Status and Potential of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific
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Status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific ASIA-PACIFIC FISHERY COMMISSION 100 000 80 000 60 000 40 000 20 000 0 1950 1955 1960 1965 Rest of the world China 1970 1975 memberAPFIC 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 1 RAP Publication 2004/25 Status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific By Shunji Sugiyama, Derek Staples & Simon Funge-Smith FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Bangkok, 2004 3 The designation and presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for sale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Secretary, Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Athit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand or by e-mail to [email protected]. © FAO 2004 For copies please write to: The Secretary Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Athit Road Bangkok 10200 THAILAND Tel: (+66) 2 697 Fax: (+66) 2 697 4445 E-mail: [email protected] ii Preface One of the important activities of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) is to provide its members with an overview of the status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region. The region currently produces almost 50 percent of the world’s fish from capture fisheries and 90 percent from aquaculture. Fish and fisheries are important in supplying animal protein and nutrition to a large part of the Asian-Pacific populations, and are increasingly becoming an important source of income and trade for the region. There are many differences, most obviously geographical, between the sub-regions and seas of the region, but there are also many common trends that will have a large impact on the future supply of fish. One alarming trend is the rapid decline in the status of coastal fishery resources and ecosystems throughout the region. Aquaculture production is increasing, with a large part of this increase being driven by massive growth in China. However, much of this aquaculture growth is dependent on the use of “trash fish” for feeding the cultured species (either directly or by processed fish meal/oil), and is not sustainable in the long term unless major changes take place in the management of capture fisheries and in aquaculture practices. This report provides an excellent summary of the major trends and future potential for fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region and provides an insight into the many challenges that will need to be addressed if fisheries and aquaculture are to continue to contribute significantly to food security and poverty reduction in the region. He Changchui Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific iii Preparation of this document This document was prepared for the twenty-eighth session of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC), which was held in Chang Mai, Thailand from 3 to 5 August 2004. With this session, APFIC has assumed a new role as a “regional consultative forum”, embarking on a new chapter in its endeavour to respond effectively to the changing requirements in the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the region. In support of the work of the Forum, APFIC is committed to improving the quality of information on the status and trends of fisheries and aquaculture in the region and to regularly reviewing and analysing the information. This document is aimed at informing APFIC member States of the current status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region as well as the emerging issues facing the sector. Abstract Sugiyama, S., Staples, D. & Funge-Smith, S.J. 2004. Status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. RAP Publication 2004/25. 53 pp. The fisheries and aquaculture sector is of fundamental importance to the Asia-Pacific region providing opportunities for revenue generation and employment, and contributing to food security. This document reviews the current status of inland and marine fisheries resources and their contribution to national economies and food security. Regional fishery data and information stored in FAO databases are analysed to provide a comprehensive picture of production trends of fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region, which is further illustrated by a detailed view of sub-regions and aquaculture production by species groups. It also touches upon issues that require closer attention in order for the fisheries resources to be managed in a responsive and sustainable manner. iv Geographical scope of this review States and areas This review covers the States and entities of the Asia-Pacific region that report fisheries and aquaculture statistics to FAO, and which are within the area of competence of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission. They are sub-divided into the following sub-regions; Oceania: American Samoa, Australia, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Is., Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Is. South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka Southeast Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR (People’s Dem. Rep.), Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam China: China PR (People’s Republic of), Hong Kong SAR (Semi-autonomous Region) and Taiwan POC (Province of China) Other Asia: Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea DPR (Democratic People’s Republic of), Mongolia, Korea RO (Republic of), Tajikistan and Uzbekistan Production areas In cases where the fishing occurs on the high sea or in EEZs under access agreements, although the production is assigned to the flag vessel, the catches made outside the regional area mentioned above are excluded from this review. The regional area covers the FAO Major Fishing Areas (MFA) as follows: Inland waters: Asia – Inland waters (MFA 04) Oceania – Inland waters (MFA 06) Marine waters: Western/Eastern Indian Ocean (MFA 51 and 57) Northwest, Western/Eastern Central and (MFA 61, 71, 77 and 81) Southwest Pacific Ocean Species Data on aquatic mammals, aquatic plants, corals, pearls, sponges and crocodiles from capture fisheries are excluded. v Table of contents Page PREFACE .................................................................................................................................................... iii PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT ...................................................................................................... iv GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE OF THIS REVIEW ............................................................................................ v 1. CONTRIBUTIONS OF FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION ...... 1 1.1 CONTRIBUTION TO NATIONAL ECONOMIES ............................................................................................. 1 1.2 CONTRIBUTION TO FOOD SECURITY ..................................................................................................... 2 2. PRODUCTION TRENDS OF FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE .................................................. 4 2.1 CAPTURE FISHERIES PRODUCTION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION .............................................................. 4 2.2 AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION...................................................................... 6 2.3 STATUS AND TRENDS BY SUB-REGIONS ................................................................................................ 10 3. STATUS OF RESOURCES................................................................................................................ 20 MARINE WATERS ............................................................................................................................. 20 3.1 MEASURING THE STATUS OF FISHERY RESOURCES ................................................................................. 20 3.2 EVIDENCE FROM TRAWL SURVEYS ....................................................................................................... 20 3.3 EVIDENCE FROM LARGE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS .................................................................................... 22 INLAND WATERS ............................................................................................................................. 34 3.4 WATER RESOURCES ......................................................................................................................... 34 3.5 FISHERY RESOURCES