new boats were provided by donors. The vessels mainly operate nearshore, between 0 and 3 nautical miles offshore, and are not usually equipped with navigation or communication equipment, although a large share of the larger vessels carry both. There are also minor differences between the east and west coast fleets. The fishing fleet in Aceh Province can be summarized as comprising largely small boats (average 3.2 GT) with relatively small motors (average 16 Hp). There is a general trend of these small boats being replaced by larger vessels and hence the fleet tonnage has increased in recent years.

This document provides an overview of the status of the fishing fleet in Aceh Province at the end of 2006 based on a fishing vessel census that was carried out in the province. It is hoped that this can be used as a reference in the sustainable restoration of the small-scale fisheries subsector in the province of Aceh, Indonesia.

Small pelagic resources and their fisheries in the Asia-Pacific region
Proceedings of the First Session of the APFIC Working Party on Marine Fisheries, Bangkok, Thailand, 13-16 May 1997
RAP Publication 1997-31

The publication contains the report of and the papers on small pelagic resources and their fisheries presented at the First Session of the APFIC Working Party on Marine Fisheries held in Bangkok, Thailand, 13 - 16 May 1997. The first section contains review on small pelagic resources and their fisheries in the Asia-Pacific region and the conclusion and recommendations of the Working Party, while the second section contains 11 papers presented and discussed at the Session. The third section are additional reports provided by the scientists of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Cochin, India, to fill the gap relevant to issues addressed, especially those, related to environmental factors and future collaborative activities.

Review of the Small Pelagic Resources and their Exploitation in the Asia-Pacific Region
P. Martosubroto
A Comparative Account of the Small Pelagic Fisheries in the APPIC Region
M. Devaraj and E. Vivekanandan
Conclusion and Recommendations of the Workshop
Small Pelagic Resources in Australia
C. O'Brien
Review of the Small Pelagic Resources and their Fisheries in the Chinese Waters
Q. Tang, X., L. Tong, Jin, F. Li,W. Jiang and X. Liang
Status, Prospects and Management of Small Pelagic Fisheries in India
M. Devaraj, K.N. Kurup, N.G. K. Pillai, K. Balan, E. Vivekanandan and R. Sathiadhas
Review of Small Pelagic Fisheries of Indonesia
J. Widodo
Review of the Small Pelagic Resources and their Fisheries in Japan
T. Wada
Small Pelagic Fish Resources and their Fisheries in Malaysia
Phaik-Ean Chee
Review of the Philippine Small Pelagic Resources and their Fisheries
R. Calvelo
Review of the Small Pelagic Fisheries of Sri Lanka
P. Dayaratne
Review of the Small Pelagic Resources and their Fisheries in the Gulf of Thailand
S. Chullasorn
Small Pelagic Fisheries in the South China Sea
H. Yanagawa
Fisheries Environment in the APFIC Region with Particular Emphasis on the Northern Indian Ocean
V.N. Pillai, M. Devaraj, and E. Vivekanandan
Stock Assessment Implications and Management Options for the Small Pelagics in the APFIC Region
M. Srinath and M. Devaraj
Regional Cooperation for Managing Marine Fish Stocks in the APFIC Region
M. Devaraj and E. Vivekanandan

Review of the state of world marine capture fisheries management: Pacific Ocean. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 488/1. Rome, FAO. 2007. 170p.

During the first half of the 1990s, in response to the increasing concern about many of the world

During the first half of the 1990s, in response to the increasing concern about many of the world

Gillett, R. (2002) Pacific island fisheries: Regional and country information, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP publication 2002/13, 168 pages.

This publication is based on information collected by two FAO-commissioned surveys during 2001 which reviewed the state of fisheries in the Pacific Islands, both on a regional basis as well as in each of the 14 independent countries. With exclusive economic zones (EEZs) spread across 30.5 million sq km/

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

Ebbers, T. & Gregory, R. (2008). Capacity development for improving the knowledge base for fisheries management in Southeast Asia

This paper explores the development of industrial fishing in the 22 countries and territories in the central and western Pacific Ocean. For the purpose of this short paper, industrial fishing is defined using large vessels, generally greater than 15 m in length, for fishing activity that is mainly carried out in offshore areas.

Industrial tuna fisheries produce about ten times the amount of fish being produced by all of the other fisheries of the region combined. Various forms of industrial tuna fishing were attempted in the past century, but only three types have enjoyed any degree of commercial success: purse-seining, longlining, and pole-and-line fishing.

The first substantive industrial fishing activities were those by the Japanese in the 1920s and 1930s in Micronesia. Following the destruction of fisheries infrastructure during World War II, little industrial fishing development occurred until the early 1950s when Japanese fishing activity resumed in Micronesia. Both Japan and the United States of America became active in establishing tuna bases in several parts of the Pacific Islands area in the early 1960s.

Financial shocks to the Japanese and USA fleets in the late 1950s and 1960s resulted in considerable innovation that both enabled the survival of the fleets and affected their presence in the Pacific Islands area. This included the development of sashimi freezer longlining by the Japanese and the tuna purse-seining by the Americans. Important recent developments in the Pacific Islands area include the entry of tuna vessels from China into the fishery and the development of domestic longlining in most countries.

In both longlining and purse-seining, the other Asian players (Taiwan (Province of China), Republic of Korea, and most recently China) have become increasingly successful. This has not occurred through innovation but rather by coupling existing technology with low production costs and aggressive fishing practices.

Besides industrial tuna fishing, which occurs in the waters of all Pacific Island countries, the only other significant form of industrial fishing in the Pacific Islands region is shrimp trawling in Papua New Guinea. The magnitude of shrimp trawling in the Pacific Islands is actually quite small compared with industrial tuna fishing, with the value of fishing for tuna being about 400 times greater.

Some of the important lessons learned in the development of industrial fishing in the region are:
- Government-owned tuna fishing companies are rarely, if ever, successful. It was an extremely expensive learning process, but now the general consensus in the region is that the government is very poor at running large and complex fishing operations.
- Past sustainable industrial operations have been mainly associated with the tuna resources. Similarly, most industrial-scale opportunities for the foreseeable future are likely to be tuna-related.