REPUBLIC OF VANUATU FISHERIES RESOURCES PROFILES Prepared by Lui A.J. Bell1 and Moses J. Amos2 FFA Report 93/49 1Research Coordination Unit South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency Honiara Solomon Islands 2Fisheries Department Government of Vanuatu Port Vila Republic of Vanuatu PREFACE The South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) was requested by the Government of Vanuatu to provide assistance in the compilation of a set of marine resources profiles1. The profiles were to: • provide information for the Government on the level of resources available for appropriate development planning and instigating regulatory controls for resources conservation; • facilitate the dissemination of information and data that are required within government as well as internationally; • ease the work of the Fisheries Department in providing concise and timely information required by potential investors and fishing companies. Since no Terms of Reference were given, those used for profiles already completed were adopted and are as follows: 1. With the assistance from national fisheries staff, examine all closed and current files pertaining to fisheries resource matters in Vanuatu held at the Fisheries Department; 2. Assess, collate and compile all written matter, data, etc., which provides information relating to resource abundance, distribution, exploitation, etc., in Vanuatu; 3. Review existing legislation controlling the exploitation of living marine resources in the Republic and advise on appropriate regulations for controlling the existing fisheries for those resources currently not protected; 4. Based on the information examined, produce a comprehensive set of resource profiles for the marine resources of Vanuatu in a similar format to the profiles that have been produced for other FFA member countries. This report was prepared during and after a two-week visit to the Republic of Vanuatu in June, 1993. It provides an overview of the major fisheries resources identified as important to the commercial, artisanal and subsistence fisheries sectors within the Republic. Each fisheries resource is divided into four main areas: (i) a brief description of the resource (species present, their distribution, biology and ecology); (ii) an overview of the fishery (utilisation, production and marketing); (iii) the status of the stocks; and (iv) management concerns (current legislation and policies regarding exploitation and recommended management options). In some cases a resource involves more than one species (e.g. aquarium fish and ornamental shells). A comprehensive listing of fisheries and fisheries-related references has been compiled for Vanuatu by Gillett and Kenneth (1987). It was not possible to locate some of those listed in that bibliography. In addition a few references seemed to be available only from the Vanuatu National Library. However these were also not available as the library was closed during the time of compilation of this report due to damages from Cyclone Prima. Funding for the preparation and documentation of this report was provided by the International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) under the FFA Research Coordination Unit Programme. The assistance provided by Mr. Wycliffe Bakeo, Director, as well as the staff of the Fisheries Department was greatly appreciated. In particular, Mr. Felix N'Guyen (Fisheries Research/ORSTOM Technician) and Mr. William Naviti (Fisheries Officer) extracted data from the Fisheries Data Base and were 1Because of the inclusion of profiles for those resources that are not marine in nature, the wording "marine resources profiles" has been changed to "fisheries resources profiles", which is more reflective of the contents of these reports. ii responsible for obtaining data from the outer islands especially Santofish on Santo. Mr. Grant Boyes (FFA Maritime Boundaries Coordinator) produced the EEZ map of the Republic of Vanuatu included in this report. The authors assume full responsibility for the contents of this report. Opinions, where expressed, are theirs alone and in no way reflect the policy of FFA, Fisheries Department of Vanuatu or the Vanuatu Government. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACIAR- Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research AIDAB - Australian International Development Assistance Bureau AIMS - Australian Institute of Marine Science B.P.- Burns Philp (now Better Price) CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CPUE- Catch per unit effort CTL- cephalothoracic length (used in coconut crab measurement) DP1 - First National Development Plan (1982-1986) DP2 - Second National Development Plan (1987-1991) DP3- Third National Development Plan (1992-1996) EEZ - Exclusive Economic Zone EIA- Environment Impact Assessment ELEFAN- Electronic Length Frequency Analysis FADs - Fish Aggregating Devices FAO - Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations FFA - South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency FOB- Free on board ICLARM- International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management ICOD - International Centre for Ocean Development IUCN- International Union for Conservation of Nature JAMARC- Japan Marine Fishery Resources Research Centre JICA- Japan International Cooperation Agency MSP- Melanesian Shell Products Ltd MSY- Maximum Sustainable Yield O.A.M.- Open air market OFCF - Overseas Fishery Cooperation Foundation ORSTOM - French Scientific Research Institute for Co-operative Development PNG- Papua New Guinea PWD - Public Works Department RALC- Rural Alienated Land Committee SCUBA - Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus SPADP - South Pacific Aquaculture Development Programme SPC - South Pacific Commission SPFC - South Pacific Fishing Company TL- thoracic length U.S.A.- United States of America VFDP - Village Fishery Development Programme iii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE............................................................................................................................... i LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................... iii SUMMARY............................................................................................................................ viii A. BACKGROUND................................................................................................................ 1 1. THE COUNTRY..................................................................................................... 1 2. THE PEOPLE......................................................................................................... 1 3. THE GOVERNMENT............................................................................................. 3 4. THE ECONOMY.................................................................................................... 3 5. INSTITUTIONS/AGENCIES................................................................................... 5 6. MARINE RESOURCES LEGISLATION................................................................. 6 7. MANAGEMENT OF FISHERIES RESOURCES..................................................... 8 8. DEVELOPMENT PLANS....................................................................................... 8 B. FISHERIES RESOURCES PROFILES................................................................................ 12 1. CRUSTACEANS..................................................................................................... 12 1.1 COCONUT................................................................................................ 12 1.1.1 The Resource............................................................................... 12 1.1.2 The Fishery.................................................................................. 13 1.1.3 Stocks Status................................................................................ 15 1.1.4 Management................................................................................ 18 References........................................................................................... 19 1.2 LOBSTERS............................................................................................... 20 1.2.1 The Resource............................................................................... 20 1.2.2 The Fishery.................................................................................. 21 1.2.3 Stocks Status................................................................................ 22 1.2.4 Management................................................................................ 22 References........................................................................................... 24 1.3 FRESH-WATER PRAWNS....................................................................... 25 1.3.1 The Resource............................................................................... 25 1.3.2 The Fishery.................................................................................. 25 1.3.3 Stocks Status................................................................................ 26 iv 1.3.4 Management................................................................................ 26 References........................................................................................... 27 1.4 LAND CRABS.........................................................................................