Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fisheries and for a world without hunger Aquaculture Department Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles The Kingdom of Tonga Part I Overview and main indicators 1. Country brief 2. General geographic and economic indicators 3. FAO Fisheries statistics Part II Narrative (2014) 4. Production sector Marine sub-sector Inland sub-sector Aquaculture sub-sector - NASO Recreational sub-sector Source of information United Nations Geospatial Information Section http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/htmain.htm 5. Post-harvest sector Imagery for continents and oceans reproduced from GEBCO, www.gebco.net Fish utilization Fish markets 6. Socio-economic contribution of the fishery sector Role of fisheries in the national economy Trade Food security Employment Rural development 7. Trends, issues and development Constraints and opportunities Government and non-government sector policies and development strategies Research, education and training Foreign aid 8. Institutional framework 9. Legal framework 10. Annexes 11. References Additional information 12. FAO Thematic data bases 13. Publications 14. Meetings & News archive FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Part I Overview and main indicators Part I of the Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profile is compiled using the most up-to-date information available from the FAO Country briefs and Statistics programmes at the time of publication. The Country Brief and the FAO Fisheries Statistics provided in Part I may, however, have been prepared at different times, which would explain any inconsistencies. Country brief Current situation Tonga is an archipelagic nation of some 150 islands (36 of which are inhabited), representing a total land area of about 747 km2. It has a population of 107 122 inhabitants (2016). In 1887, it formally claimed a marine jurisdiction of some 350 000 km2, but most international arrangements to which it is a Party, recognize a de facto Tongan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of about 700 000 km². Fisheries or fishery-related activities are an important source of food, particularly for communities in isolated islands. In 2013, employment in the fishery sector consisted of about 9 240 individuals (with 41 percent women) of which 5 400 people working on an occasional basis, 1 750 operating in subsistence fisheries and 66 working as fish farmers. Since 2009, the estimated capture fisheries production is about 2 000 tonnes per year, with tunas and billfishes having a share of 15 percent of the total. Aquaculture production is negligible and the main produce in recent years is 300-500 tonnes of mozuku seaweed for export to Japan. In 2015, exports of fish and fishery products were valued at USD 4.6 million and imports at USD 2.9 million. Per capita consumption amounted to 23.3 kg in 2013. Fisheries contribution to the national economy was estimated at USD 4.7 million, representing 2.3% of the national GDP. The major commercial fisheries activities in Tonga are tuna longlining, deepwater droplining for snapper and grouper, harvesting of seaweed (Cladosiphon spp.), harvesting of corals, invertebrates and fish for the ornamental aquarium trade, and the charter of vessels for whale watching, game fishing and scuba diving. Aquaculture research and development has been a long standing fisheries programme. Aquaculture programmes include re-establish overexploited species such as giant clams and mullets, introduction of trochus and green snails to create new commercial fisheries, pearl oyster farming, seaweed and sea cucumber culture to earn foreign currency. Research and trials are aimed at relieving pressure on over-exploited traditional inshore fisheries, converting unused areas of natural water or agriculturally poor areas to useful production, reviving and enhancing over-exploited resources and introducing exotic species of commercial value. Current issues The legal bases for fisheries management in Tonga are the Fisheries Management Act 2004 and the Fisheries and the Aquaculture Management Act 2003. The Department of Fisheries is located within the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Forests and Fisheries. Fisheries management and planning is largely involved with the development of fisheries management plans and its implementation, policy advice to management and the coordination and monitoring of commercial fisheries and its development through the analysis of statistical indicators. Two key policies have been completed and approved: the Tuna Longline Fishery Management Plan in 2001 and the Seaweed Management Plan in 2005. Management plans for the marine aquarium fishery, deepwater line fishery, bêche-de-mer (sea cucumber) fishery and charter boats fishery have been developed, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department but it is unclear if any have moved beyond the draft stage. The Tongan Government vision for fisheries is for fisheries to “make a significant contribution to better living standards for Tongans, in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible, and sustainable manner.” One of the ways of this vision to be achieved is through the implementation of the Tonga Fisheries Sector Plan (TFSP) which is designed to provide a basis for dialogue on the priorities, programs and implementation modalities. The TFSP identifies: 1. the strategic objectives for the Tongan fisheries sector 2. the key programs to achieves these objectives 3. the links between programs (or subprograms) and their respective objectives using a coherent results framework; 4. approximate costings of the programs/subprograms; 5. and suggests implementing mechanisms and arrangements for the TFSP. Tonga is a Party to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea since August 1995 and to the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement since July 1996. In October 2003, Tonga ratified the 2000 Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific. Tonga is also a Party to a number of other important regional fisheries agreements and participates actively as a member in the work of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), and the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). Membership in Regional Fishery Bodies Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) General geographic and economic indicators Table 1 -General Geographic and Economic Data-Kingdom of Tonga Source Shelf area 700 000 km² FAO Length of continental coastline 419 km FAO Fisheries GDP (2014) 2.3% National GDP Gillet, 20161 *Value converted by FAO as per UN currency exchange rate**Per capita calculated by FAO and converted as per UN currency exchange rate (1) Gillett, R. D. Fisheries in the Economies of Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Pacific Community (SPC), 2016. Source Country area 750 km2 FAOSTAT. 2013 Land area 720 km2 FAOSTAT. 2013 Inland water area 30 km2 Computed. 2013 FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Population - Est. & Proj. 0.109 millions FAOSTAT. 2018 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) area 667 957 km2 VLIZ GDP (current US$) 450 millions World Bank. 2018 GDP per capita (current US$) 4 364 US$ World Bank. 2018 Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 17.21 % of GDP World Bank. 2016 FAO Fisheries statistics Table 2 in this section is based on statistics prepared by the Statistics and Information Branch of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department and disseminated in 2016. The charts are based on the same source but these are automatically updated every year with the most recent disseminated statistics. 1980 1990 2000 2010 2014 2015 2016 EMPLOYMENT (thousands) 0.01 0.01 0.1 0.08 0.07 9.3 9.3 Aquaculture … … 0.1 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 Capture 0.01 0.01 … 0.01 4.6 4.6 4.6 Inland … … … … … Marine 0.01 0.01 … 0.01 … 4.6 4.6 FLEET(thousands boats) … … … 1.32 … … … Source: FAO Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics 1) Due to roundings total may not sum up FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Part II Narrative Updated 2014 Part II of the Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profile provides supplementary information that is based on national and other sources and that is valid at the time of compilation (see update year above). References to these sources are provided as far as possible. Production sector The geography of Tonga exerts a large influence on fishing in the country. Tonga comprises over 150 islands (of which about 36 are inhabited), as well as many smaller islets and reefs. The islands, whose collective land area is about 747 km2, are distributed in three main groups - Tongatapu (location of the capital and administrative centre, Nuku’alofa) and neighbouring islands in the south, the Ha’apai group located centrally, and the Vava’u group to the north. Other islands extend the archipelago further north and south beyond the main groups. Until the early 1960s, domestic demand for fish was almost wholly met through catches from the country’s reefs and lagoons. Subsequently, however, increases in population and fishing effort and the growth of the cash economy have led to overfishing in many inshore areas. Some traditionally important fish, such as mullet, have been reduced to a small fraction of their earlier abundance, and inshore invertebrates such as bêche-de- mer, lobsters and giant clams have undergone severe declines. These problems are found throughout Tonga, but are most acute close to population centres or in easily accessible fishing areas. Insufficient production from coastal fisheries led to several strategies to increase fish production for both domestic use and for export. These mostly started in the 1970s and 1980s and included outer-islands fish collection schemes, promotion of offshore2 tuna fishing and deep-slope demersal fishing, and attempts to develop aquaculture. In the past decade there have been two major efforts to improve the quality of fisheries governance in the country. These were: An Australian-funded initiative over several years to enhance the ability of the government’s fisheries agency3 through advisors, targeted initiatives, scholarships, and office infrastructure.