Sustainability and management of reef fisheries in the Pacific islands

Dalzell, P; Adams, T

Subsistence fishing on coral reef organisms has persisted in the South Pacific for several millennia. Human population densities in some locations were higher prior to European contact and thus subsistence fisheries harvests were probably greater than at present, and could have significant impacts on near shore sedentary resources such as mollusks. Assessment of the sustainable limits of coral reef fin-fish fisheries are confounded by the difficulties in recording catch and effort from fisheries with diverse range of gears and species in landings. Estimates of observed reef-fish yields in 43 locations in the South Pacific range from 0.3 to 64 t/km2 per year (mean = 7.7 t/km2). Examples are presented of surplus production yield curves, based largely on spatial indexes of fishing intensity, for individual Pacific Islands and for the Pacific as a whole. The results from these different curves suggest that the maximum sustainable yields (MSYs) for reef fin-fishes in the Pacific Islands range from 6-20 t/km2/yer, with a global MSY of about 16 t/km2/yr. The maintenance of sustainable yields from Pacific reefs will depend mainly on whether human populations continue to grow unchecked over the next 30 years and dietary intakes remain unchanged.