State of the Coral Reefs of Solomon Islands Coral Triangle Marine Resources: their Status, Economies, and Management By Reuben J Sulu, Delvene N Boso, Agnetha Vave-Karamui, Senovea Mauli, and Lysa Wini-Simeon July 2012 1 Contact Information ROSALIE MASU Deputy Director of Inshore Fisheries Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Email: rmasu@fisheries.gov.sb AGNETHA VAVE-KARAMUI CTI National Coordinator Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology Email:
[email protected] or
[email protected] Solomon Islands National Coordinating Committee (NCC) Web: http://www.ctisolomons.net.sb:8082/cti Extracts of the Solomon Islands State of the Coral Triangle Report (SCTR) is available at the Coral Triangle Learning Resource Network http://www.coraltriangleinitiative.net/SCTRlaunch 2 Table of Contents Introduction 2 Biophysical Characteristics 3 • Physical Geography 3 • Biodiversity of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems 5 Governance 10 • Policy 10 • Legislation 12 • Compliance 13 Socio-economic Characteristics 14 • Demography 14 • Traditional Management Systems 15 • Gender 18 • Payment for Ecosystem Service 18 • Capture Fisheries 19 • Mariculture and Aquaculture 22 • Mariculture 23 • Marine Ornamental Trade 25 • Coastal Tourism 27 • Mineral, Oil, and Gas 27 • Transportation and Shipping 28 Threats and Vulnerabilities 30 • Current Issues for Marine Resources Management 30 • Emerging Issues for Marine Resource use 38 Plan of Action, Initiatives, and Future Plans 42 • Monitoring and Evaluation Baseline with Indicators 43 • Other Management Issues 48 Supporting Documentation 52 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction Solomon Islands is the eastern most range of the Coral Triangle, the global epicenter of marine biodiversity. Coral reefs play an important role in the lives of Solomon Islanders for both direct and indirect benefits.