Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fisheries and for a world without hunger Aquaculture Department Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles The Republic of Palau Part I Overview and main indicators 1. Country brief 2. General geographic and economic indicators 3. FAO Fisheries statistics Part II Narrative (2017) 4. Production sector Marine sub-sector Inland sub-sector Aquaculture sub-sector 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 Prepared: March, 2018 Palau has a population of 21 503 (in 2016), a land area of 488 km2, a coastline of 430 km, and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 629 000 km2. Fisheries contribution to GDP in 2014 was recorded as USD 5.5 million, 2.2 percent of the national GDP. In 2015 exports of fish and fisheries products were valued at USD 0.5 million and imports at USD 2.3 million. Annual per capita consumption amounted to 60.9 kg in 2013. In 2015, 13 people were reported as employed in aquaculture and another 39 in marine coastal fisheries. The geography of Palau exerts a large influence on fishing in the country. Marine life in Palau is abundant and diverse with over 1 300 species of tropical fish and over 700 different species of hard and soft corals in the lagoons and reefs. The most distinguishing features of the coastal area of Palau are the large amount of mangroves and coastal tourism. Much of the coastal fishing activity is geared to producing for domestic urban markets, while the offshore fishing consists largely of tuna longlining for the export market. The latter is mainly operated by foreign vessels. The total fisheries production was estimated at 800 tonnes in 2016. In 2015, the government announced plans to establish a 500,000 km2 reserve by 2021, making it the sixth largest fully protected marine area in the world and building on the marine reserve network already in place in Palau. With this addition, the country has announced that 80% of its EEZ will be closed by 2021to fishing and 20% will be open for domestic fishing only. Almost all offshore tuna catches in the Palau zone are currently made by locally-based foreign longliners. These vessels range in size from about 16 to 27 metres in length. Most vessels are registered in Taiwan, Province of China, and Japan, with smaller numbers registered in Belize and Vanuatu. Coastal fishing in Palau is carried out on a commercial and subsistence basis. Techniques used include simple hand-collection to hook- and-line fishing, underwater spear-fishing, net fishing and trolling, most of which are conducted almost exclusively by men. In addition, there are some coastal fisheries that are export oriented: trochus and aquarium fish. Milkfish farms have been developed in Ngatpang state and in the private sector, and their harvest commenced in 2009 with produce being sold at local markets in Koror. Aquaculture production of food milkfish in 2016 was estimated at 14 tonnes while 17 700 pieces of giant clams juvenile were produced as aquarium species for export. Palau is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and central Pacific Ocean, and the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild fauna and Flora (CITES). Palau is also a party to a number of treaties and agreements relating to the management of regional fisheries. Membership in Regional Fishery Bodies Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) International Whaling Commission (IWC) 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 – Palau Source Sea Around US: Shelf area: 3 467 km² http://www.seaaroundus.org/ Length of continental coastline: 1 519 km World by Map Fisheries GDP (2014): 2.2% National GDP Gillet, 20161 (1) Gillett, R. D. Fisheries in the Economies of Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Pacific Community (SPC), 2016.*Value converted by FAO as per UN currency exchange rate Source Country area 460 km2 FAOSTAT. 2013 Land area 460 km2 FAOSTAT. 2013 Inland water area 0 km2 Computed. 2013 Population - Est. & Proj. 0.022 millions FAOSTAT. 2018 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) area 617 449 km2 VLIZ GDP (current US$) 284 millions World Bank. 2018 GDP per capita (current US$) 15 859 US$ World Bank. 2018 Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.18 % of GDP World Bank. 2018 FAO Fisheries statistics FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Table 2 in this section is based on statistics prepared by the FAO Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Unit and disseminated in 2017. The charts are based on the same source but these are automatically updated every year with the most recent statistics. Table 2 — FAO fisheries statistics - Palau 1980 1990 2000 2010 2014 2015 2016 EMPLOYMENT (thousands) … 0.356 2.995 0.394 0.055 0.052 0.052 Aquaculture … … … 0.011 0.013 0.013 0.013 Capture … 0.356 2.995 0.383 0.042 0.039 0.039 Inland … … … … … … … Marine 0.356 2.995 0.383 0.042 0.039 0.039 FLEET(thousands vessels) … … … … … … … Source: FAO Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics 1) Due to roundings total may not sum up Please Note:Fishery statistical data here presented exclude the production for marine mammals, crocodiles, corals, sponges, pearls, mother-of-pearl and aquatic plants. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Part II Narrative Updated 2017 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 Palau exerts a large influence on fishing in the country. The 343 islands of the Republic of Palau are diverse in geological origin and include volcanic, low platform, high platform and atoll types. The Republic includes the islands of Koror (the administrative centre and capital), Babelthuap (the largest island in terms of land mass, making up 78 percent of Palau’s land area), Angaur, Peleliu and several coral outer islands including Sonsorol, Tobi, Pulu Anna, Helen’s Reef and Merir to the southwest, and Kayangel to the north. More than 70 percent of the population resides in Koror. Marine life in Palau is abundant and diverse with over 1 300 species of tropical fish and over 700 different species of hard and soft corals in the lagoons and reefs. Most coastal habitats and topographical features found anywhere in the Pacific Islands can be found in Palau. The most distinguishing features of the coastal area of Palau, as compared to that of most other Pacific Island countries, are the large amounts of mangroves, and coastal tourism. Much of the coastal fishing activity is geared to producing for domestic urban markets, while the offshore fishing consists largely of tuna longlining by foreign fleets for the export market. The major marine habitats of Palau and their approximate sizes are: Mangroves – 45 km2 Inner reef – 187 km2 Outer reef – 265 km2 Lagoon – 1 034 km2 Fisheries statistics can be presented in different forms, to cater for different purposes. In the Palau statistics published by FAO (Part 1 of this profile), the presentation follows the international conventions and standards used by FAO and its Member States for reporting catches, which are given by the flag of the catching vessel. Accordingly, the fishery and aquaculture production of Palau in 2014 published by FAO (as given in Part 1) was 926 tonnes. In Table 3 below, the Palau fishery production statistics include the catch by Palau-flagged vessels, the catch by small boats operated by nationals from Palau and the catch from fishing activities that do not involve a vessel (e.g. reef gleaning). The offshore category in the table is defined as the catch from Palau-flagged, industrial-scale fishing operations that are carried out anywhere in the western and central Pacific Ocean (i.e. inside or outside Palau waters). Table 3: Palau fisheries production in 2014 (as per FAO reporting standards) Coastal Coastal FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Palau-flagged Coastal Coastal Palau-flagged Aquaculture Freshwater offshore commercial subsistence Volume 22 tonnes and 343 800 1 865 1 250 100 (tonnes) pcs Value 285 000 10 000 3 200 000 3 300 000 375 000 (USD) Units: tonnes unless otherwise stated The amounts of production given in the above table differ from those shown in Part 1. The table consists of the production estimated from a variety of sources (see SPC study below), whereas the quantities reported in Part 1 are generally what is reported to FAO by the Palau government.