Coastal Fisheries Programme
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Number 152 (January–April 2017)

Produced by the Pacific Community, Division of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems, Information Section, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia

Produced with financial assistance from the Australian Government, the European Union, France and the New Zealand Aid Programme

Editorial

Participants of the SPC Heads of Fisheries Meeting in March, highlighted the need to raise the profile of coastal fisheries, given their importance for food security in the Pacific Islands region, and concluded that coastal fisheries should find a higher place in the list of priorities of their governments and donor agencies. I’m not sure if it is already a side effect of this call, but the list of articles we received for this issue certainly highlights the importance and diversity of coastal fisheries-related work being done in our region.

The fishery sector includes some of the most dangerous jobs in the world, globally causing over 20,000 deaths per year. But, in the public’s mind, this danger is more associated with industrial fishing in extreme weather conditions than with artisanal fishing in relatively benign tropical waters. Nevertheless, anyone who has ventured outside the reef on a small outboard-powered boat is well aware that disaster is never far away. Engine failure combined with offshore winds can make for a very long and possibly fatal drift.

In Tuvalu, three drifting fishermen were saved by the activation of personal locator beacons, devices they had received from their government as part of a safety “grab bag” (see articles on p. 19 and 20). Each grab bag cost USD 1,200 – a very minor investment when compared to the cost of air search and rescue, or the loss of a life. The Tuvaluan government decided that the safety of artisanal fishers was a high priority. Three fishermen and their families will be forever thankful for this wise decision.

Aymeric Desurmont
Fisheries Information Specialist

 

 

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Rabaul, Papua New Guinea (image: Francisco Blaha).

In this issue

SPC ACTIVITIES

  • Towards participatory management of lagoon fisheries in French Polynesia (pdf: )

  • Training in coastal fisheries monitoring (pdf: )

  • Raising the profile of coastal fisheries and aquaculture governance in the Pacific (pdf: )

  • What is aquatic biosecurity, and what is its relevance for the Pacific Islands regioni (pdf: )

  • A young scientist studies marine biodiversity of the open ocean (pdf: )

  • Outcomes of the 10th SPC Heads of Fisheries Meeting (pdf: )

  • Emergency “grab bags” save lives at sea (pdf: )

NEWS FROM IN AND AROUND THE REGION

  • At-sea rescue made possible by the activation of a personal locator beacon (pdf: )

  • New report urges management reforms to save Fiji’s sea cucumber fishery (pdf: )

  • Private investors commit to mariculture development in Vanuatu (pdf: )

  • Nutritional value of the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra from Fiji Islands (pdf: )

  • Seahorses: Trade, aquaculture and their long-term outlook in New Caledonia (pdf: )

  • All-new BMIS web portal tackles critical bycatch issues (pdf: )

  • AFS forms world’s first Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section (pdf: )

FEATURE ARTICLES

  • Federated States of Micronesia 2013/2014 HIES - Household fishing (coastal) (pdf: )

  • Developing a Pacific Community Marine Specimen Bank (pdf: )

  • Teacher training on climate change and fisheries educational resources in Vanuatu (pdf: )



pdfDownload the complete publication:

Fisheries Newsletter #152 (pdf: )

 


 

 
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