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Characterising fisheries of the Torres Strait Treaty Villages, Papua New Guinea S. Busilacchi, J. Butler, T. Skewes, J. Posu, T. Shimada, W. Rochester and D. Milton
Between 2011 and 2014 AFMA and the PNG NFA funded CSIRO to investigate the status of small- scale fisheries, livelihoods and food security in the Papua New Guinea villages bordering the Torres Strait of Australia. These ‘Treaty villages’ share marine resources with Australia in a Protected Zone managed under the Torres Strait Treaty. Trends were analysed by making comparisons with data collected by CSIRO in 1995.
Project team sampling catch in Daru market (J. Posu)
1. What are people catching, and where? 2. Where are catches sold? ◆◆A wide range of species are caught from coral ◆◆Reef fish are sold in markets reef, coastal, estuary and freshwater habitats for local consumption ◆◆The highest volume sold in Daru market is reef fish ◆◆Bêche-de-mer, shark ◆◆The highest value species are sea cucumber fin, and bladders from (‘bêche-de-mer’), sharks (for shark fin), barramundi, barramundi, jewfish and jewfish and catfish (for their swim bladders) catfish are sold across the Indonesian border to the Asian market ◆◆Barramundi and mud crabs are traded informally with Australian Treaty villages Bladders from jewfish are sold to Indonesia (J. Butler)
Bêche-de-mer being processed (T. Greenwood)
Shark fin (S. Busilacchi) The highest volume sold in Daru market is reef fish (S. Busilacchi) 3. What are the changes 4. What is the importance 5. What about turtle 6. Conclusions since 1995? of fisheries to livelihoods and dugong? Fishing effort is increasing and food security? ◆◆ ◆◆Fishing effort has ◆◆Turtle and dugong due to population growth doubled but the total ◆◆For western villages, are not important as a and immigration catch has increased fisheries are the only food source, but have ◆◆Informal trade with by only 20% (Fig. 1) source of income, a high market value Indonesia is growing due to ◆◆This is due to population and communities rely ◆◆PNG Government banned the Asian market demand growth, immigration heavily on the informal dugong sale in 2011, and for bêche-de-mer, shark from Fly River villages Indonesian trade now less is traded in Daru fin and fish bladders, and due to the environmental ◆◆For villages near ◆◆Turtles and dugong are communities are heavily impacts of Ok Tedi mine, Daru, fishing is one not as common around dependent on this market and the growing informal of most important Daru as in 1995 ◆◆Current catch trends trade with Indonesia sources of income ◆◆Some dugong are caught are unsustainable, and ◆◆Catch per unit effort of ◆◆Fish is a staple food as by-catch in shark if reef fish and other reef fish has declined, source for all villages, and nets, and their tusks are stocks collapse there suggesting over- provides income to buy traded with Indonesia will be a major impact exploitation of stocks other food (e.g. rice) on food security, Turtles are mainly caught ◆◆ livelihoods and poverty ◆◆Freshwater catch opportunistically when per unit effort has fishing for other fish ◆◆Food insecurity is evident increased, targeting in Daru, which has an new exotic freshwater estimated population fish (tilapia, climbing density of 1,420 people/ perch and snakehead) km2, 10-fold the ◆◆Coastal catch per unit effort carrying capacity for has increased because remote PNG islands the barramundi fishery ◆◆Poaching pressure has recovered since it in Australian waters collapsed in the 1990s will increase as local Exotic tilapia are increasingly Swim bladders (S. Busilacchi) ◆◆Bêche-de-mer poaching is important food (S. Busilacchi) resources are depleted increasing in the Australian area of the Protected Zone
Annual catch (t)
/ Annual shing eort (person hours) Figure 1: Estimated total annual catch (bars) and fishing effort (symbols) in 1995 and 2012/2013 Dugong from a shark net (S. Busilacchi)
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