The Development and Decline of Deep Reef Slope Handline Fishing in The

During the following year the THE DEVELOPMENT AND drop in production was even more marked and deep slope DECLINE OF DEEP REEF SLOPE fish landings totalled less than 5 t. The fishery continued to HANDLINE FISHING IN THE decline, so that at present few deep slope fish are landed to the EAST SEPIK PROVINCE, Wewak fish plant Some catches of deep slope fish are landed in PAPUA NEW GUINEA Wewak town but go directly to hotels, restaurants and small stores. These landings are the remnants of the fishery that commenced in 1983 and ex The SPC Deep Sea Fisheries by panded rapidly up to 1985. Development Project (DSFDP) Molean Chopau, How could such a productive and-its predecessor, the Outer Dept. of Fisheries & Marine fishery suffer such a reversal of Reef Artisanal Fisheries Project, Resources, Kavieng fortune in such a short time? were established in the 1970s to promote the increased exploi Papua New Guinea tation of the snapper When the project staff began (Lutjanidae) and grouper and demonstrating deep reef slope (Serranidae) stocks of the deep fishing, the response from dif reef slopes (80—300 m depth) of Paul Dalzell, ferent villages around Wewak the Pacific Islands. SPC South Pacific Commission, was not uniformly enthusiastic. masterfishermen visited almost Noumea, New Caledonia The most positive response to all the countries of the region this initiative came from a demonstrating fishing tech had decreased from 181 in 1979 group of villages about 40 km niques and surveying different to 8 t by 1982. from Wewak and centred on locations for fishable stocks. At the village of Turubu. The the heart of the deep slope During 1983 the staff of the Turubu villagers quickly fishing methodology was a Fisheries Laboratory in Wewak adopted the Samoan hand reel wooden hand-reel, adapted began demonstrating deep for use on their 11m outrigger from a design conceived in slope fishing to villagers along canoes and contributed to about Western Samoa. By the mid the coast and on coastal islands. 75 per cent of the total landings. 1980s successful deep slope Total production in this first There were in total 10 full-time fisheries had been established year was encouraging, with fishermen landing deep reef in Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga. deep slope fishes amounting to slope fishes to the Wewak plant 121 or 54.5 per cent of the total and all came from the Turubu area. The enthusiasm of the Several articles have been fish landings at the Wewak fish plant. The landings of deep Turubu villagers for deep slope written about the success of fishing was encouraged by a these fisheries, particularly the slope fish in 1984 and 1985 were 14.31 and 201 respectively. By range of services offered by the fisheries in Tonga and Vanuatu. project staff and not just the fi Less is known, however, about 1985 there were 34 part-time nancial returns from fishing. It the successful introduction of and full-time fishermen landing was this aspect of the fishery deep slope fishing in Papua deep reef slope fishes into that led to the decline in pro New Guinea. This fishery was, Wewak. An optimistic future duction. for a three-year period, the was predicted for the fishery, major source of fish landed at a with a possible doubling of the commercial fish plant in number of fishermen in the The normal functions of a Wewak, the provincial capital fishery and annual landings government fisheries station are of the East SepikProvince (ESP) totalling 40 t by the end of the to buy fishermen's catches and on the northern coast of Papua decade. supply ice to fishermen. These New Guinea. Prior to the in institutions are staffed by public ception of the deep slope fish This encouraging scenario did servants and work to public ery in 1983, commercial fish not, however, eventuate. service hours (07.45 to 16.06 hrs) landings at the Wewak fish Landings of deep slope fish in during a five- day week. Project plant were declining. Landings 1986 declined to about 10 t. staff realised that this would be 35 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #58 DEEP REEF SLOPE HANDLINE FISHING IN THE EASTSEPiK PROVINCE unsuitable for the development staff to explore new fishing ing landed in Wewak by a few of a fishery and hence were grounds in the offshore remaining fishermen from always ready to respond to Schouten Islands of the ESP and Turubu. They have to cope with fishermen landing catches survey the deeper reef slopes all aspects of transport, mar outside regulation office hours, (>2G0m). Unfortunately, the keting, etc., unlike in the past particularly at week-ends. In same commitment to providing when they benefited from the addition, the project offered a services to the fishermen was services provided by the project range of other services to the not evident in the Extension staff. The initial aims of the fishermen that included sale of Staff. This discouraged the project were to increase fresh subsidised fishing gear, fishermen, 'most of whom fish supply in the region and to collection of fish from Turubu stopped fishing altogether, improve the economic perfor during periods of inclement whilst a few others continued to mance of village fishermen. The weather and organisingregular fish but to market the catch initial success of the project and servicing of outboard motors in themselves. A nucleus of four to the subsequent decline are a Wevvak In addition, the project five fishermen from Turubu still valuable lesson to fisheries de staff offered financial advice continues to catch deep slope velopers, particularly those at aiyd management to the fishes but they are not as pro tached to government agencies. fishermen and advised on the ductive as before when they saving and disposal of fishing were serviced by Fisheries Re The deep slope resources of the incomes. The project staff also search staff. East Sepik Province and indeed helped fishermen negotiate the rest of PNG are consider loans from banks in Wewak by Other factors involved in the able, However/ to establish a demonstrating to bank decline of the fishery were be viable fishing industry there has managers the profitability of yond the control of project staff to be the development of a deep slope fishing. and were concerned with Pro range of services to the fisher vincial politics. However, these man that will help nurture the Essentially, the project staff factors were peripheral and infan t fishery and attract o thers were acting as a mixture of acted to exacerbate a situation into fishing. This is only likely fisheries agents and fisheries where fishermen were to happen where there are close brokers. They took the role of demoralised by the lack of ser private business relationships middleman that is common in vice after maintenance of the between the fishermen and fish the small-scale fisheries of project was transferred to Fish buyers and not through a gov South-east Asia. Here fish bro eries Extension. Besides dis ernment agency such as an kers and buyers have well-de couraging the Turubu fisher fisheries extension office. veloped business and personal men, the ma relationships with fishermen jor producers and, whilst taking a percentage in the deep of the catch revenues as a fee, slope fishery, perform a similar supportive the decline in role to that described above. fishermen Indeed, in some cases the fish services also ermen may need to rely on their served to respective brokers to keep them dampen the solvent during lean periods enthusiasm of during the year. the more marginal fish However, it was always envis ermen from aged that the role of the Fisher other loca ies Research Staff in the devel tions such as opment of the fishery would be the Schouten temporary and that the support Islands. and management of deep slope fishing would be transferred to Presently, a the East Sepik Provincial small but un Government's Fisheries Exten known vol sion Branch. This duly hap ume of bot pened in 1986, allowing project tom fish is be 36 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #58 .

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