Fishing is important to the national economy of Vanuatu. It is the main source of income for many in the islands and Vanuatu's biggest export. According to 2009 figures, approximately 77% of households in Vanuatu are involved in fishing activity. [1] According to 2005 figures, Vanuatu caught 151,080 fish in that year, with frozen fish accounted for half of Vanuatu's commodity exports. [1]
Vanuatu has 83 islands separated by great depths in the Pacific Ocean. Situated geologically at the edge of the Pacific Plate, the islands' land masses rise to heights of 5 m above the surface, with their bottoms at depths of 1000 m within a distance of 1 km from the coast (they are termed undersea mountains [2] ). This situation has created a very congenial setting for pelagic or open water fishing, close to the coastline of the country. [3]
The coastal areas offshore of the Vanuatau islands are home to many species of fish. Some of the key species are billfish, including broad bill swordfish, short bill spearfish, sailfish, and striped, black and blue marlin, as well as yellowfin tuna, mahi-mahi, wahoo, Spanish mackerel, dogtooth tuna, coral trout, jobfish redbass, [3] Watson's bonitofish, dolphinfish, sharks, Skipjack Tuna, and rainbow runners. [2]
According to 2009 figures, approximately 77% of households in Vanuatu are involved in fishing activity. [1] According to 2005 figures, Vanuatu caught 151,080 fish in that year, with frozen fish accounted for half of the country's commodity exports. [1] Commercial fishing in Vanuatu is done by both locally based deep-bottom fish and sport-fishing charter boats for deep-bottom hand-line fishing and trawling for pelagic species. Apart from small islands, the principal sites for subsistence and coastal commercial fishing are Port Vila, Luganville, Santo, and Malekula islands. Port Vila is the port of greatest commercial importance, with the majority of the produce of commercial produce passing through the port. In 1999, around 80% of all commercial catches (180 tonnes) were landed here; subsistence fishing, which totalled 2,700 tonnes, did not pass through any major port in particular. [4]
According to FAO reports of 1999, the landings of subsistence and Coastal commercial fishing was of the order of 2700 metric tons and 230 metric tons respectively. The catches are unloaded mainly in Port Vila. In addition, foreign based vessels have also operated with catches of 118 metric tons, reported during 2000. [4] Estimates of consumption of fish in the Vanavatu in recent years indicate a consumption level in the range of 15.9 to 25.7 kg per person per year. Considering an increase in population between 1999 and 2025, the estimated fish requirement is of 7,500 mt for 2025. [4]
Aquaculture is also important and Vanuatu has many aqua farms. With the wild stock of Giant clams exhausted, the country has looked for investors in the farming of the species. The government is prepared to offer tax breaks for overseas investors in this industry, as well as in the culture of shrimps. Other opportunities for fish-farming that are being considered include Shrimp, as well as Milk Fish, Prawns, Oysters, and Mullet. [5]
The fisheries in Vanuatu are managed by the Department of Fisheries under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 1989, although this act has since been revised. Detailed Legal Acts such as Fisheries Act (1982), Maritime Zones Act 1981 and related Fisheries Regulations 1983 and many other supplementary legislation for commercial fishing both by local and foreign vessels have been enacted and are in force. [6]
All marine activities in Vanuatu must comply with the law, which includes acquiring a fishing license from the department. [7] Since 1983, Vanuatu has participated in the Artisanal Fishing and Subsistence program in cooperation with the Fisheries Department and ORSTOM. [8] Since 1990, there has been a return towards closing certain fishing areas or voluntarily refusing to catch certain species at various times of year in order to promote conservation and increase fish stocks. [7] As of 2007 a license costs $11,000 a year. [7]
In attempting to promote sustainable development and to cooperate with other fisheries in the Pacific region, the government is reviewing an aquaculture development plan and a Tuna Management Plan or National Policy for Tuna Fisheries with assistance from the Canadian South Pacific Oceanic Development Program (CSPOD). [7] Under the Tuna Management Plan, the Fisheries Department, the Vanuatu Maritime Authority (VMA), the Police Maritime Wing, and the State Law Office have been entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing the tuna management plan. The commercial fisheries is according to the defined management plans while in the case of subsistence and village based fisheries the management responsibility is entrusted to the local communities. [4]
The Department of Customs is responsible for game and sporting boats operating in Vanuatu. [7] Sport fishing in the country has undergone much investment in recent years to promote tourism. Game and reef fishing packages include hi-tech equipment, with day trip or liveaboard options. When sport fishing for dogtooth, yellowfin tuna, or wahoo, the catch is either tagged and released or provided to local villagers. Other fishing options include prawns and eels in the rivers, spear-fishing for green jobfish, diving for crayfish; or traveling to the crater lakes for prawns and eels. [9]
Women play a proactive role in fishing operations, along with men, mostly in the shallow near-shore waters. They work in harvesting inshore fish as an essential subsistence requirement. With the use of gilnets, they catch Mangrou, which is in demand and also sea cucumbers, mudcrabs and mangrove oysters. In a few islands, they are also involved in diving to catch trochus. As a part of commercial sale of fish, its products and fish gear, which is their exclusive forte they are involved in collecting seashells, catching coconut crabs, trapping lobsters and processing bêche-de-mer. In the male dominated society their role is not given equal recognition. [10]
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place. Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both in freshwater waterbodies and the oceans. About 500 million people worldwide are economically dependent on fisheries. 171 million tonnes of fish were produced in 2016, but overfishing is an increasing problem, causing declines in some populations.
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, as well as the related harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or as input factors in other industrial processes. The livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends directly or indirectly on fisheries and aquaculture.
The yellowfin tuna is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.
The dogtooth tuna, also known as white tuna, is a species of pelagic marine fish which belongs to the family Scombridae.
A fish aggregatingdevice (FAD) is a man-made object used to attract pelagic fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi. They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor. Various types of FADs have been employed in the traditional fishing cultures of Island Southeast Asia, Japan, and Malta for centuries. Modern FADs are increasingly being used in modern commercial and sport fishing.
The bigeye tuna is a species of true tuna of the genus Thunnus, belonging to the wider mackerel family Scombridae. In Hawaiian, it is one of two species known as ʻahi, the other being the yellowfin tuna. Bigeye tuna are found in the open waters of all tropical and temperate oceans, but not in the Mediterranean Sea.
A regional fishery body (RFB) is a type of international organization that is part of an international fishery agreement or arrangement to cooperate on the sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources and/or the development of marine capture fisheries whose such capacity has been recognized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization under the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement.
A payao is a traditional fish aggregating device from the Philippines. Payaos are traditionally floating rafts of bamboo anchored to the seafloor, with submerged weighted palm fronds beneath it. They were harvested using handline fishing, surface trolling, or small-scale purse seining. Modern steel payaos use fish lights and fish location sonar to increase yields. While payao fishing is sustainable on a small scale, the large scale, modern applications have been linked to adverse impacts on fish stocks. Payaos have been introduced to fishermen in Vietnam, Thailand, and various countries in Oceania.
A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish or whales. Modern factory ships are automated and enlarged versions of the earlier whalers, and their use for fishing has grown dramatically. Some factory ships are equipped to serve as a mother ship.
China has one-fifth of the world's population and accounts for one-third of the world's reported fish production as well as two-thirds of the world's reported aquaculture production. It is also a major importer of seafood and the country's seafood market is estimated to grow to a market size worth US$53.5 Billion by 2027.
As with other countries, the 200 nautical miles (370 km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coast of the United States gives its fishing industry special fishing rights. It covers 11.4 million square kilometres, which is the second largest zone in the world, exceeding the land area of the United States.
The coastline of the Russian Federation is the fourth longest in the world after the coastlines of Canada, Greenland, and Indonesia. The Russian fishing industry has an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 7.6 million km2 including access to twelve seas in three oceans, together with the landlocked Caspian Sea and more than two million rivers.
The fishing industry in the Maldives is the island's second main industry. According to national tradition in the words of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, "Fishing is the lifeblood of our nation, it is inborn. From the soil on which we live, to the sea around us, it remains an integral part of our existence. Fishing, and our country and its people, [are] one and shall remain inseparable forever." The Maldives has an abundance of aquatic life and species of fish. Common are tuna, groupers, dolphin fish, barracuda, rainbow runner, trevally and squirrelfish and many more. Aside from being of essential importance to the economy, fishing is also a popular recreational activity in the Maldives, not only among locals but by tourists. The islands have numerous fishing resorts which cater for these activities.
Seafood in Australia comes from local and international commercial fisheries, aquaculture and recreational anglers. It is an economically important sector, and along with agriculture and forestry contributed $24,744 million to Australia's GDP in year 2007–2008, out of a total GDP of $1,084,146 million. Commercial fisheries in Commonwealth waters are managed by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, while commercial and recreational fishing in state waters is managed by various state-level agencies.
The Pasco Banks refers to a naturally occurring geological and marine formation in the south Pacific Ocean. The Pasco Banks is a long ridge-like seamount that rises from about 200 m to within 30 m of the ocean's surface. Covered in patchy coral reef, it attracts large schools of baitfish, mainly rainbow runner, which in turn are preyed upon by larger predatory fishes. This abundance of fish has made the Pasco Banks a popular and reliable fishing location for hundreds of years.
The fishing industry in Denmark operates around the coastline, from western Jutland to Bornholm. While the overall contribution of the fisheries sector to the country's economy is only about 0.5 percent, Denmark is ranked fifth in the world in exports of fish and fish products. Approximately 20,000 Danish people are employed in fishing, aquaculture, and related industries.
The fishing industry in Thailand, in accordance with usage by The World Bank, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other multinational bodies, refers to and encompasses recreational fishing, aquaculture, and wild fisheries both onshore and offshore.
The Cliff Villa Peninsula is a promontory where two currents meet on the north-westerly point of the island of Curaçao
US FWS Charles H. Gilbert was an American fisheries science research vessel in commission from 1952 to 1970 in the fleet of the United States Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service and from 1970 to 1973 in the fleet of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration as NOAAS Charles H. Gilbert. She was among the first U.S. fisheries science vessels to explore the central Pacific Ocean in search of commercially valuable populations of fish.
The Niue Nukutuluea Multiple-Use Marine Park is a marine protected area that encompasses the territorial waters and exclusive economic zone surrounding the Pacific island of Niue, covering a total area of 318,140 square kilometres (122,830 sq mi). Established in April 2022, it incorporated the Niue Moana Mahu Marine Protected Area and Beveridge Reef Nukutulueatama Special Management Area, which had been established in April 2020.
