Solomon ISlandS: WeStern Hub ScopIng report

1993

This report is provided to the Solomon Islands International Waters Project as part of its work in supporting the establishment of community-based marine protected areas and the development of a national beche-de-mer management plan. 3 © Jan McDonald 2006 alienation or acquisition should be for as short a time as possible to achieve the public purpose being sought (s112). 1 Although the Provincial Government Act itself provides that the powers of the province do not affect traditional rights over land and fisheries (PGA s3(7)).

So lornon Islands. 4I ABSTMCT Sone features of traditional fisheries of the Solomon Islands are reported on with reference to the governnentr s determinatlon that econonic developrnent should be tempered by tradition.

The Solomon Islands are a large archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with rich marine resources. The socioeconomic welfare and food security of the country relies heavily on its fisheries. Global markets, localized population growth, increased migration to urban centres, and growing fishing technology and pressure threaten to undermine many of the Solomon Islands' small-scale fisheries, while the presence of joint venture and foreign access commercial tuna fishing fleets is likely to expand due to international demand and foreign exchange income opportunities. The ability to meet domestic seafood demands may be undermined by declining local stocks, and the extent of domestic fishing pressure is underappreciated due to incomplete national fisheries statistics. National reports are concerned with the large-scale commercial fishing sector, and greatly underestimate the contribution of domestic small-scale fisheries. This study provides a reconstruction of the national fisheries data, as reported by the Solomon Islands to the FAO, but inclusive of the domestic commercial tuna industry, and artisanal and subsistence fisheries estimates. Total reconstructed fisheries removals of the Solomon Islands were estimated to be approximately 1.87 million tonnes over the 1950-2009 2 time period. While this estimate is only slightly higher than total landings reported by the FAO on behalf of the Solomon Islands (1.81 million t), it includes 211,000 t of unreported subsistence catch, 29,000 t of unreported artisanal shark catches and 18,000 t of unreported by-catch associated with the commercial tuna fishery. intRoduction The Solomon Islands are situated between 5°-13°S and 155°-158°E in the southwestern Pacific Ocean (Figure 1). The Main Group Archipelago (MGA) consists of a double chain of 6 large islands: Choiseul,

2000

PloS one, 2015

Globally the majority of commercial fisheries have experienced dramatic declines in stock and catch. Likewise, projections for many subsistence fisheries in the tropics indicate a dramatic decline is looming in the coming decades. In the Pacific Islands coastal fisheries provide basic subsistence needs for millions of people. A decline in fish catch would therefore have profound impacts on the health and livelihoods of these coastal communities. Given the decrease in local catch rates reported for many coastal communities in the Pacific, it is important to understand if fishers have responded to ecological change (either by expanding their fishing range and/or increasing their fishing effort), and if so, to evaluate the costs or benefits of these responses. We compare data from fish catches in 1995 and 2011 from a rural coastal community in Solomon Islands to examine the potentially changing coastal reef fishery at these time points. In particular we found changes in preferred fishi...

SUMMARY After a request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Solomon Islands, on behalf of the Fisheries authorities of the Government of the Western Province and the national Fisheries Division, the Inshore Fisheries Research Project of the South Pacific Commission collaborated in a preliminary survey of the status of trochus, beche-de-mer and other invertebrate marine resources in the Western Province. Over a period of 30 days the project team reviewed the commercial export trade and performed fieldwork in the Western Province (at Gizo, Rarumana, Vonavona, Roviana, Rendova and Tetepare). This report describes results and suggests options for fisheries management by the Western Province Government, together with suggestions for further work by the Research Section of the National Fisheries Division. The Solomon Islands experienced a great increase in beche-de-mer exports in 1991 and a marked decline in trochus exports in 1989 to 1991 (that could not be attributed to the use of shell by domestic button factories), together with a slow decline in greensnail exports over the decade. The Western Province has been the foremost Province in producing these commodities in recent years with, on occasion, over 50% of the total Solomon Islands production. The field survey indicated that stocks of trochus, beche-de-mer and greensnail were severely depleted in all the areas visited. Whilst this work is to be extended to other areas of the Western Province in future by the Fisheries Division, the present results were conclusive enough to indicate that urgent action is necessary, not just to maintain current stocks, but to rehabilitate stocks to their maximum level of economic productivity. Without management, the economic return from these resources can be expected to decline (for beche-de-mer) or to continue to decline (for trochus and greensnail), perhaps dramatically. Rehabilitation can only be accomplished through a severe reduction in fishing effort over the next two years. Whilst this will lead to a greatly reduced income from these resources in the near future, there is at least the prospect of a higher and sustainable income later. If stocks are given no opportunity for recovery then income will decline anyway, with no hope of an increase. The recommended option is to strengthen and encourage traditional systems of marine resources management, with the Fisheries Division playing a leading role in explaining the problem to rural communities and helping them to enforce whatever conditions the community decides to set. This option is recommended because it involves less administrative overhead for Government, it makes use of existing systems, it can be put into effective action quickly, it operates on a reef-by-reef basis (and is thus fine-grained enough to be biologically effective), and can adjust quickly to changed conditions (through feedback from local fishermen) without requiring intensive Government monitoring and research. Even if traditional community management is less effective in some areas than others, the overall effect must be beneficial. Comments by local people suggest that there is a good prospect of communities implementing control measures if supported and reassured by Government. Some suggestions are also made regarding the commercial trade, and a package of legal measures (mainly size limits) is suggested to help maintain the economic return from rehabilitated stocks. It is pointed out that the long-term economic returns from a managed, steady-state fishery are higher than from an unmanaged, opportunistic "boom and bust" fishery. Equally importantly, a managed fishery encourages permanent, rather than transient, investment and permits more effective investment planning.

2004

david chappell References abc ran, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Australia News.