Issues in Fisheries in the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission Region
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February 2021 APFIC/21/08 E ASIA-PACIFIC FISHERY COMMISSION Thirty-fifth Session [Virtual] Thailand, 5-7 May 2021 Overview of and issues on fisheries in the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission region CONTENTS Scope of this review ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1 Marine capture fisheries ..................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Marine capture fisheries trends .............................................................................................................. 4 1.1.1 Catch ................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1.2 Distant Water Fisheries ............................................................................................................................................. 5 1.1.3 Subregional Trends in Capture Fisheries Production .................................................................................. 6 1.1.4 Marine fishing Fleet ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 The need to improve reporting in marine capture fisheries ....................................................... 6 1.3 IUU Fishing in the APFIC areas of competence ................................................................................. 9 1.3.1 Review of IUU fishing related issues and progress in the APFIC region .............................................. 9 1.3.2 Current activities in the region to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing ................................. 12 1.3.3 FAO’s assistance to APFIC members to combat IUU fishing .................................................................. 13 1.4 Abandoned, Lost, or otherwise Discarded, Fishing Gear (ALDFG) ........................................ 15 1.4.1 What is ALDFG? .......................................................................................................................................................... 15 1.4.2 causes of ALDFG ......................................................................................................................................................... 15 1.4.3 Ghost fishing ................................................................................................................................................................ 15 1.4.4 International resolutions ....................................................................................................................................... 16 1.4.5 Marking fishing gear ................................................................................................................................................ 17 1.4.6 Estimating ALFDG in the APFIC region............................................................................................................ 18 1.4.7 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................................... 19 2 Inland capture fisheries .................................................................................................................... 21 2.1 Inland fishery catch and hidden catch ............................................................................................... 21 2.1.1 Inland fishery resources ......................................................................................................................................... 24 2.1.2 Environmental integrity and biodiversity ...................................................................................................... 25 2.1.3 Contribution to sustainable development ...................................................................................................... 26 2.1.4 Assessing the status of inland fisheries ........................................................................................................... 29 3 Support to Small-scale fisheries ..................................................................................................... 31 3.1 Definition of small-scale fisheries ....................................................................................................... 31 3.2 Contribution of small-scale fisheries ................................................................................................. 31 3.3 Vulnerability to shocks, disasters and climate change ............................................................... 32 3.4 Management of Small-scale Fisheries ................................................................................................ 35 3.5 Demographic change in fishing communities ................................................................................ 36 3.6 Sustainable Development Goal 14.b ................................................................................................... 37 3.7 International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 .......................................... 39 3.8 Information and communication technologies for small-scale fisheries ............................ 41 2 SCOPE OF THIS REVIEW This review covers the states, entities and areas of the Asia-Pacific region that report fisheries and aquaculture statistics to FAO, and which are within APFIC’s area of competence. They are subdivided into the following subregions for capture fisheries and aquaculture: Sub-region Countries People’s Republic of China (mainland), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China subregion China, Macao Special Administrative Region of China and Taiwan Province of China East Asia subregion Japan, Korea DPR (Democratic People’s Republic of), Korea (Republic of), Mongolia Bangladesh (the People’s Republic of), Bhutan (the Kingdom of), India (the South Asia subregion Republic of), Maldives (the Republic of), Nepal (Federal Democratic Republic of), Pakistan (Islamic Republic of) and Sri Lanka (the Democratic Socialist Republic of) Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia (the Kingdom of), Indonesia (the Republic of), Lao PDR (People’s Democratic Republic), Malaysia, Myanmar (the Union of), Southeast Asia Philippines (the Republic of the), Singapore (the Republic of), Thailand (the subregion Kingdom of), Timor-Leste (the Democratic Republic of) and Viet Nam (the Socialist Republic of) American Samoa, Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji Islands (the Republic of the), French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati (the Republic of), the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nauru (the Republic of), New Caledonia, Oceania subregion New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands (the Commonwealth of the), Palau (the Republic of), Papua New Guinea (PNG), Pitcairn, Samoa (the Independent State of), Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga (the Kingdom of), Tuvalu, Vanuatu (the Republic of ), Wallis and Futuna Islands APFIC MEMBER COUNTRIES Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Thailand, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America and Viet Nam. SPECIES Capture production data includes "nominal catches", which are landings converted to a live weight basis (tonnes), of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans for all commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence purposes. As in previous years a significant proportion of the region’s capture production reported to FAO is not identified at species level but grouped as “not elsewhere included” (nei) in the statistics, The harvest from mariculture, aquaculture and other kinds of fish farming is included although harvest for ornamental purposes is not included. Aquatic mammals, aquatic plants, corals, pearls, sponges and crocodiles/alligators from capture fisheries and aquaculture production are excluded throughout this report. 3 1 MARINE CAPTURE FISHERIES Capture fisheries, both inland and marine, are important for APFIC Member countries, and provide food, nutrition, livelihoods, foreign exchange earnings, and cultural value. In 2017, based on reported figures, inland and marine capture fish production from APFIC Member countries1 was 46.4 million tonnes, representing 50 percent of global capture production.2 Inland waters capture production contributed 16.4 percent and marine waters capture production, 83.6 percent. In terms of global inland waters capture production, APFIC Member countries contributed 64 percent, whereas for global marine waters capture production, 48 percent. There were 16 million people involved in capture fisheries in 10 APFIC Member countries in 2017, representing 40 percent of the global total.3 Many more are involved in auxiliary activities, in particular in the post-harvest sector, where women tend to play an important role. 1.1 MARINE CAPTURE FISHERIES TRENDS 1.1.1 CATCH Overall marine capture fisheries production in the Asia and the Pacific region has remained relatively stable over the last decade (Table 1-1). Marine capture yield was 40.8 million tonnes in 2017. The Asia and the Pacific region continue to be the world’s largest producer of fish and represented 51 percent of the global marine capture production in 2017. Table 1-1: Total marine