Tuna stocks are the most important renewable natural resource for Pacific Island countries (PICs) with annual catches estimated at around 1.4 million tonnes, with a landed value of around € 1.5 billion. The long-term sustainable management of the region’s key renewable natural resource is thus of vital importance.
Of equal importance are domestic reef resources, which underpin current livelihoods and continued food security for the vast majority of Pacific Islanders. This programme aims to address the information gaps in both areas and, in so doing, will specifically strengthen the long-term sustainable management of the fisheries resources of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).
The oceanic component, will build upon the work undertaken in the main tuna species of the 7th EDF assisted South Pacific Regional Tuna Research and Monitoring Programme (SPR TRAMP) programme, extending this to include the need for detailed analysis and monitoring of ‘bigeye’ tuna and by-catch species. This programme will run for three years at which time it is planned to continue as a core activity under the regional organisation that emerges from the Multilateral High-level Consultations (MHLC).
The coastal component of the programme will run for five years and will involve a comprehensive comparative assessment of reef fisheries in the Pacific Islands region. This will be groundbreaking research as no comparable activity of this kind has ever been undertaken in the Pacific Islands region. The results of both components will provide invaluable scientific advice to the governments and agencies responsible for the sustainable management of the region’s fisheries resources.
Click on the flags below to view country profiles on the right.
