status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in …...1 asia-pacific fishery commission status...

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ASIA-PACIFIC

FISHERY

COMMISSION

Status and potential of

fisheries and

aquaculture in Asia

and the Pacific

A P F I Cm e m b e r

R e s t o ft h e w o r l d

C h i n a

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By

Shunji Sugiyama, Derek Staples & Simon Funge-SmithFAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

RAP Publication 2004/25

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsRegional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Bangkok, 2004

Status and potential of fisheries and aquaculturein Asia and the Pacific

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The designation and presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinionwhatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning thelegal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of itsfrontiers and boundaries.

All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educationalor other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyrightholders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information productfor 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 SecretaryAsia-Pacific Fishery CommissionFAO Regional Office for Asia and the PacificMaliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Athit RoadBangkok 10200THAILANDTel: (+66) 2 697Fax: (+66) 2 697 4445E-mail: [email protected]

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Preface

One of the important activities of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) is to provide itsmembers with an overview of the status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in theAsia-Pacific region. The region currently produces almost 50 percent of the world’s fish fromcapture fisheries and 90 percent from aquaculture. Fish and fisheries are important in supplyinganimal protein and nutrition to a large part of the Asian-Pacific populations, and are increasinglybecoming an important source of income and trade for the region.

There are many differences, most obviously geographical, between the sub-regions and seas ofthe region, but there are also many common trends that will have a large impact on the futuresupply of fish. One alarming trend is the rapid decline in the status of coastal fishery resourcesand ecosystems throughout the region.

Aquaculture production is increasing, with a large part of this increase being driven by massivegrowth 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 isnot sustainable in the long term unless major changes take place in the management of capturefisheries and in aquaculture practices.

This report provides an excellent summary of the major trends and future potential for fisheriesand aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region and provides an insight into the many challenges thatwill need to be addressed if fisheries and aquaculture are to continue to contribute significantlyto food security and poverty reduction in the region.

He ChangchuiAssistant Director-General and Regional Representative

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

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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 assumeda new role as a “regional consultative forum”, embarking on a new chapter in its endeavour to respondeffectively to the changing requirements in the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the region. In supportof the work of the Forum, APFIC is committed to improving the quality of information on the status andtrends 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 fisheriesand 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 andaquaculture in Asia and the Pacific. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. RAPPublication 2004/25. 53 pp.

The fisheries and aquaculture sector is of fundamental importance to the Asia-Pacific regionproviding opportunities for revenue generation and employment, and contributing to food security.This document reviews the current status of inland and marine fisheries resources and theircontribution to national economies and food security. Regional fishery data and information storedin FAO databases are analysed to provide a comprehensive picture of production trends offisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region, which is further illustrated by a detailed viewof sub-regions and aquaculture production by species groups. It also touches upon issues thatrequire closer attention in order for the fisheries resources to be managed in a responsive andsustainable manner.

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Geographical scope of this review

States and areas

This review covers the States and entities of the Asia-Pacific region that report fisheries and aquaculturestatistics 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 andFutuna 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) andTaiwan 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 theproduction is assigned to the flag vessel, the catches made outside the regional area mentioned aboveare 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 fisheriesare excluded.

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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 ....................................................................................................................... 34

4. AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION TRENDS BY SPECIES GROUP ................................................ 36

4.1 CARNIVOROUS SPECIES OR SPECIES REQUIRING HIGHER PRODUCTION INPUTS ............................................. 36

4.2 FINFISH REQUIRING LOWER INPUTS ..................................................................................................... 37

4.3 CRUSTACEANS ................................................................................................................................ 38

4.4 MOLLUSC ...................................................................................................................................... 40

4.5 AQUATIC PLANTS ............................................................................................................................. 40

4.6 REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS ............................................................................................................... 41

4.7 NICHE AQUACULTURE SPECIES ........................................................................................................... 41

5. SELECTED ISSUES FACING FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC . 42

5.1 “TRASH FISH”CATCHES .................................................................................................................... 42

5.2 FISH MEAL AND OTHER FISH-BASED INGREDIENTS FOR AQUACULTURE FEED ................................................ 43

5.3 LIVE FISH TRADE – FOOD FISH AND ORNAMENTAL AQUARIUM FISH ............................................................. 46

6. THE OUTLOOK FOR FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC .............. 48

6.1 GLOBAL AND REGIONAL TRENDS ........................................................................................................ 48

6.2 COASTAL FISHERIES ......................................................................................................................... 48

6.3 OFFSHORE FISHERIES ....................................................................................................................... 50

6.4 AQUACULTURE ................................................................................................................................ 51

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Table of contents (continued)

Page

Tables

Table 1. Contribution of capture fisheries and aquaculture to GDP .................................................... 1

Table 2. Top twenty capture production species in the Asia-Pacific region ........................................ 8

Table 3. Top ten aquaculture producer States in 2002 ......................................................................... 8

Table 4. Top twenty cultured species in Asia-Pacific region by quantity ............................................ 9

Table 5. South Asia capture fisheries production, top ten species ..................................................... 10

Table 6. Southeast Asia capture fisheries production, top ten species .............................................. 12

Table 7. China capture fisheries production, top ten species .............................................................. 14

Table 8. Unidentified capture production in China ............................................................................... 14

Table 9. Other Asia capture fisheries production, top ten species ...................................................... 16

Table 10. Oceania capture fisheries production, top ten species .......................................................... 18

Table 11. Comparison of catch, revenues, costs and profits ................................................................. 23

Table 12. The large marine ecosystems of the Asia-Pacific region ....................................................... 26

Table 13. Aquaculture production reported under “marine finfish nei” ................................................. 37

Table 14. Tilapia top eight producer States (2002) ................................................................................. 37

Table 15. Carps and barbs top ten producer States (2002) ................................................................... 38

Table 16. Milkfish top seven producer States (2002) .............................................................................. 38

Table 17. Penaeid shrimp top ten producer States (2002) ..................................................................... 39

Table 18. Freshwater prawn top eight producer States (2002) .............................................................. 40

Table 19: Lower value molluscs top ten production (2002) .................................................................... 40

Table 20: Higher value molluscs top ten production (2002) ................................................................... 40

Table 21. Aquatic plants top ten producer States (2002) ....................................................................... 41

Table 22. Aquatic plants top ten cultured species (2002) ...................................................................... 41

Table 23. Net fish meal usage in the Asia-Pacific region (2001) ............................................................. 44

Table 24. Live fish imports to China PR, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Singapore in 2000 ......... 47

Table 25. Status of tuna species in the Western and Central Pacific and in the Indian ocean ............ 51

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Table of contents (continued)

Page

Figures

Figure 1. Trends in global capture production ....................................................................................... 5

Figure 2. Trends in capture production by sub-region outside China .................................................. 5

Figure 3. Trends in capture production by species group outside China ............................................ 5

Figure 4. Trends in global aquaculture production ................................................................................ 7

Figure 5. Trends in aquaculture production of the Asia-Pacific region by environment ...................... 7

Figure 6. Trends in capture production of South Asia by environment ................................................ 11

Figure 7. Capture production of South Asia by major species groups ................................................ 11

Figure 8. Trends in aquaculture production of South Asia by major species groups .......................... 11

Figure 9. Aquaculture production of major species in South Asia ....................................................... 11

Figure 10. Trends in capture production of Southeast Asia by environment ......................................... 13

Figure 11. Capture production of Southeast Asia by major species groups ......................................... 13

Figure 12. Aquaculture production of Southeast Asia: proportion of major species groups ............... 13

Figure 13. Trends in aquaculture production of Southeast Asia by major species groups ................... 13

Figure 14. Trends in capture production of China by environment ........................................................ 15

Figure 15. Capture production of China by major species groups ........................................................ 15

Figure 16. Trends in aquaculture production of China by environment ................................................. 15

Figure 17. Trends in top eight cultured species in China ........................................................................ 15

Figure 18. Trends in major cultured carnivorous species production in China ...................................... 15

Figure 19. Trends in capture production of other Asia by environment ................................................. 17

Figure 20. Capture production of other Asia by major species groups ................................................. 17

Figure 21. Aquaculture production of other Asia: proportion of major species groups ....................... 17

Figure 22. Trends in aquaculture production of other Asia by major species groups ........................... 17

Figure 23. Trends in capture production of Oceania by environment .................................................... 19

Figure 24. Capture production of Oceania by major species groups .................................................... 19

Figure 25. “Fishing down the food chain” ............................................................................................... 21

Figure 26. Trawl surveys in the Asian region ........................................................................................... 21

Figure 27. Declines in the abundance of fish .......................................................................................... 23

Figure 28. Changes in the composition of the top ten species .............................................................. 23

Figure 29. Large Marine Ecosystems of the APFIC Region .................................................................... 25

Figure 30. Reported landings from the Kuroshio Current LME .............................................................. 29

Figure 31. Reported landings from Western and Central Pacific ........................................................... 29

Figure 32. Reported landings from the Yellow Sea LME ........................................................................ 29

Figure 33. Reported landings from the Gulf of Thailand LME ................................................................ 31

Figure 34. Reported landings from the Northwest Australian Shelf LME............................................... 31

Figure 35. Reported landings from the Bay of Bengal LME ................................................................... 31

Figure 36. Reported landings from the South China Sea LME............................................................... 33

Figure 37. Reported landings from the Southeast Australian Shelf LME ............................................... 33

Figure 38. Reported landings from the New Zealand Shelf LME ........................................................... 33

Figure 39. Usage of fishmeal for aquaculture and other sectors ........................................................... 45

Figure 40. Share of total fishmeal use ..................................................................................................... 45

Figure 41. Tuna catches in the Western and Central Pacific region ....................................................... 51

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1.1 Contribution to national economies

Fisheries and aquaculture production is a clearcontributor to national economies across theAsia-Pacific region. Crude estimation of captureproduction value1 indicates that the contribution ofcapture fisheries to GDP accounts for more thanone percent in many States in the region (Table 1).Capture fisheries are particularly important inSmall Island Developing States (SIDS), where thefisheries sector plays a critical role in the nationaleconomies. The economic contribution of fisheriesproduction is less in South and Southeast AsianStates, yet there are still ten of these States towhich fisheries contribute more than one percentof GDP. It is also worth noting that these figuresfor fisheries value are probably underestimated anddo not adequately value the artisanal part of thesector. Overall it is clear that more policy attentionshould be paid to this important production sector.For example, according to the official reports fromCambodia, fisheries production is more valuablethan rice production in the country.

Aquaculture also makes an important contributionto GDP. In Asian States, which are the productioncentre of aquaculture, aquaculture productionaccounts for over one percent of GDP in sevenStates. Statistics related to export income fromaquaculture products are not generally availableand this affects the estimation of the contributionto foreign currency earnings through exports ofaquaculture products.

It is clear that the State listings above also closelymatch those States which export considerableamounts of aquaculture products (particularlyshrimp). China PR is an exception in this case,since the majority of aquaculture products it

produces are consumed domestically, althoughthere is an increasing trend towards exportfocussed products.

1. Contributions of fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacificregion

The capture fisheries and aquaculture sectors are of fundamental importance to the Asia-Pacific region interms of food security, revenue generation and employment. In many countries, catching or farming aquaticresources forms a vital part of rural people’s livelihoods. In cultural terms, aquatic resources mean morethan a source of income or food supply; traditional fishery products such as fish sauce and fish-basedcondiments are important ingredients of people’s daily diet which are not easily substituted. People utilizeall sizes and types of fish and there is very little discard or wastage of this valuable resource. It is onlynow becoming apparent that fish play an important role in both the food security and nutritional securityof many rural and coastal populations.

1 The data to quantify the value of capture production is notreadily available for many States. As indicative figures, unitvalue of 0.8 US$ per kg was applied for this estimation ofcapture production value.

Table 1Contribution of capture fisheries andaquaculture to GDP

Production value as percent of GDP2

Capture fisheries Aquaculture

Kiribati 33.549 Lao PDR 5.775Marshall Is. 28.378 Viet Nam* 3.497Maldives 17.294 Bangladesh 2.688Cambodia 10.030 Philippines 2.633Solomon Is.* 7.787 China PR 2.618FSM 6.603 Thailand 2.071Samoa 4.239 Indonesia 1.662Viet Nam* 3.702 Cambodia 0.893PNG 3.306 Kiribati 0.752Vanuatu 3.294 India* 0.540Tonga 2.865 Sri Lanka 0.468Indonesia 2.350 Malaysia 0.366Philippines 2.184 Nepal 0.345Fiji Islands 2.046 Taiwan POC 0.324Thailand 2.044 New Zealand 0.189Bangladesh 1.884 Myanmar 0.167Lao PDR 1.432 Korea RO 0.145Sri Lanka 1.428 Japan 0.108China PR 1.132 Iran 0.105Malaysia 1.128

Employment, income and trade

The information on employment in fisheries andaquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region is very scantyand only a few States report the number of fishersand fish farmers. Despite this, there are clearindications that fisheries and aquaculture playa substantial role in providing vital income

2 GDP values in 2001 calculated from the ESCAP officialstatistics except Taiwan POC. The data of States marked withan asterisk is from 2000.

2

generation opportunities to the people. InIndonesia, capture fisheries sector offered a fulltimeor part time job to 3.3 million people3, whichaccounted for 3.6 percent of the populationof 15 years of age and over (2000)4. Gendersegregated data on employment are available inIndia, where 7.9 million of male and 2.7 million offemale workers were directly engaged in fishingand fish farming. In the Philippines the fisheriessector provides direct and indirect employment toover one million people, or about 12 percent of theagriculture, fishery and forestry sector workforce5.

FAO (1998)6 estimated that Asia accounted for85 percent of the total global number of personsengaged in fisheries production (total 25 million).These figures typically represent full time fisheriesand those for whom fishing is a highly significantactivity. It is well known that such estimatestypically do not include those who fish seasonallyor as a supplemental part of a more diverselivelihood. The estimated figure can therefore beconsidered a lower threshold.

In addition to those people involved directly in theprimary production sector, it should be noted thatthere are also a number of people who are engagedin the supporting industries of fisheries andaquaculture such as boat building, ice making, feedmanufacturing, processing, marketing anddistribution of fisheries and aquaculture products.As demand outstrips supply, the price of fish isincreasing world wide and fish is becoming a “cashcrop”. In many cases, the more marketable fishare being sold to provide income that is used topurchase other more affordable food items.

Fisheries products are highly traded commoditiesin the Asia-Pacific region bringing valuable foreignexchange earnings to exporting States. Over thepast 20 years, many developing countries havebecome net exporters of fish, rather than netimporters, a trend very evident in the SoutheastAsia region. Thailand is a major exporting Statein the region, exporting 1.2 million tonnes offisheries products with the foreign exchangeearning of US$ 3.7 billion in 2002. Fish is

a particularly important internationally tradedcommodity for SIDS where land-based resourcesare very limited. In Marshall Islands, thecontribution of fisheries products was as high as79 percent of total exported commodities of theState by value in 1997. In many developed States,such as Japan, the trend has been reversed withthese countries becoming net importers, rather thannet exporters. The quantity of imported fisheriesproducts in China PR exceeded that of exportedproducts in 2002; however, China PR achieveda remarkable trade surplus of US$ 2.4 billion fromfisheries products, indicative of the strong valueadding that occurred in the process.

1.2 Contribution to food security

Importance of fish in human nutrition

Fish is a food of excellent nutritional value and itmakes a very significant contribution to the diet ofmany fish-consuming communities in both thedeveloped and developing world.

Fish provides high quality protein and a widevariety of vitamins and minerals, includingvitamins A and D, phosphorus, magnesium,selenium, and iodine, especially in marine fish. Fishis also a valuable source of essential fatty acidsand its protein is easily digestible.

Even in small quantities, fish can have a significantpositive impact on improving the quality of dietaryprotein intake by complementing the essentialamino acids that are often present in low quantitiesin the rice-and-vegetable diets typical of manydeveloping States. In particular, fish is a richsource of lysine which is an essential amino acidthat is often deficient in rice diets with little animalprotein.

Recent research shows that fish is much more thanjust an alternative source of animal protein. Fishoils in fatty fish are the richest source of a type offat that is vital for brain development in unbornbabies and infants. Closely spaced pregnancies,as often seen in developing States, can lead to thedepletion of the mother’s supply of essential fattyacids, leaving younger siblings deprived of this vitalnutrient at a crucial stage in their growth. Thismakes all fish and especially fatty fish, such astuna, mackerel and sardine, particularly goodcomponents of the diet of pregnant and lactatingwomen. It is therefore apparent that fish makesa valuable contribution to the nutritional quality ofthe diets of the populations of many developingcountries in the Asia-Pacific region.

3 FAO Fisheries Information, Data and Statistics unit.4 Statistics Indonesia of the Republic of Indonesia http://

www.bps.go.id/index.shtml5 Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic resources of the

Philippines http://www.bfar.da.gov.ph/programs/gma_fisprogrm/fish_sector.htm

6 FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries No. 7Responsible Fish Utilization, FAO Rome 1998, 33 p.

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Trends in fish consumption

Taken globally about one billion people rely on fishas their main source of animal protein, especiallyin coastal areas where the dependence on fish istypically high. About 20 percent of the world’spopulation derives at least 20 percent of its animalprotein from fish, and some small island Statesdepend on fish almost exclusively. For instance,fish contribute more than, or close to, 50 percentof total animal proteins in some small islanddeveloping States and in Bangladesh, Cambodia,Indonesia, Japan and Sri Lanka.

Asia and the Pacific represents the most importantregion for fisheries and aquaculture production. Ithas a number of States with the highest per capitaconsumption. Importantly, the source of fish in thediet of rural people in this region is graduallychanging. Rural populations that were once almostentirely dependent upon inland capture fisheries fortheir food have seen the decline of fisheriesresources through environmental changes andchanging water management regimes. Aquaculturefish has become an increasingly viable alternativeto inland capture fish as cheap wild fish becomeless available. This trend is also accompanied byrising prices for fish.

Fish consumption in selected States

Globally 100 million tonnes of fish were availablefor consumption in 2001 and two-thirds of this totalwas consumed in Asia. Of this, 36.2 million tonneswere consumed outside China PR (14.0 kg percapita) and 42.6 million tonnes in China PR alone(25.6 kg per capita). Per capita consumption inOceania was 23.0 kg. Maldives recorded thehighest rate of per capita supply of fish (185.9 kgper year) in this region, followed by Kiribati(75.2 kg per year). There are considerableintra-regional variations depending on access toinland and marine capture fisheries and suitabilityof environments for aquaculture.

Existing estimates of food consumption are derivedfrom food balance calculations based on reported

catches. These provide statistics of total and percaput fish supply in live weight and contribution offish to animal protein supply by State. However,as with production data, their reliability has oftenbeen questioned. In this review, fish consumptionof selected States where survey data are availablewas examined.

Bangladesh

The availability of non-cereal protein food inBangladesh has reportedly increased significantlyand has had a sustained growth rate of over eightpercent per annum in the fishery and livestocksectors in recent years. National nutrition surveysof Bangladesh during 1995-1996 indicated theaverage fish intake was 11.7-13.5 kg/capita/yr forrural and urban populations, with a nationalaverage of 12 kg/capita/yr.

Cambodia

Studies carried out in the late 1990s recorded a fishconsumption of 38-58 kg/capita/yr in SoutheastCambodia. Another estimate puts the per capitaconsumption of fish in Cambodia as high as 67 kg/capita/yr.

India

Diet surveys in India in 1996 showed that the intakeof fish and meat was very low (6.9 and 4.0 kg/capita/yr) in the diets of the urban and rural poor.

Lao PDR

Consumption of fish varies greatly ranging from15 to over 57 kg/capita/yr. An overall average formost of the provinces lies between 15-25 kg/capita/yr.

Viet Nam

According to nutritional surveillance data inViet Nam, the consumption of animal foods isnoted to be increasing. In 1995, fish and sea foodconsumption in three sub-regions, namely RedRiver, Northern Central and Mekong Delta, were15.6, 17.9 and 29.2 kg/capita/yr respectively.

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2.1 Capture fisheries production in theAsia-Pacific region

Production from the Asia-Pacific region’s capturefisheries totalled 44.7 million tonnes in 2002. Theregion has been the world’s largest producer of fishfor decades, with 48.0 percent of global productionin 2002. In inland waters, the regional share hasincreased to 64.7 percent. Of the top 10 producersof capture fish in the world, five States came fromthe Asia-Pacific area, namely China PR (1st),Indonesia (4th), Japan (5th), India (7th) and Thailand(9th). Total capture fisheries production has steadilyincreased since 1950, mainly from the marinecapture fisheries sector (Figure 1).

China PR remains by far the largest producer in theregion with a reported production of 16.3 milliontonnes in 2002, representing 36 percent of regionalproduction. Chinese production is more than threetimes greater than that of Indonesia, which is thesecond largest producer in the region. Because ofits enormous scale of production and remarkablyhigh growth rate, China7 is treated as a distinctsub-region in this review.

Total capture fishery production from marine watersfor all the sub-regions, except China, peaked in1989 at 24.7 million tonnes and gradually declinedto 24.0 million tonnes in 2002. The sub-regiongrouped as “other Asia” was once the topcontributor in the area, but has experienceda serious and continuous decline in productionsince 1988. In contrast, Southeast Asia hasconstantly increased production and maintainedthe largest share of the APFIC region since 1993.

In inland waters, capture fisheries production8 hasgenerally increased and its reported growth in thelate 1990s was remarkable. However, this periodalso coincided with a change in the way severalStates estimated their inland fisheries productionand it is likely that earlier production wasunderestimated. Even today, inland productionfigures may not reflect the true situation – forexample, Coates9 estimated that production fromSoutheast Asia was possibly under-reported bya factor of between 2.5 and 3.6.

Total inland production of the region in 2002 wasreported as 3.4 million tonnes. South Asia andSoutheast Asia contributed the greatest productioncompared with other sub-regions (Figure 2).

2. Production trends in fisheries and aquaculture

The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s largest producer of fish, from both aquaculture and capture fisherysectors. In 2002, this amounted to 46.9 million tonnes from aquaculture and 44.7 million tonnes from capturefisheries. However, it is common knowledge in the region that production from many small-scale operators,especially in inland areas, is not recorded. As expected, there is considerable variation in general trendsamong the five main sub-regions of Asia and the Pacific. Most of the growth in both aquaculture andcapture fisheries has come from China, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Areas such as Japan, Korea DPRand Korea RO have shown a steady reduction in the supply of capture fish and consistent production inaquaculture. Oceania’s production is minor compared with the other sub-regions, but continues to increase,although many of the fisheries in the Pacific small island developing States that operate at a subsistencelevel are not recorded.

7 In this document, “China” refers to the sub-region thatincludes China PR, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan POC.

Top 10 producers of capture fish in 2002 wereChina, Peru, USA, Indonesia, Japan, Chile, India,Russian Federation, Thailand, and Norway, of thesefive are in the Asia-Pacific region.

Total capture fishery production, however, masksconsiderable differences in the trends of the mainspecies groups (Figure 3). Demersal marine fishwere at the highest level of production of 5.2 milliontonnes as early as 1974 and then declined tothe lowest level at 3.7 million tonnes in 1983.Production then gradually recovered to 4.4 milliontonnes in 2002.

8 It is common understanding that fisheries informationsystems in the region have been particularly weak in inlandareas. The relatively low level of inland capture productioncould be simply a reflection of poor quality of information.Constant increase of freshwater/diadromous production forsome States could implicate the excessive reliance onestimation rather than actual measurement of production.

9 Coates, D. (2003). An overview of inland capture fisherystatistics of Southeast Asia. In: New approaches for theimprovement of inland capture fishery statistics in the MekongBasin. FAO & MRC, RAP Publication 2003/01. 45 pp.

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* Excluding aquatic plants Unit: 1000 tonnes

Inland waters Marine waters

APFIC w/o China

ChinaRest of the world

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Figure 2

Trends in capture production by sub-region outside China


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Figure 3

Trends in capture production by species group outside China


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Freshwater and diadromous fish Demersal marine fish Pelagic marine fish

Misc. marine fish Crustaceans Cephalopods

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Figure 1Trends in global capture production

Figure 2Trends in capture production by sub-region outside China

Figure 3Trends in capture production by species group outside China

6

Pelagic marine fish followed the same upward andthen downward trends, peaking at 11.7 milliontonnes in 1988 and subsequently decreasing tothe production levels of the early 1980s by 2002(9.4 million tonnes). Other species groups such asfreshwater/diadromous fish, crustaceans andcephalopods have grown steadily while molluscproduction has levelled off at around 900 thousandtonnes.

A comparison of the top 20 species in the region(Table 2) shows that although there are changesin the rankings over time, the region’s catch isdominated by small pelagic marine species(e.g. Japanese jack mackerel, Japanese anchovy,chub mackerel, Pacific saury, Indian oil sardine,Indian mackerels and scads).

It is significant that the reduction in catch of singledominant species such as Alaska pollock10 in theearly 1970s and chub mackerel11 in the late 1970sbrought up the relative ranking of large pelagicmarine species (i.e. skipjack tuna and yellowfintuna) in 2000. When the Chinese figures areincluded, the large catches of largehead hairtail(1.3 million tonnes), akiami paste shrimp (Acetesspp.) (578 thousand tonnes) and Japanese Spanishmackerel (519 thousand tonnes) from thissub-region increases their importance in the overallrankings

It should also be noted that there is considerablecapture production not identified to the specieslevel but recorded as marine/freshwater fishes nei(not elsewhere included), marine/freshwatermolluscs nei and marine/freshwater crustaceansnei. The quantity reported under these categorieshas been increasing significantly in recent years,which indicates a worrying trend in availablestatistical quality. In 2002, 16.8 million tonnes ofcapture production was not identified to species,order, or family level.

2.2 Aquaculture production in theAsia-Pacific region

The Asia-Pacific region is by far the world’slargest contributor to world aquaculture, producing46.9 million tonnes12 or 91 percent of globalaquaculture production. In terms of production

by value, the region’s share is slightly less, at82 percent of total value of global aquacultureproduction. Even when aquatic plant productionis excluded (the vast majority of which originatesin the Asia-Pacific area), the region still remainsthe dominant aquaculture production area,representing 89 percent of global aquacultureproduction by quantity and 80 percent by value.

The growth of aquaculture production in the regionhas been very strong for the last ten years, resultingmainly from increased production from China(annual growth rate of 13.8 percent13). Both inlandculture and mariculture showed steady growth butthe growth rate of the inland culture sector wasmore rapid (Figure 4).

10 Its highest production was 2.7 million tonnes in 1973.11 Its highest production was 1.7 million tonnes in 1978.12 It should be noted that regionally aggregated figures in this

report are based on national data, the quality of which isknown to be very uneven among States. Some nationalfigures are estimates or repetitions of the data previouslyreported to FAO.

Top 10 aquaculture producer States by quantity(excluding aquatic plants) in 2002 were China PR,India, Indonesia, Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand,Norway, Chile, Viet Nam, and USA. Seven of theseare Asian States, dominating the top 6 ranks.

By value, China PR, Japan, India, Chile, Thailand,Indonesia, Norway, Viet Nam and Bangladesh areamongst the top 10 producer States. (see Table 3)

China PR14 alone reported to have produced36.6 million tonnes or 79 percent of the worldaquaculture production in 2002 (including aquaticplants). To understand the enormous scale ofaquaculture production in China, it can becompared with the total fisheries production ofPeru, the world second largest fisheries producerafter China PR, which was 8.8 million tonnes in2002 (including both capture and aquaculture).This was still less than one quarter of China’saquaculture production alone. Since China PR issuch a predominant producer, the scale of reportedproduction can mask other regional trends;therefore, China15 will be treated separately andpresented as a sub-region in its own right.

Even excluding China, the Asia-Pacific region stillremains an important production area foraquaculture, exhibiting steady growth regardless ofthe culture environment. In particular, inland culturedoubled its production from 1854 thousand tonnesin 1990 to 4 478 thousand tonnes in 2002. Such

13 For the period of 1991-2001 without aquatic plantsproduction.14 The massive scale of China PR’s aquaculture production

challenges statistical collection and there are uncertaintiesregarding the quantities reported.15 See footnote 7.

percent

reported

7

* Excluding aquatic plants Unit: 1000 tonnes (quantity), million US$ (value)

Quantity Value

APFIC w/o China

China

Rest of the world

0

20000

40000

60000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

APFIC w/o China

China

Rest of the world

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Figure 5

Trends in aquaculture production of the Asia-Pacific region by environment

Marine waters


Inland waters

0

3000

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9000

12000

15000

18000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

China Regional total w/o China Rest of the world

0

3000

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9000

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1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Figure 4Trends in global aquaculture production

Figure 5Trends in aquaculture production of the Asia-Pacific region by environment

8

Table 2Top twenty capture production species in the Asia-Pacific region

1960 1980 2000 (production) 2000 with China (production)

1 Jap. jack mackerel Chub mackerel Skipjack tuna 1 333.1 Japanese anchovy 1 853.9

2 Jap. flying squid Alaska pollock Japanese anchovy 582.8 Largehead hairtail 1 420.5

3 Japanese anchovy Skipjack tuna Yellowfin tuna 572.9 Skipjack tuna 1 417.3

4 Chub mackerel Natantian decapods Jap. flying squid 570.4 Scads nei 1 163.5

5 Pacific saury Jap. flying squid Scads nei 523.7 Chub mackerel 872.9

6 Alaska pollock Japanese anchovy Chub mackerel 522.2 Akiami paste shrimp 594.8

7 Indian oil sardine Indian oil sardine Natantian decapods 500.6 Yellowfin tuna 585.6

8 Natantian decapods Croakers, drums nei Sardinellas nei 462.5 Japanese flying squid 576.3

9 Scads nei Yellowfin tuna Croakers, drums nei 461.5 Jap. Spanish mackerel 553.7

10 Indian mackerel Sardinellas nei Indian mackerels 458.1 Jellyfishes 504.4

11 Sharks, rays, skates Stolephorus anchovies Alaska pollock 446.2 Alaska pollock 460.0

12 Yellowfin tuna Indian mackerels Indian oil sardine 358.6 Natantian decapods 449.6

13 Skipjack tuna Sharks, rays, skates Yesso scallop 304.4 Croakers, drums nei 437.5

14 Clupeoids nei Pacific saury Pacific saury 288.7 Sardinellas nei 429.0

15 Croakers, drums nei Scads nei Tuna-like fishes nei 287.3 Indian mackerels nei 387.0

16 Indian mackerels nei Clupeoids nei Cephalopods nei 282.1 Cuttlefish, bobtail squids 386.3

17 Bigeye tuna Tuna-like fishes nei Clupeoids nei 278.3 Indian oil sardine 369.2

18 Stolephorus anchovies Ponyfishes nei Stolep. anchovies 276.1 Gazami crab 365.8

19 Sea catfishes nei Bigeye tuna Sharks, rays, skates 272.3 Silver pomfrets nei 309.4

20 Chumsalmon Carangids nei Jap. jack mackerel 271.5 Tuna-like fishes nei 309.0

Unit: 1 000 tonnes

Table 3Top ten aquaculture producer States in 2002

By quantity By value

Country (1 000 tonnes) Country (million US$)

1 China 27 767 1 China 28 4282 India 2 192 2 Japan 3 3943 Indonesia 914 3 India 2 5394 Japan 828 4 Chile 1 6345 Bangladesh 787 5 Thailand 1 4366 Thailand 645 6 Indonesia 1 4187 Norway 554 7 Norway 1 1558 Chile 546 8 Viet Nam 1 1369 Viet Nam 519 9 Bangladesh 1 126

10 USA 497 10 Brazil 909Other 4 550 Other 10 621TOTAL 39 799 TOTAL 53 798

Excluding aquatic plants

9

Table 4Top twenty cultured species in Asia-Pacific region by quantity

Inland waters

1990 2002

1 Silver carp 1 416.6 1 Silver carp 4 009.6

2 Grass carp 1 042.0 2 Grass carp 3 494.5

3 Bighead carp 671.8 3 Common carp 2 955.3

4 Common carp 658.4 4 Bighead carp 1 715.5

5 Tilapias 282.8 5 Crucian carp 1 700.6

6 Rohu 244.7 6 Tilapias 1 126.4

7 Catla 235.3 7 Rohu 578.4

8 Crucian carp 215.6 8 White amur bream 564.1

9 Japanese eel 163.5 9 Catla 469.1

10 White amur bream 161.6 10 Mrigal carp 424.0

11 Mrigal carp 160.1 11 Chinese river crab 340.0

12 Clarias catfishes 61.1 12 Black carp 225.3

13 Barb 47.0 13 Japanese eel 222.4

14 Climbing perch 39.4 14 Giant river prawn 191.4

15 Black carp 37.9 15 Clarias catfishes 182.1

16 Milkfish 34.5 16 Mandarin fish 130.0

17 Cyprinids nei 25.6 17 Soft-shell turtle 119.7

18 Gourami 24.9 18 Barbs 79.0

19 Trouts 24.7 19 Milkfish 55.3

20 Giant river prawn 18.5 20 Gouramis 46.7

Misc. freshwater fishes 776.8 Misc. freshwater fishes 2 815.6

Marine/brackish waters

1990 2002

1 Milkfish 399.6 1 Giant tiger prawn 508.6

2 Giant tiger prawn 289.7 2 Milkfish 472.5

3 Fleshy prawn 185.1 3 Fleshy prawn 385.5

4 Japanese amberjack 161.6 4 Marine crabs nei 178.3

5 Silver seabream 52.0 5 Japanese amberjack 162.7

6 Tilapias 39.2 6 Silver seabream 73.4

7 Banana prawn 32.8 7 Other penaeus shrimps 65.7

8 Metapenaeus shrimps 28.6 8 Tilapias 50.9

9 Coho salmon 23.6 9 Banana prawn 42.9

10 Other penaeus shrimps 21.0 10 Bastard halibut 33.2

11 Kuruma prawn 9.3 11 Metapenaeus shrimps 22.4

12 Barramundi 7.9 12 Groupers 21.0

13 Mullets 7.9 13 Barramundi 19.7

14 Bastard halibut 7.1 14 Scorpionfishes 15.3

15 Indian white prawn 6.7 15 Indo-Pacific swamp crab 14.5

16 Japanese jack mackerel 5.9 16 Atlantic salmon 14.4

17 Indo-Pacific swamp crab 3.8 17 Mullets 17.4

18 Tilapias 3.8 18 Indian white prawn 9.5

19 Puffers 2.9 19 Coho salmon 8.0

20 Groupers 2.8 20 Chinook salmon 7.0

Misc. fishes 38.6 Miscellaneous fishes 578.1

Misc. crustaceans 4.5 Misc. crustaceans 230.7

* Colourd cells indicate carnivorous species ** Excluding aquatic plants and molluscs Unit: 1 000 tonnes

10

advances far exceed the growth of aquaculture inthe rest of the world (Figure 5).

A comparison of the top twenty cultured species16

in the region between 1990 and 2002 (excludingaquatic plants and molluscs) shows that there hasbeen little change in the higher ranked species ininland waters, which are dominated by Chinese andIndian carps. It is worth noting that the number ofcarnivorous species has increased during the pastten years. In marine waters, although there arechanges in the order of species, major culturedspecies are generally dominated by high-valuedcarnivorous species such as penaeid shrimp,jacks, sea breams and salmons. Production ofcrabs has made significant advances in recentyears (i.e. Chinese river crab in inland waters andmarine crabs in marine waters) (Table 4).

2.3 Status and trends by sub-regions

South Asia – capture fisheries

The South Asian sub-region showed very strongand continuous growth during 1980-2002, nearlydoubling its capture production from 3.1 milliontonnes in 1980 to 6.0 million tonnes in 2002(Figure 6). Although overall growth largely resultedfrom production in marine waters, South Asia hasthe largest share of inland capture production(29 percent of total capture fisheries production)among sub-regions in the Asia-Pacific area. Inlandproduction was relatively stable during late 1970sand 1980s, but grew rapidly from the early 1990s.It reached the highest level of production at1.9 million tonnes in 2001 but showed a sharpdecrease in 2002 for the first time in the past10 years.

It is notable that there are no dominant speciesamong the top production species in this area. Incomparison with top production species of othersub-regions, the combination of South Asianspecies is unique in the sense that freshwaterspecies (Cyprinids nei: 5th), diadromous species(Hilsa shad: 3rd) and demersal species (Croakers/drums: 2nd and Bombay-duck: 9th) are ranked highin the list (Table 5).

Freshwater fish and diadromous fish has beenthe number one production group for the lastfour decades (except in 1992) and achieved very

rapid growth in the 1990s. Among marinespecies, pelagic fishes and demersal fishesshowed almost parallel increasing trends withsimilar levels of production in 2002 (1 254 thousandtonnes and 1 190 thousand tonnes respectively).Crustacean production has been relatively stableand production levels of molluscs includingcephalopods in this area have been very low(Figure 7).

16 There is significant volume of aquaculture productionreported by large group of species, e.g. 3 394 thousandtonnes of fin fish production in 2002 were not identified atfamily, order or species level. Consequently, the species itemstotals could have underestimated the real production of theindividual species.

Table 5South Asia capture fisheries production, top tenspecies

Species Tonnes (1 000)

Indian oil sardine 365.8Croakers, drums nei 296.3Hilsa shad 220.8Natantian decapods nei 198.7Cyprinids nei 183.8Skipjack tuna 181.5Giant tiger shrimp 157.1Clupeoids nei 140.9Bombay-duck 135.9Hairtails, scabbardfishes 134.2Marine fishes nei 1 081.7Freshwater fishes nei 1 199.7

South Asia – aquaculture

South Asia’s production increased rapidly from1 179 thousand tonnes in 1990 to 2 807 thousandtonnes in 2002. A notable feature of theaquaculture sector in South Asia is that the majorityof production comes from inland waters and hencethe growth of the sector has been mostly due toincreasing freshwater culture (Figure 8).

Top five cultured species in 2002 were all freshwatercarps (Silver carp, Rohu, Catla, Common carp andMrigal) and their aggregated production was2 390 thousand tonnes accounting for 79 percentof total aquaculture production of the sub-region.

Reported production of freshwater finfishes aloneconstituted 93 percent of total aquacultureproduction in 2002. Although Indian carps (Rohu,Catla and Mrigal carp) have been the mainstays ofthe region’s cultured species, there have beennotable increases in the production of introducedChinese carps in recent years. Silver carpproduction has increased almost five-fold in twoyears (1998-2000) becoming the top culturedspecies in 2002 for the first time. Similarly commoncarp production recorded very rapid increasessince 2000. During the same period the production

11


0

2000

4000

6000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Total production Inland Marine

0

400

800

1200

1600

2000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Freshwater/diadromous fish Demersal marine fish

Pelagic marine fish Misc. marine fish

Crustaceans Cephalopods


Figure 8. Figure 9.

Trends in aquaculture production Aquaculture production of

of South Asia by major species groups major species in South Asia

Unit: 1000 tonnes

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Silver carp Rohu

Catla Common carp

Mrigal carp Penaeid shrimps

Grass carp Clarias catfishes

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Freshwater fishes Crustaceans

Diadromous fishes Marine fishes

Molluscs Other

Figure 6Trends in capture productionof South Asia by environment

Figure 7Capture production of South Asiaby major species groups

Figure 8Trends in aquaculture productionof South Asia by major species groups

Figure 9Aquaculture production ofmajor species in South Asia

12

of indigenous carps showed sharp declines(Figure 9).

Mariculture in South Asia has not been an areaof remarkable growth except for the productionof crustaceans. Marine crustacean production,mostly comprised of Penaeid shrimp, hasincreased steadily and reached 177 thousandtonnes in 2002. In general, the level ofdiversification of cultured species is relatively lowin this area and there has been very limited or noreported marine finfish production.

Southeast Asia – capture fisheries

Similar to the situation in South Asia, productiongrowth in Southeast Asia has been very strong forthe past four decades with marine captureproduction increasing linearly through this period.The production level of 14 million tonnes in 2002(total capture production) was second only to theChina sub-region.

Inland production increased gradually and reached1.5 million tonnes in 2002. Considering the richfreshwater resources in the area, it is commonlythought that the proportion of inland captureproduction, which constitutes only approximately11 percent of total production17, might beparticularly underestimated in this sub-region(Figure 10).

(freshwater/diadromous fish, demersal fish,crustaceans and cephalopods) exhibited similarincreasing trends, maintaining nearly the sameshare of production. The proportion of unidentifiedmarine fish (marine fish nei) is notably high(29 percent of total production) in this sub-regionbecause many States do not segregate marine fishproduction.

Table 6 shows the top ten production species inSoutheast Asia. Eight of the top ten productionspecies are marine pelagic fishes and the top threeranks are dominated by the small pelagic fish group(scads, Indian mackerels, and sardinellas). Thelarge pelagic fish group (skipjack tuna, tuna-likefishes, yellowfin tuna and carangids) also hasrelatively high production.

Southeast Asia – aquaculture

Aquaculture production in Southeast Asia is verydiversified, comprising 39 percent of freshwaterfish, 29 percent of aquatic plants, 13 percent ofcrustaceans, 13 percent of marine/diadromousfishes and 7 percent of molluscs (by quantity). Interms of production by value, highly pricedcrustaceans constituted an increased share of49 percent of the total production, followed byfreshwater fish at 35 percent (Figure 12).

The growth trend is particularly strong forfreshwater finfish culture, which has increased from564 thousand tonnes in 1990 to 1 556 thousandtonnes in 2002 with an average annual incrementof 83 thousand tonnes. In the mariculturesub-sector, aquatic plants showed surprisingproduction growth. Crustaceans have beena major cultured species throughout thesub-region, although this has declined since 2000(Figure 13).

Table 6Southeast Asia capture fisheries production,top ten species


Scads nei 550.7Indian mackerels nei 460.0Sardinellas nei 437.4Skipjack tuna 348.4Natantian decapods nei 323.3Stolephorus anchovies 295.6Tuna-like fishes nei 254.3Yellowfin tuna 242.7Carangids nei 239.3Threadfin breams nei 214.4Marine fishes nei 4 079.7Freshwater fishes nei 1 032.0

In terms of production by main species groups,catches of the pelagic marine fish group andmarine fish nei group have grown strongly and area major driving force of the overall productiongrowth (Figure 11). Other species groups

17 see footnote 8.

Top ten cultured species in Southeast Asia(by quantity, excluding aquatic plants) were milkfish,giant tiger shrimp, tilapias, common carp, clariascatfishes, blood cockle, green mussel, rohu, barbsand gouramis.

Zanzibar weed (Eucheuma cottonii) is the mostwidely cultured aquatic plant in the region witha production of 778 thousand tonnes in 2002.Apart from aquatic plants, Giant tiger shrimp(Penaeus monodon) maintained the position of topproduced species until 2001, although very recentlythe massive increase in production of P. vannameiis challenging this position. P. monodon productiondecreased sharply in 2002, back to the productionlevel of 1992.

13


0

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10,000

15,000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000


0

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2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000





Figure 12

Aquaculture production of Southeast Asia: proportion of major species groups

Production by quantity Production by Value

Freshwater

fishes

34.9%

Diadromous

fishes

8.1%

Crustaceans

51.4%

Aquatic plants

28.6%

Freshwater

fishes

38.5%

Diadromous

fishes

11.7%

Crustaceans

13.2%

Molluscs

7.2%

Freshwater fishes

Diadromous fishes

Marine fishes

Crustaceans

Molluscs

Aquatic plants

Miscellaneous

aquatic animals

Figure 13

Trends in aquaculture production of Southeast Asia by major species groups

Unit: 1000 tonnes

0

400

800

1,200

1,600

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Freshwater fishes

Diadromous fishes

Marine fishes

Crustaceans

Molluscs

Aquatic plants

Others

Figure 10Trends in capture productionof Southeast Asia by environment

Figure 11Capture production of Southeast Asiaby major species groups

Figure 12Aquaculture production of Southeast Asia: proportion of major species groups

Figure 13Trends in aquaculture production of Southeast Asia by major species groups

14

China – capture fisheries

Chinese capture fisheries production can bedivided into three periods that show distinct trends(Figure 14). The first period, 1950 to 1985, ischaracterized by relatively low rates of growth,during which all species groups exhibited a verysimilar pattern, albeit with some annualfluctuations. In the second period, 1986 to 1998,China reported very rapid and substantial growthin production in almost all segments of capturefisheries. Between 1992 and 1997, annualincrements of total production constantly exceededone million tonnes (the highest annual incrementwas 1.7 million tonnes in 1994/1995). The thirdperiod started with the introduction of the zerogrowth policy in 1998; total production started todecline for the first time in twenty years. Thedegree of decline was higher in marine productionthan in inland production.

Although most species groups showed similarrapid growth trends during the second period,trends in the third period varied widely. Productionof the marine fish nei group declined sharply, whilstthe crustacean group continued to grow. Duringthis period, molluscs maintained the sameproduction level (Figure 15).

There are several notable differences in theChinese production figures compared with othersub-regions. These include:

● Remarkably high proportion of crustaceans inChinese production (18.8 percent in 2002)compared to those of other sub-regions.Proportions of crustaceans in Southeast Asia,South Asia and other Asia were 6.1 percent,8.3 percent and 3.9 percent respectively.

● The large quantity of production reportedwithin unidentified large groupings which farexceeded that of the other sub-regions. Totalquantity reported under these groups was8.4 million tonnes in 2002 representing47.5 percent of the Chinese total captureproduction. Production of marine fish neigroup in 2002 alone was almost equal to thetotal capture production of India (Table 8).

● The much smaller amounts of small pelagicfish in the catch.

China – aquaculture

China has continued to show strong growth in allculture environments. Growth in inland culturecame mainly from increased production of finfishculture, which according to official information isbeing achieved through the intensification ofexisting systems rather than any significantincrease in production area. Growth in productionfrom marine waters has been driven by two majorgroups, namely molluscs and aquatic plants(Figure 16).

In China generally, the production of most culturedspecies showed an increasing trend. However,there are a number of species worth highlighting,as follows:

Japanese kelp (Laminaria japonica): this specieshas been the top cultured species in China and itsproduction growth is remarkable; increasing from

Table 7China capture fisheries production, top tenspecies


Largehead hairtail 1 296.2Japanese anchovy 1 174.5Scads nei 608.3Akiami paste shrimp 578.6Japanese Spanish mackerel 518.8Chub mackerel 450.3Silver pomfrets nei 386.3Gazami crab 347.1Golden threadfin bream 309.4Cuttlefish, bobtail squids nei 299.7

Table 7 shows the top ten production species inChina in 2002. Largehead hairtail and Japaneseanchovy catches were extremely high with bothspecies exceeding one million tonnes. A distantsecond group includes a variety of species groupsuch as small pelagic fish (scads and chubmackerel), large pelagic fish (Japanese Spanishmackerel), bentho-pelagic fish (silver pomfrets),demersal fish (golden threadfin bream),crustaceans (akiami paste shrimp and gazami crab)and cephalopods.

Table 8Unidentified capture production in China

Species group Tonnes (1 000)

Marine fishes nei 3 595.5Marine molluscs nei 1 376.7Marine crustaceans nei 1 215.0Freshwater fishes nei 924.2Freshwater crustaceans nei 772.7Freshwater molluscs nei 551.0Total of “nei” groups 8 435.1Total capture production 17 767.2

15


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Figure 16

Trends in aquaculture production of China by environment

Unit: 1000 tonnes

Marine watersInland waters

Aquatic plants

Molluscs

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Aquatic plants Molluscs Crustaceans Marine fishes Diadromous fishes Freshwater fishes

Freshwater

fishes

0

5000

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15000

20000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Figure 17 Figure 18

Trends in top 8 cultured species Trends in major cultured carnivorous

in China (aquatic plants and molluscs) species production in China

Unit: 1000 tonnes

0

1500

3000

4500

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Japanese kelp Pacific cupped oyster

Japanese carpet shell Yesso scallop

Laver (Nori) Constricted tagelus

Aquatic plants nei Marine molluscs nei

0

200

400

600

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Fleshy prawn Chinese river crab

Japanese eel Giant river prawn

Mandarin fish Marine fishes nei

Marine crabs nei

Figure 14Trends in capture production of Chinaby environment

Figure 15Capture production of Chinaby major species groups

Figure 16Trends in aquaculture production of China by environment

Figure 17Trends in top eight cultured speciesin China (aquatic plants and molluscs)

Figure 18Trends in major cultured carnivorousspecies production in China

16

1 222 thousand tonnes in 1990 to 4 208 thousandtonnes in 2002.

Miscellaneous aquatic plants: this massivevolume of aquatic plants is not reported at thespecies level. However, production jumped from196 thousand tonnes in 1990 to 3 931 thousandtonnes in 2002. The highest annual incrementwas 1 485 thousand tonnes between 1997 and1998. As this group and Japanese kelp are notparticularly easy to culture intensively, theseincreases suggest the expansion of additionalareas of seaboard for their culture. A descriptionof the areas under seaweed culture and productionintensity in China would be very useful.

Pacific cupped oyster: this is another culturedspecies that has made outstanding growth;increasing from 532 thousand tonnes in 1990 upto 3 646 thousand tonnes in 2002. Molluscproduction is also difficult to intensify andincreased production suggests developments ofnew production areas as in the case of aquaticplants (Figure 17).

Carnivorous species: Production of high valuecarnivorous species such as mandarin fish,Chinese river crab and marine finfish had beenrelatively low up to the early 1990s. However, rapidgrowth has started to occur since 1995. Many ofthe carnivorous species show very similar patternsof growth in production (Figure 18).

Other Asia – capture fisheries

Since reported inland production in this region islow, the trend in total capture fisheries productionis almost identical to the trend in marineproduction. Total production increased towards itspeak production of 13.6 million tonnes in 1988, andthereafter decreased steadily (Figure 19). In itsbest years, the sub-region’s share of global captureproduction was estimated as high as 40 percent.

Production by main species groups (Figure 20)provides a more detailed picture of the situation ofthe fisheries sector. During the late 1960s to early1970s, demersal fish became the most importantproduction group with a very rapid growth rate,achieving a three-fold increase in fifteen years.However, after the peak production of five milliontonnes in 1974, it started to decline, gradually atfirst, but with a sharp decline after 1976. Thecurrent level of demersal fish production is as lowas in the early 1950s. This reduction wascompensated for by increased production of

marine pelagic fish, the strong growth of whichcontributed to an overall increase of captureproduction until 1988, but then a similar decline tothat of demersal fish production occurred. Currentproduction levels have dropped to those of theearly 1960s.

In terms of major production species, pelagicspecies predominate in this area. It is also notablethat there is high production of cephalopods(Japanese flying squid) and molluscs (Yessoscallop) (Table 9).

Other Asia – aquaculture

In other Asia, particularly in East Asian States,aquatic plants continue to be predominant,accounting for 54 percent of total production. Thisis followed by molluscs (28 percent) and marinefinfish (11 percent). However, the high economicvalue of marine finfish makes this species group thelargest contributor in terms of value, constituting42 percent of total production value (Figure 21).

Production trends by major species groups showthat aquaculture production in this region has beenvery stable; most of the major species groups havebeen maintained at the current level of productionfor the last ten years. The only exception to thisis aquatic plant production, which peaked in 1993then decreased by almost half in 2000 (Figure 22).

It is notable that the percentage of carnivorous fishin the total for fish production is very high in thissub-region (82 percent in 2002) compared withSouth Asia, Southeast Asia and China, which allhave levels below 10 percent.

Table 9Other Asia capture fisheries production, top tenspecies


Japanese anchovy 679.5Japanese flying squid 500.2Skipjack tuna 479.2Chub mackerel 420.8Yesso scallop 306.7Alaska Pollock 298.0Pacific saury 232.5Japanese jack mackerel 222.1Chum salmon 211.7Yellowfin tuna 164.5Marine fishes nei 649.3Marine crustaceans nei 67.4

17


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1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000


0

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1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000





Figure 21

Aquaculture production in other Asia: proportion of major species groups

9.7% 41.9%

11.2%

15.7%

27.8%

27.4%

54.2%

Value

Quantity

Freshwater fishes

Diadromous fishes

Marine fishes

Crustaceans

Molluscs

Aquatic plants

Others

Figure 22

Trends in aquaculture production of other Asia by major species groups

Unit: 1000 tonnes

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Freshwater

fishes

Diadromous

fishes

Marine

fishes

Crustaceans

Molluscs

Aquatic

plants

Figure 19Trends in capture productionof other Asia by environment

Figure 20Capture production of other Asiaby major species groups

Figure 21Aquaculture production in other Asia: proportion of major species groups

Figure 22Trends in aquaculture production of other Asia by major species groups

18

Oceania – capture fisheries

Similar to the other Asia sub-region, Oceania’scapture production consists mainly of fish takenfrom marine waters. Although there have beenannual fluctuations, it has continued to increase(Figure 23). Capture fisheries are often conductedon subsistence scale in many small island Statesand hence production may not be well representedin the official statistics. An effect of this is thatgeneral trends in production are basicallydetermined by a few larger States such as Australiaand New Zealand with well established commercialfisheries sectors, with the exception of offshorepelagic fisheries. Commercial offshore productionhas increased in many small island States andcontributed to the increase in total production.Rapid growth of demersal fish production hasmainly come from the States in temperate waters(i.e. New Zealand and Australia) (Figure 24).

The top ten species produced from capturefisheries in Oceania (Table 10) are distinct fromthose of the rest of the region as the majorityof them are from the temperate waters ofNew Zealand and Australia.

island States in tropical waters. Aquacultureproduction from the small island States is relativelylimited. The aggregated production of all islandStates was 29 462 tonnes in 2002 (less thanone percent of aquaculture production in theAsia-Pacific region).

The major cultured species in terms of quantity areseaweed, clams, penaeid shrimp, tilapia andmilkfish. Two commodities and three Statesdominate the value of commercial aquacultureproduction in region. They are cultured black pearlfrom French Polynesia and the Cook Islands andshrimp from New Caledonia. In 2002 the totalexport value was US$ 153 million.

Live reef fish, aquarium fish and pearls, which arerelatively low in quantity but high in valuecommodities, bring significant income to somePacific Islands. The Pacific is an important sourceof trade in the marine aquarium industry. Althoughthe target species are mostly caught from the wild,there is an increasing desire for culture-basedsources. Giant clam culture for the ornamentaltrade is widespread throughout the region andthe total export is probably in the range of30 000-50 000 pieces/annum. The Pacific is alsoa major supplier of ‘live rock’ (rock encrusted withcoralline algae) with approximately 50 000 piecesof live rock currently being cultured in the FijiIslands.

Eucheuma cottonii (Zanzibar weed) culture is wellestablished in the Kiribati atolls and is beingrejuvenated in the Solomon Islands and Fiji withforecasted production in the order of 1 500 tonnesfor 2004.

Interest in inland freshwater aquaculture is growing,particularly amongst the larger Melanesian Statessuch as Fiji and Papua New Guinea. At presentthe most commonly farmed species are tilapia,common carp and Macrobrachium prawns.

The larger States in the region (New Zealand andAustralia) have shown a steady growth inaquaculture production, which is largely attributableto increased production of finfish species. Majorcultured species of these States were marinemolluscs, salmonids and tunas.

Table 10Oceania capture fisheries production, top tenspecies


Blue grenadier 201.7Skipjack tuna 166.4Wellington flying squid 50.0Yellowfin tuna 47.8Southern blue whiting 42.1Albacore 33.1Jack and horse mackerels 32.3Snoek 23.3Orange roughy 22.6Pink cusk-eel 21.9Marine fishes nei 62.6

Oceania – aquaculture

Aquaculture in the Oceania sub-region occurs intwo distinctly different environs; larger developedStates in temperate waters and small developing

19


0

600

1200

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000


Figure 24

Capture production of Oceania by major species groups


0

200

400

600

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Freshwater/diadromous fish Demersal marine fish Pelagic marine fish

Misc. marine fish Crustaceans Cephalopods


Figure 23Trends in capture production of Oceania by environment

Figure 24Capture production of Oceania by major species groups

20

Marine waters

3.1 Measuring the status of fisheryresources

Traditionally, the status of capture fisheries hasbeen described by (i) providing a summary of thetime series trends in production for a fishery orregion and (ii) presenting an assessment basedon the number of fisheries or stocks categorizedas being under-exploited, fully exploited orover-exploited (e.g. SOFIA18). However, in manyseas of the APFIC region, such descriptions are notsufficient and may in fact be misleading. Reportingtotal production often masks what is actuallyhappening in the fishery, and both of the aboveindicators also rely on the existence of accurateand timely fishery statistics from all the sub-sectorsof the fishery, including small-scale fisheries.Calculating the percentages in terms of exploitationalso relies on having reliable stock assessments,at least for the more abundant fish stocks ina fishery. In the APFIC region characterized bymulti-species/multi-gear fisheries, it is very rare tofind a fishery satisfying the above two conditions.

Pauly and his co-workers at the University of BritishColumbia (UBC), Canada have been advocatinga more ecosystem-based approach to theassessment of fisheries – the so-called “fishingdown the food chain19” approach. The basicconcept of this is presented in Figure 25.

This approach is based on a hypothetical fisheryin which industrial-scale fishing (mainly bottomtrawling, purse seining and long-lining) expanded

in the 1950s and 1960s. The catches in the earlierstages of this development were dominated bylarge longer-lived predators. As these becamefished down, fishers expanded their efforts movingfurther away from their home base and starting totake smaller, less predatory fish. During this period,total production from the fishery can be expectedto be maintained, masking the serial depletion thatis occurring. Most alarming is that throughout thisperiod, the total amount of fish in the ocean iscontinually declining and the catch rates of themajor groups are also declining as they, in turn,become overexploited.

3.2 Evidence from trawl surveys

Biomass analyses

The WorldFish Centre (WFC) has recently prepareda number of papers on the status of fisheries fromeight APFIC States (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand andViet Nam). These analyses are based on trawlsurvey data, spanning the period 1920 to thepresent (Trawlbase)20 and the coverage of surveysis shown in Figure 26.

Overall, analyses of the trawl surveys showedsubstantive degradation and overfishing of coastalstocks. For trawl surveys where there were morethan 25 years between surveys, the amount of fish(measured as tonnes/km2) had declined to between6 and 33 percent of the original value. In all cases,the amount of fish had declined, some as much as40 percent in 5 years. The most dramatic declineswere in the Gulf of Thailand and the East coastof Malaysia. Two examples, one for the Gulf

3. Status of resources

The management of fishery resources in the Asia-Pacific region needs to be improved as overfishing isincreasing and the abundance of the more valuable species has declined. In this review, we first look ata number of the major seas of the region to determine the degree to which ecosystems have been impactedby fishing, and the situation in terms of serial depletion of key major groups in the ecosystem. Evidenceis derived from two sources – trawl surveys carried out throughout the region and catches by major groupsof the region’s Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs).

In inland waters, most fisheries are small-scale activities where the catch per capita is relatively small andused mainly for subsistence purposes. The lack of accurate reporting of these small-scale fisheries makesit difficult to describe their status but it is generally felt that they are under considerable pressure fromloss and degradation of habitat and overfishing.

18 FAO (2000) The state of world fisheries and aquaculture.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,Rome, 142 pp.19 Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Dalsgaard, J., Froese, R. and

Torres, F. Jr. (1998) Fishing down marine food chains. Science279, 860-863.

20 Silvestre, G.T., Garces, L.R., Stobutzki, I., Ahmed, M.,Sontos, R.A.V., Luna, C.Z., Lachica-Alino, L., Christensen, V.,Pauly, D. and Munro (eds.) (2003) Assessment, managementand future directions for coastal fisheries in Asian States.WorldFish Centre Conference Proceedings 67, 1 120 pp.

21

Figure 26. Trawl surveys in the Asian region From Silvestre, G.T., Garces, L.R., Stobutzki, I, Ahmed, M, Santos, R.A.V., Luna, C.Z and Zhou, W (2003). South and South-East Asian coastal fisheries: Their status and directions for improved management. Conference Synopsis and recommendations, p1-40 In Silvestre, G.T., Garces, L.R., Stobutzki, I, Ahmed, M, Santos, R.A.V., Luna, C.Z., Lachica-Alino, L., Christensen, V., Pauly, D. and Munro (eds) Assessment, Management and Future Directions for Coastal Fisheries in Asian Countries. WorldFish Centre Conference Proceedings 67,1 120pp.

Catch

(mt)

Total catch

Large demersalsLarge Pelagics

Small demersalSmall Pelagics

Time (years)

Figure 25“Fishing down the food chain”A hypothetical model of the impact of fishing on a marine ecosystem

Figure 26Trawl surveys in the Asian regionFrom Silvestre, G.T., Garces, L.R., Stobutzki, I., Ahmed, M., Santos, R.A.V., Luna, C.Z.and Zhou, W. (2003). South and Southeast Asian coastal fisheries: Their status anddirections for improved management. Conference Synopsis and recommendations,p. 1-40 in Silvestre, G.T., Garces, L.R., Stobutzki, I., Ahmed, M., Santos, R.A.V., Luna,C.Z., Lachica-Alino, L., Christensen, V., Pauly, D. and Munro (eds.) Assessment,Management and Future Directions for Coastal Fisheries in Asian Countries. WorldFishCentre Conference Proceedings 67, 1 120 pp.

Cat

ch (

mt)

22

of Thailand and one for Manila Bay are given inFigure 27.

The massive decline in the amount of fisheriesresources available for today’s fishers has alsobeen associated with changes in the compositionof the catch. Surveys in the Gulf of Thailand andin the Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines have shownthat the abundance of larger, more valuable species(e.g. groupers, snappers, sharks and rays) higherup in the food chain have declined, while smallerspecies lower in the food chain (e.g. triggerfish,cardinal fish and squids/octopus) have increasedto relative abundance. In the Gulf of Thailand trawlsurvey catch in the 1960s, the top 10 species(or species groups) were made up of rays, bream,goatfish with some squid, lizard fish and snapper(Figure 28). By contrast in the mid-1990s, lessdesirable pony fish, squid, barracuda, and lizardfish had become much more prevalent.

The Trawlbase survey study enabled an estimationof the exploitation rate for 427 stocks in the region.With the exception of the coast of BruneiDarussalam, where fishing pressure is less intense,the majority of stocks were being fished at levelsabove the recommended optimum range.

Ecosystem modelling

A new approach to fishery assessment is emerging,and in the case of the eight States with extensivetrawl survey data, facilitated by having goodestimates on the amount of fish present in the sea.This approach is based on ecosystem modelling(e.g. Ecopath and Ecosim) that allows an analysisof the structure and function of whole ecosystemsand how they have changed over time.Christensen and his co-workers at the UBC arepioneering the approach and have recentlyconcluded an analysis of the impact of fishing inthe South China Sea21. This analysis clearlyshowed that for this large sea, “fishing down thefood chain” has occurred, indicating gradualreplacement of large, long-lived predators by small,short-lived fish lower down the food chain, oftenreferred to now as “trash fish”. The only exceptionto these trends was off the coast of BruneiDarussalaen where fishing pressure is much lighter

than in other States, since it effectively has marineprotected areas (MPAs) around its oil rigs.

Socio-economic assessments

As part of the analyses of historical trawl data,the WFC also carried out some in-depthsocio-economic assessments of the eightparticipating States. This profiling allowed anassessment of the importance of coastal fisheriesin terms of earnings, employment, trade andnutrition and their contribution to the economy.The profitability of fishing operations in Malaysia,Thailand and Viet Nam was studied, and brokendown to several sub-sectors.

In general, it was shown that fishing is stilla profitable enterprise in all three States,particularly for the owners of industrial fishingvessels. Owners of industrial craft and gear earnlarge profits (up to 30 percent per year) whileartisanal, small-scale fishers often have anextremely marginal livelihood. Unfortunately,industrial fishing employs few crew andprovides little opportunity for unemployed orunder-employed small-scale fishers. Even withinsmall-scale fisheries, benefits are not evenlydistributed. The loss in revenue and profitsassociated with overfishing were demonstratedusing the Gulf of Thailand as an example (Table 11).Based on 1995-1996 data, large rent dissipationand excess capacity (in both labour and capital)can be clearly seen. Similar analyses have beendone for the Philippines and other areas in the past.

These analyses of trawl survey data are continuingand the available results all point to substantivedegradation and biological overfishing in most ofthe survey areas spread across South Asia andSoutheast Asia. The amount of fish now availablefor the region’s fishers is only a small percentageof that originally available before the rapidescalation of industrial fishing.

3.3 Evidence from Large MarineEcosystems

Trends across Large Marine Ecosystems

In this analysis, the trends in catch composition forthe major Large Marine Ecosystems of the APFICregion were examined. LMEs are relatively largeregions (200 000 km2 or more) characterized bydistinct bathymetry, hydrography, productivity, andtrophically dependent populations. Their seawardlimit usually extends beyond the continental shelf.Being defined by natural parameters, they mostoften straddle political boundaries. They have beenidentified for the purpose of comprehensive

21 Christensen, V.T., Garces, L.R., Silvestre, G.T. andPauly, D. (2003). Fisheries impact on the South China Sealarge marine ecosystem: A preliminary analysis using spatiallyexplicit methodology, p. 51-62 in Silvestre, G.T., Garces, L.R.,Stobutzki, I., Ahmed, M., Sontos, R.A.V., Luna, C.Z., Lachica-Alino, L., Christensen, V., Pauly, D. and Munro (eds.)Assessment, management and future directions for coastalfisheries in Asian States. WorldFish Centre ConferenceProceedings 67, 1 120 pp.

23

1966 1995

Rays

Threadfin

bream

GoatfishBream spp.

Indian squid

Tachsuridae

Rays Threadfin bream Goatfish

Bream spp. Indian squid Tachsuridae

Bigeye Lizard fish Snapper

Scad

Splendid Pony

fish

Indian squid

BarracudaPugnose pony

fish

Bream

Lizard fish

Splendid Pony fish Indian squidBarracuda Pugnose pony fishBream Lizard fishGoatfish Rabbit fishChinese squid Orange fin pony fish

Table 11Comparison of catch, revenues, costs and profits at different levels of fishing effort (MSY = maximumsustainable yield; MEY = maximum economic yield). From same source as Figure 26

State of Effort Catch Revenue Costs Profitfishery (std. hr x 106) (Tonnes x 103) (Baht x 106) (Baht x 106) (Baht x 106)

MSY 28.57 985 6 578 1 992 4 586

MEY 21.75 952 6 359 1 517 4 842

Open access 62.70 654 4 372 4 372 0

Actual (1995) 56.88 728 4 862 3 966 896

1947 1952 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985YEARYEAR

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

BIOMASS DECLINE IN MANILA BAY BIOMASS DECLINE IN THE GULF OF THAILAND

BIO

MA

SS

( x

10

t)6

BIO

MA

SS

( x

10

t)6

Figure 27Declines in the abundance of fish in (i) Manila Bay and (ii) Gulf of Thailand as measured by trawlsurveys. From same source as Figure 26

Figure 28Changes in the composition of the top ten species taken from trawl survey catches in the Gulfof Thailand between 1966 and 1995. Data from same source as Figure 26

24

monitoring and could also be used as a basis forecosystem-based management of shared naturalresources in the future. To date, 63 LMEs havebeen described world wide with 20 of these beingin the APFIC region (Figure 29).

Much of the information referred to here hasbeen taken from the NOAA website, whichacknowledges sources of information and has anextensive reference list22, as well as an analysis ofthe FAO catch database as modified by theUniversity of British Columbia23.

The Asia-Pacific region is characterized byconsiderable diversity in LMEs in terms of theirfisheries and driving forces (Table 12). The mostproductive (total recorded catch since 1950) are theEast China Sea, the Kuroshio Current and theSouth China Sea. Following closely behind, are theYellow Sea, the Sea of Japan, the NW Pacific highseas area, and the Bay of Bengal.

The Indonesian Sea, the Gulf of Thailand andthe Sulu-Celebes Seas are clustered in anothergroup, followed by the much smaller catches inNew Zealand and Australia.

An interesting feature of many of the LMEs is thedominance of a small number of small pelagic andbenthopelagic species in the landings (in terms ofweight). The major species are the South Americanpilchard (Sardinops sagax), chub mackerel(Scomber japonicus) and the largehead hairtail(Triciurus lepturus) in the Kuroshio Current, Sea ofJapan, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and the SouthChina Sea. In the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Gulf,Sulu-Celebes Seas, Indonesian Sea, and NWAustralia, anchovies (Stolephorus spp. andEngraulidae) form a large part of the catch withother small pelagic species such as the sardine(Sardinella spp.) common in some areas. Pacificsaury (Colobis saira) has formed a large part of thecatch in the high seas of the NW Pacific.

Exceptions to this pattern are the heavily trawledareas of the Gulf of Thailand and Northern Australiawhere more demersals, threadfin breams andshrimps, respectively, are taken, although even inthese areas catches of anchovies are almost ashigh as the demersal catches.

Trends in selected Large Marine Ecosystems

There are obviously numerous ways that the LMEscan be classified but for the purpose of this reviewthey are grouped as follows:

i. Offshore deepwater systems dominated bypelagic fishes (e.g. Kuroshio Current and NWPacific);

ii. Heavily fished coastal systems that displaysequential depletion of species groupscharacteristic of “fishing down the food chain”(e.g. Yellow Sea, Gulf of Thailand and NWAustralia);

iii. Coastal systems that are still showingincreasing reported catches (e.g. Bay ofBengal and South China Sea); and

iv. Fisheries managed under tight access rightcontrol (e.g. South East Australia and NewZealand Shelf).

These examples have been analysed in some detailbelow.

i) Offshore deepwater pelagic systems

Kuroshio Current

The Kuroshio Current LME is dominated by thewarm Kuroshio Current that flows in a northeasterlydirection along Japan’s east coast. This LMEhas a huge latitudinal expanse, providing it witha rich variety of marine habitats. The regionhas a generally mild, temperate climate. Theunderwater topography of the LME includes theJapan Trench, the Shatsky Rise, the Ryukyu Trenchand the Okinawa Trough.

The Kuroshio Current LME is considereda moderately high (150-300 gC/m2/yr) productivityecosystem with coastal areas that are highlyproductive. Japan and China are the major fishingnations in the region. The fish catch includesJapanese sardine, Pacific saury, anchovy, jackmackerel, horse mackerel, frigate mackerel,yellowtail, filefish, herring, sea robin, and parrotbass (Figure 30). The sardine population, whichis characteristic of small pelagic fish populations,has shown marked fluctuations, attaining an alltime maximum in the 1930s, then showinga decrease from 1964 to 1971. It has sinceincreased. With the fluctuations there have beenaccompanying geographic shifts of spawning andnursery grounds. As is the case in the Sea ofJapan, the system has always been dominated bysmall to mid-sized pelagics, with a more recenttrend to large pelagics.

22 Large Ecosystems of the World: http://www.edc.uri.edu/lme/23 UBC large Marine ecosystems: http://www.seaaroundus.

org/lme/lme.aspx

25

1

2

3

4

5

67

8

9

10

14

11

13

12

15

20

18

17

16

19

Figure 29Large Marine Ecosystems of the APFIC Region1. Sea of Japan; 2. Kuroshiro Current; 3. Yellow Sea; 4. East China Sea; 5. South China Sea;6. Bay of Bengal; 7. Gulf of Thailand; 8. Arabian Sea; 9. Sulu-Celebes Seas; 10. Indonesian Sea;11. Western-Central Pacific; 12. Pacific Hawaiian; 13. N Australia; 14. NW Australia; 15. W Australia;16. NE Australia; 17. E Australia; 18. SW Australia; 19. SE Australia; and 20. New Zealand

26

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28

Western and Central Pacific

The Western Pacific Warm Pool is one of the56 biogeochemical province defined byLonghurst24. The Pool is a zone of low productivitywhich can extend over a range of 80o of longitude(nearly 8 000 km) and has the warmest surfacewaters in the world. The Warm Pool can undergospectacular east-west displacements of up to400 km as part of the El Niño/La Nina cycle.

The current status of fisheries in the South Pacificwas recently reviewed by APFIC25. The fisheriescatch was divided into oceanic resources thatinclude tunas, billfish that live in the open-waterpelagic habitat and coastal fisheries. The offshoreresources form the basis of the regionsindustrialized fisheries and have been fished by aninternational fleet from 26 different nations over thepast 25 years – 15 Pacific Island States and11 distant-water fishing nations with the bulk of the catch being taken by Japan, USA, Kor ea RO,and China PR. About 1.6 million tonnes of tuna,as well as an unknown amount of by-catch havebeen taken from the Western and Central Pacificeach year during the 1990s. The main species areskipjack (the majority of which is taken by purseseiners), yellowfin and bigeye tuna (an increasingcatch associated with drifting fish attractingdevices), and albacore (caught by long-line andtrolling with a significant part taken by PacificIsland States) (Figure 31).

The coastal resources include a wide range offin-fish and invertebrates and form the basis for theregion’s small-scale fisheries. Although dwarfed inboth volume and value by the oceanic tunafisheries, the regions coastal fisheries provide mostof the non-imported fish supplies to the region andhave a crucial role in food security. The presentcatch figures are roughly estimated based onagriculture censuses, household surveys ornutrition studies. The best estimate available isabout 144 000 tonnes, with about 70 percent ofthis coming from subsistence fisheries, whichdespite their importance do not attract muchgovernment attention, although anecdotal reportsof their depletion in many islands are common.Major species include finfish, beche-de-mer (seacucumbers), octopus, lobsters, giant clams, crabsand seaweed. Several high-value products are

exported from the region. In a recent World Bankstudy, coastal fisheries management was examinedat 31 locations in the Pacific Islands. The studyconcluded that there was an urgent need to reduceoverall fishing effort. Although many of thecommunities had adopted restrictions to fishing byoutsiders, few were effectively regulating their ownharvest.

ii) Ecosystems with “fishing down the foodchain” effects

Yellow Sea

The Yellow Sea LME is a semi-enclosed body ofwater bounded by the Chinese mainland to thewest, the Korean Peninsula to the east, and a linerunning from the north bank of the mouth ofthe Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) to the southside of Cheju Island. It covers an area of about400 000 km2 and measures about 1 000 km by700 km. It is shallow with a mean depth of44 meters, and it slopes gently from the Chinesecontinent. The Yellow Sea LME is classified ashighly productive (>300 gC/m2/yr) ecosystem. Ithas marked seasonal variations and supportssubstantial populations of fish, invertebrates,marine mammals, and seabirds. It has both coldtemperate species (eel-pout, cod, flatfish, Pacificherring) and warm water species (skates, gurnard,jewfish, small yellow croaker, spotted sardine,fleshy shrimp, southern rough shrimp) (Figure 32).

With its 276 fish species, the Yellow Sea LME isan important global resource for coastal andoffshore fisheries. However, it is one of the mostintensively exploited areas in the world, and hasexhibited a pronounced change in ecosystemstructure and “fishing down the food chain” effect.Due to overexploitation and natural fluctuations inrecruitment, some of the larger-sized andcommercially important species were replaced bysmaller, less valuable, forage fish. When bottomtrawlers were introduced in the early twentiethcentury, many stocks were intensively exploited byChinese, Korean, and Japanese fishers and all themajor stocks were heavily fished in the 1960s,which had a significant effect on the ecosystem.Pacific herring and chub mackerel becamedominant in the 1970s. Smaller-bodied andeconomically less profitable anchovy and scaledsardine increased in the 1980s and tooka prominent position in the ecosystem. Cold-waterspecies such as the Pacific cod (Gadusmacrocephalus) are almost extinct. It appearsfishing has greatly affected both the structure andfunctioning of the Yellow Sea ecosystem.

24 Longhurst, A. (1995) Seasonal cycles of pelagic productionand consumption. Progress in Oceanography 36(2): 77-167.25 Gillett, R., D. (2002) Pacific Island fisheries: regional and

country information. APFIC, FAO Regional Office for Asia inthe Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand Publication 2002/13, 168 pp.

29

Figure 30Reported landings from the Kuroshio Current LME

Figure 32Reported landings from the Yellow Sea LME

Figure 31Reported landings from Western and Central Pacific

30

Gulf of Thailand

The Gulf of Thailand LME is a semi-enclosed seaimmediately to the northwest of the South ChinaSea LME from which it is separated by two sills.Monsoon seasons and the intrusion of sea waterfrom the South China Sea are the two naturalphenomena that seem to drive the LME and are themajor causes of oceanographic change in theabsence of any massive regime shift. The Gulf ofThailand is relatively shallow, with depths varyingbetween 45 and 80 meters. The LME is consideredas being a highly productive (>300 gC/m2/yr)ecosystem. Its high primary production levels arepartly the result of increased nutrient loading fromrivers and shrimp farms. Primary production isconcentrated in coastal areas between Malaysiaand Cambodia, and near Viet Nam.

The commercial species found on the shallow Gulfof Thailand consist of crabs, lobsters, rays, sharksand small pelagics (mainly Indian mackerels(Rastrelliger spp.), anchovies, and stolephorusspp.), originally caught by artisanal fishers andsupplying local markets (Figure 33). Mostimportant among these are the anchovies used formaking fish sauce. In the 1960s, demersal trawlgear was introduced from Germany (as trialed inthe Philippines), which led to the development ofa Thai demersal trawl fishery, operating in theshallow grounds bordering Thailand’s coasts. Theecological impact of the increase in trawling efforthas been well documented and was used todescribe the original “fishing down the food chain”phenomenon. The catch composition changedboth within species (toward smaller individuals),and between species (toward a mix consistingpredominantly of small, short-lived species). Thespecies groups most adversely affected by trawlfisheries were crabs, lobsters, rays, sharks andother large fishes. Studies of the impact of thevarious fishing gears operating in the Gulf ofThailand demonstrate that these fisheries havefundamentally altered, and continue to alter, thefunctioning of that ecosystem. However, even inthis extreme case, modelling has shown that theimpact still appears to be reversible althougha drastic reduction of fishing effort, especially bybottom trawlers and push-netters would be neededto replenish these stocks and halt further ecologicaldegradation of this LME.

Northwest Australian shelf

The Northwest Australia LME extends fromNorthwest Cape in the State of Western Australiato the vicinity of the Timor Sea. The LME has a widecontinental shelf and it includes topographical

features such as the Exmouth Plateau, the RowleyShelf and the Sahul Shelf. The tropical waters arewarm, and the coast includes reefs and extensivemangrove forests. Tropical cyclones are commonseasonal events in this LME. It is considered tobe a low productivity (<150 gC/m2/yr) ecosystem.The warm tropical waters are the home of corals,fish, starfish, sponges, turtles and shells.

In the Northwest Australia LME, fish stocks arequite small and the level of endemicity is low, withmost species distributed widely in the Indo-WestPacific region. Reef fisheries occur in the RowleyShoals, a chain of coral atolls at the edge of theLME’s wide continental shelf. Demersal speciesthat are fished here include snapper, beam,emperors and lizard fish (Figure 34). These havehistorically been fished by foreign fleets thatcaused widespread habitat destruction with anassociated decline in the demersal fish catch anda switch to smaller, less valuable fish. A large partof the area is now closed to pair trawlers andaccess to foreign fleets has been withdrawn, andthere is some evidence that the habitat isrecovering. A small domestic trap fishery fordemersal fish exists in areas subjected to littletrawling. It is thought that there will be anexpansion of trap fishing in the two closed areasafter the species composition changes induced bytrawling are reversed.

iii) Systems with reported increasing catches

Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal LME is located in the tropicalmonsoon belt and is bounded by Bangladesh,India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar,Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Bay’s southern partmerges into the Indian Ocean. The LME is stronglyaffected by monsoons, storm surges, and cyclones.Major rivers (Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna,Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Salween)introduce large quantities of silt into the Bay ofBengal during the monsoon season from July toSeptember. The Bay of Bengal LME is consideredto be moderately productive (150-300 gC/m2/yr).

Commercial species include anchovies, croakers,shrimp and tuna (yellowfin, big eye and skipjack).Shrimp is a major export earner. FAO data showa steady rise in total landings in all major groupssince the 1950s (Figure 35). Heavy fishing isa comparatively recent phenomenon, so thatstocks have not been subjected to fishing pressureover a lengthy period of time but there is nowincreased competition and conflicts betweensmall-scale and large-scale fishers. There is an

31

Figure 35Reported landings from the Bay of Bengal LME

Figure 34Reported landings from the Northwest Australian Shelf LME

Figure 33Reported landings from the Gulf of Thailand LME

32

alarming increase in cyanide fishing in this LME’scoral reefs for the lucrative live food fish marketsin Hong Kong and Singapore. Mangroves andestuaries – critical fish spawning and nurseryareas – are also under stress or threatened bypollution, sedimentation, dams for flood control(as in Bangladesh), and intensive coastalaquaculture. States bordering the Bay of Bengalrate over-exploitation of marine resources as thenumber one problem in the area.

South China Sea

The South China Sea LME is bounded by thecoasts of Viet Nam, China PR, Taiwan POC, thePhilippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia andCambodia. It is separated from the Gulf ofThailand to the West, by a shallow sill. The SouthChina Sea contains many biological subsystemsand a variety of habitats. These include mangroveforests, seagrass beds, coral reefs and soft-bottomcommunities. The 50-meter depth contour largelyfollows the coast, with the widest shelves occurringalong the eastern edge of the LME. Much of theSouth China Sea is below 200 meters with oceanicwaters, ranging in depth from 200 to 4 000 meters,covering nearly half of the Sea.

It is considered a moderately high productivity(150-300 gC/m2/yr) ecosystem. High productivitylevels are found in gulfs, along the coast, and inreef and seagrass areas, common in the Philippinesportion of the LME. The coastal and estuarineareas off Viet Nam, China PR and Cambodia arevery productive and, in the past, a substantialfraction of the catch was taken by artisanal,non-mechanized boats. The Viet Nam/China PRarea was lightly exploited from the mid-1970s tothe mid-1980s, but by now much of this potentialhas probably been realized.

The total fish harvest was approximately 5.0 milliontonnes a year in 2001, with an increasing trend untilvery recently (Figure 36). Although catches wereapparently increasing for all trophic level groups,ecosystem modelling has shown that this area hasalso been subjected to “fishing down the foodchain”. Five of the States fishing this LME areamong the top eight shrimp producers of the world.Fishermen sometimes use small-meshed nets andpractice destructive fishing methods, such ascyanide and dynamite fishing.

In deep oceanic waters (200 to 4 000 m), fisheriesare limited mainly to large pelagic fishes – tuna withsome billfish, swordfish, shark, porpoise, mackerel,flying fish and anglerfish. The deeper coralline

areas and those situated in the central portion ofthe LME are only lightly exploited, leaving room fora possible increase in catch from this area,although the resources are probably rather limited.

iv) Fisheries under tight management control

Southeast Australian Shelf

The Southeast Australia LME extends from CapeHowe, at the southern end of the state of NewSouth Wales, to the estuary of the Murray-Darlingriver system in the state of South Australia. Itborders the Southern Ocean and the westernboundary currents flowing into the West Wind Drift,which circulates around the continent of Antarctica.It contains the island of Tasmania and Bass Strait,which separates that island from the state ofVictoria on the mainland. The LME has a diversityof habitats such as seagrass beds, mud flats,intertidal and sub-tidal rocky reefs, mangroveforests and pelagic systems. It has been classifiedas a highly productive (>300 gC/m2/yr) ecosystem,despite the low nutrient input into the area.

Some of the species harvested are scallops(in Bass Strait), rock lobster (Tasmania), andabalone (Tasmania and Victoria) and finfish in theSoutheast trawl fishery. The long-standing trawlfishery has seen serial depletion of several of itsimportant fish stocks, including eastern gemfishand more recently the deepwater orange roughythat is found associated with sea mounts(Figure 37). The fishery has been managed underindividual transferable catch quotas (ITQ) sincethe early 1990s, but to date, these do not appearto have been very effective in reducing overfishingin this multi-species fishery.

New Zealand shelf

The New Zealand Shelf LME surrounds the islandsof New Zealand and stretches across 30 degreesof latitude from the sub-tropics in the north downto the sub-Antarctic region. The shelf surroundingNew Zealand varies in width from 150 km in thenortheast and southwest, to 3 000 km on thenorthwest and southeast plateaus. The northernhalf of the LME is influenced by the warm SouthEquatorial Current, while the southern half isinfluenced by the cooler West Wind Drift. Themarine environment is diverse and includesestuaries, mudflats, mangroves, seagrass andkelp beds, reefs, seamount communities and deepsea trenches. The New Zealand Shelf LME isconsidered to be a moderately high (150-300 gC/m2/yr) productivity ecosystem.

33

Figure 37Reported landings from the Southeast Australian Shelf LME

Figure 38Reported landings from the New Zealand Shelf LME

Figure 36Reported landings from the South China Sea LME

34

Maori cultural ties with fisheries are strong andtheir fishing rights are recognized in law. Fishingis a popular leisure activity for as many as one infive New Zealanders. Among the importantcommercial fisheries of the area are those formigratory predators such as tuna, billfish, andsharks. There is also a bottom fishery for theorange roughy, an important blue grenadier fisheryand a coastal fishery for a variety of crustaceansand mollusks (Figure 38). The fishing industry ismostly export-oriented. All fisheries are managedunder an ITQ system, that the NZ governmentclaims has resulted in sustainable fisheries. Priorto the introduction of the system, overfishing ofcoastal resources had occurred. There areconflicting reports on the extent to which thesehave recovered, although there is evidence thatcertain groups, such as lobsters are responding tothe new management regimes. As in Australia, thelong-lived deepwater species such as orangeroughy have continued to decline, offset by thediscovery of new stocks and expansion in fishing.Other important stocks, such as the blue grenadierappear to be fished sustainably at present.

Inland waters

3.4 Water resources

Asia is blessed with the most freshwater in theworld, estimated at 13 510 km3. However, becauseof the high population density, the per capitaavailability of freshwater is the lowest andcompeting usages of freshwater has a majorimpact on fisheries. The main water resources forfisheries are the rivers and flood plains, naturallakes and man-made impoundments. Asia has thelargest number (49) of rivers than any othercontinent and also has the highest cumulative riverchannel length. The seasonal floodplains of Statessuch as Myanmar and Bangladesh all have majorfisheries. In contrast, Asia has relatively few naturallakes. Most of these are confined to volcanicareas, notably in the Indonesian and Philippinearchipelagos, and in northern India. The majorexception is the Great Lake or Tonle Sap inCambodia which occupies 200-300 km2 in the dryseason, expanding to 10 000-12 000 km2 in the wet.

Reservoirs have been constructed over manycenturies in some States in Asia, (e.g. Sri Lanka),but more recently, construction of reservoirs forirrigation, hydropower and flood protection hasbecome common in many parts of the Asia-Pacificregion. These come in many forms ranging fromlarge impoundments resulting from damming majorrivers to small rain-fed ponds. The reservoirresource in Asia is large and accounts for over

40 percent of the global large reservoir capacity.It has been estimated that developing States inAsia have 66.7 million ha of small to mediumreservoirs with 85 thousand ha occurring in China.

3.5 Fishery resources

Most inland fisheries are small-scale activitieswhere the catch per craft (or catch per capita) isrelatively small and the catch more often than notdisposed of on the same day. The main exceptionsare the industrialized fisheries in the lower MekongBasin and the “fishing lots” in the Tonle Sap ofCambodia and the fishing “inns” of Myanmar. Thelack of accurate reporting of these small-scalefisheries makes it difficult to describe their statusbut it is generally felt that they are underconsiderable pressure from loss and degradationof habitat and overfishing. Freshwater fishes arereported to be the most threatened group ofvertebrates harvested by man. The WorldResources Institute estimated that half of theWorld’s species were lost during the last centuryand that dams, diversions and canals havefragmented many major rivers, severely impactingfisheries resources.

In general, the reported catches of inland fisheriesin most States have continued to increase,although many of the inland water habitats havebeen altered and degraded. Rivers andfloodplains, in particular, have been heavilyimpacted with the construction of dams, roads,channels and other irrigation systems. The trainingof water to reduce the impacts of flooding hasprobably had widespread effects on inland fisheriesin the region, although the real impacts are poorlydocumented. Fishers regularly complain thatcatches are declining, but it is uncertain to whatextent this is an effect of increasing fisherypressure or the loss of fishery resources throughhabitat degradation and changing water flowregimes.

In some areas, the way the systems function hasbeen altered enormously by greatly reducing theseasonal “flood pulse” that previously resulted inlarge areas of land becoming flooded during thewet season. This in turn has impacted on theability of many species of fish to migrate to theirspawning grounds and has also altered the flowpattern with accompanied habitat changes(e.g. running water to lakes). Some mitigationattempts have been made in terms of fish laddersto allow fish to migrate around dams but theirsuccess compared with original conditions istypically unknown.

35

Changing agricultural cropping patterns, irrigationdevelopment and the increased use of chemicalsand pesticides in intensified agricultural productionhave all had some impact on wild fishery resources.Changing rural livelihoods have also led peopleaway from their traditional dependence on fisheryresources as livestock has supplanted wildresources.

As in the marine environment, changes in speciescomposition are also occurring. Catches of large,long lived species such as the giant catfish andlarge cyprinid species are becoming rare and thereis evidence of “fishing down the food chain” insome inland areas. In the Mekong River, forexample, the giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas)has now become extremely rare and endangered.On the other hand, the status of some inland fisheryresources has been enhanced through stockingprogrammes, introductions of exotic species,habitat engineering and habitat improvement.

Stock enhancement is an integral part of mostinland fisheries in the Asia-Pacific region. Withdevelopments in artificial propagation techniquesof fast-growing and desirable species andincreased availability of seed stock, the use of thisintervention is increasing, particularly where somesort of access restriction or user rights is in place.The economic viability of stock enhancement inlarge lakes and rivers has not been demonstrated

in any Asian State and, in general, these fisheriesdepend naturally on recruited stocks. In floodplaindepressions and in small water bodies, stockenhancement has proved to be very successful.These cultured-based fisheries are seen as a wayforward in China PR and many States in the region.

Of particular importance to many States of theAsia-Pacific region are rice-field fisheries that eitherdepend on natural introduction of wild fish orstocking fish, either simultaneously or alternatelywith the rice crop (probably more correctly definedas aquaculture). This aquatic production, inaddition to the rice crop itself, is important forrural livelihoods in developing States. Its localconsumption and marketing are particularlyimportant for food security as it is the mostreadily available, reliable and cheapest sourceof animal protein for farming communities as wellas the landless. This importance is generallyunderestimated and undervalued. It is reportedthat the availability of this aquatic resourceis declining. Anecdotal evidence from China,Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand andelsewhere, suggests that it is considerably moredifficult to find such food now than a decade or soago. This is a result of increasing demand throughhuman population increases and activities such asthe use of pesticides, destruction of fish breedinggrounds and the use of illegal fishing methods suchas poisons and electro-fishing.

36

4.1 Carnivorous species or speciesrequiring higher production inputs

Eels

Japanese eel production has declined to a stablelevel of around 22 000 tonnes and that of TaiwanPOC has declined greatly to the level of 1999. Incontrast, production in China PR has risen steadily,until it peaked in 1997, remaining just belowthis level since. Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia,Korea RO also produce some quantities throughaquaculture.

Barramundi and Japanese Seabass

Barramundi (Lates calcifer) is gaining ground withincreasing production in Indonesia from bothbrackishwater culture and mariculture. Thailand’sproduction has increased but now appearsrelatively stable, probably due to limited siteavailability and market saturation. Australianproduction is also rising. There has beena significant reduction in production from HongKong SAR which may be due to a shift towardshigher value species and limited site availability.Korea RO is also producing Japanese Seabass(1 432 tonnes in 2002).

There has been a limited international trade ofthese species either live or processed and futureexpansion may be reliant on the development ofregional or international markets.

Salmonids – Brackishwater/Mariculture

Culture of salmonids (chinook, coho, Atlanticsalmon and rainbow trout) in brackish water andmariculture is reported from Australia, New Zealandand Japan. Japanese coho salmon culturedeclined sharply in 1995 and hit the lowest pointin 1998 dropping to 32 percent of its 1992production. New Zealand’s chinook salmonproduction is relatively stable.

Australian brackishwater culture of rainbowtrout has declined over the past 10 years from890 tonnes (1990) to zero reported in 1997. Incontrast, over the past 10 years the AustralianAtlantic salmon industry has developed considerably.

Salmonid – Freshwater culture

Freshwater production of trout species in the regionhas been fairly stable over the last decade withthe exception of the development of the industryin Iran, which has made good progress. Ayusweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis) production inJapan has declined about 25 percent in the lastdecade.

Other carnivorous fish

Over 20 species of other carnivorous finfish arereported and are principally cultured in marine orbrackish waters, typically in cages.

Japanese culture of Amberjack (Seriola) is theleader (162 563 tonnes in 2002) and yields arestable. The production of several other Japanesespecies is also quite stable (such as pufferfish,several mackerel species and bastard halibut) andit is assumed that this is due to site limitationswhich effectively prevent further expansion. InJapan and Korea RO particularly, it is inevitable thatthere will be a turn towards imports fromneighbouring States such as China PR.

Cobia (Rachycentron) culture increased rapidly inTaiwan POC in six years from almost nothing toover 2 400 tonnes in 2002. Culture of this speciesis also taking off rapidly in other States such asViet Nam and Thailand, possibly as a result of theincreasing availability of fingerlings from TaiwanPOC. The very rapid growth rate of this speciesand relative hardiness in ponds makes it anattractive species for aquaculture, although marketacceptance is not yet definite.

Southern Bluefin tuna culture in Australia hasemerged as a significant industry for the countryover the past ten years reaching 4 000 tonnes in2002. Although the quantity is relatively lowcompared with the Japanese Amberjackproduction, the very high value of this productmakes it a significant economic activity where it ispracticed.

Seabream production is confined to Japan,Taiwan POC, Korea RO and Hong Kong SAR. The

4. Aquaculture production trends by species group

This part of the document will deal with the review of major groups of species that are currently culturedin the Asia-Pacific region. The manner of grouping species will be according to the trophic needs of thespecies and in some cases the degree of reliance on external inputs (such as feeds and infrastructure forculture).

37

Japanese production of seabream was 71 866tonnes in 2002, nearly half that (44 percent) ofamberjack.

Other marine finfish not elsewhere identified(nei)

This group of fish is of interest because of the largereported production from China PR. Since theindividual species are not reported, trends cannotbe determined. Most of these fish are assumed tobe carnivorous and are fed by trash fish from theChinese capture fisheries.

aquaculture will reduce as greater rationalizationand aggregation of production operations focusedonto a small number of species. This lesson hasbeen taken from the livestock sector and isconsidered to be an essential part of the“industrialization” of aquaculture. This trend doesnot appear to be the case so far in the Asia-Pacificregion with farmers increasingly seeking out newspecies that give them a marketing or profitadvantage.

Tilapia

This “industrialization” trend is seen in some Stateswith species such as tilapia. There is a trendtowards standardization of size, feeds andproduction systems, some quality control,avoidance of off-flavours, and marketing intosupermarket chains.

However, even with tilapia, there is stillconsiderable flexibility of systems, strains andcolours of fish. There is probably more diversityin tilapia culture systems today than 10 years agowith a range of characteristics including:

● Colouration (red, white and black strains)

● Monosex and mixed sex

● Pellet fed, supplemental feed and fertilizedgreenwater

● Freshwater and brackishwater

● Cold tolerance

Table 13Aquaculture production reported under “marinefinfish nei”

Country Tonnes

China PR 560 404Japan 8 182Taiwan POC 3 372Indonesia 2 937Malaysia 2 669Hong Kong SAR 597Korea RO 379Philippines 74Singapore 47

4.2 Finfish requiring lower inputs

Freshwater omnivorous and herbivorous fish havebeen important food fish for developing States inthe Asia-Pacific region. Traditional productionmethods have become diversified and intensified,starting with fertilized polyculture systems andmoving towards systems using supplemental feedsand even complete feeds. As demand for fishincreases and prices rise, further pressure onintensification and the use of feeding can beexpected in many States.

Backyard ponds are an increasingly common sightin many States; however this production isfrequently missed in national statistical surveys dueto the small unit size. In many cases ponds maybe below the size required for registration andproduction from them is not viewed as a significanteconomic activity. However, the large numbers ofthese ponds and the aggregated production andvalue to the households engaging in the activity isprobably very significant. The lack of reliableinformation from this part of the sector currentlylimits evaluation of the grass-roots impact of ruralaquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region.

It has been suggested that the wide range ofspecies that are currently produced from

Table 14Tilapia top eight producer States (2002)

Country Tonnes

China PR 706 585Philippines 122 390Indonesia 109 768Thailand 100 576Taiwan POC 85 059Lao PDR 26 872Malaysia 20 757Sri Lanka 3 670

Reported exports of tilapia are low. The continuingdomestic demand and the high quality required forexport targeted fish means that domestic marketingis still attractive in many States.

Carps and Barbs (cyprinids)

Carps and barbs continue to be the most popularspecies group among Asia-Pacific Statesdominating eight ranks of the top 10 freshwaterspecies by production. Their production is

38

particularly important in terms of the vital supplyof protein in major populous States in the regionsuch as China PR, India and Bangladesh.

Silver carp has maintained the highest productionfor decades. Grass carp was once in a distantsecond place but has recently closed the gapbetween the two species.

Common carp, the third highest productionspecies, is literally the most commonly culturedspecies in the region; 18 States and areas havereported culturing this species.

Indonesia and the Philippines are traditionallythe largest producers. Taiwan is reducing itsproduction, possibly because of increasingattention to higher value species. Singapore hassteadily developed its mariculture of milkfish.

Table 15Carps and barbs top ten producer States (2002)

Country Tonnes

China PR 13 243 954India 1 875 715Bangladesh 566 919Indonesia 237 041Myanmar 108 096Thailand 61 521Iran 54 801Lao PDR 29 858Philippines 18 151Nepal 17 100

Although production of the most of species in thisgroup generally exhibits increasing trends, the rateof growth since 1997 for some species has startedto show signs of slowing down (e.g. Bighead carpand Rohu).

There are reports that the profitability of productionof these species in India and China is declining andfarmers are starting to explore the production ofalternative higher value species. Since the marketsof these species are largely domestic, there is littleopportunity for export, although India for exampledoes export to neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh.

Milkfish

Milkfish culture is a strong tradition in thePhilippines which reflects the country’s preferencefor the species. There are also traditions of milkfishculture in some of the Pacific Islands (Kiribati,Nauru, Cook Islands and Palau). Milkfish havetypically been produced in brackishwater pondsbut there is an increasing trend in reportedmariculture production, indicating the use of moreintensive cage systems. These systems are fedwith either pellets or trash fish and are part of thegeneral trend of intensification of mariculture in thePhilippines.

Table 16Milkfish top seven producer States (2002)

Country Culture Environment Tonnes

Philippines Brackish water 203 512Marine 17 312Freshwater 11 164

Indonesia Brackish water 222 317Taiwan POC Brackish water 28 424Singapore Marine 956Guam Brackish water 80Kiribati Brackish water 14Tonga Brackish water 14

Mullet

Pond based brackishwater culture of mullet istypical but Korea RO is reporting increasingmariculture production since 2000. Indonesia hasthe largest production of this species andexperienced a sharp decline in 1998. Taiwan POChas relatively stable production but has seena gradual reduction in production Thailand hasgreatly reduced production in recent years.

4.3 Crustaceans

Whilst a number of crustacean species arecultured, the predominant commercial species arebrackishwater shrimps, freshwater prawns andfreshwater/brackish water crabs.

Penaeid shrimp culture

Marine shrimp continued to dominate crustaceanaquaculture, with two major species accounting forover 48 percent of the total crustacean productionin 2002 (the Giant Tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon;and the fleshy shrimp, P. chinensis). Whilst thegiant tiger shrimp ranked 9th by weight in terms ofregional aquaculture production in 2001, it ranked3rd by value at US$ 3.21 billion.

Cultured shrimp production in the region reachedone million tonnes in 2002 (accounting for34 percent of total shrimp landings). Theproduction of P. monodon has ranged between480 and 610 thousand tonnes since 1993, whilstits contribution to overall shrimp production hasdeclined from 70 percent to 49 percent in 2002, asP. chinensis and other Penaeus shrimp productionhas increased.

39

Production trends in the region have increased overthe past ten years for the major producers. ChinaPR suffered a major setback in the mid-1990s dueto the occurrence of viral diseases in shrimpculture, but since that time, production has slowlyrecovered.

Total production of P. vannamei in Asia wasapproximately 316 thousand tonnes in 2002, andit was estimated that this would increase to nearly500 thousand tonnes in 2003, which would beworth some US$ 4 billion on the export market.However, not all the product is exported and a largelocal demand exists in some Asian States.

The main reason for the importation of P. vannameito Asia has been the poor performance, slowgrowth rate and disease susceptibility of the majorindigenous cultured shrimp species, P. chinensis inChina PR and P. monodon virtually everywhereelse. Shrimp production in Asia has been marredby serious viral pathogens causing significantlosses to the culture industries of most AsianStates over the past decade. It was not until thelate 1990s that, spurred by the production of theimported P. vannamei, Asian (and therefore world)production levels began to increase again.

There are problems associated with this dramaticincrease in the production of P. vannamei in termsof marketing of the product. With so many Statesnow producing essentially the same product,global prices have dropped dramatically during2002-2003. This has follow-up effects regardingthe actual value of the product sold anddisagreements regarding possible “dumping” ofshrimp onto markets.

Freshwater prawns

China and India have recently increased theproduction of freshwater prawns (their respectiveproductions were zero and 311 tonnes in 1994 ascompared to 113 743 tonnes and 30 500 in 2002).Other producers have had relatively stableproductions.

Since it is not easy to intensify production offreshwater prawns due to their territorial habits anddivergent growth effects, the development of thissector is reasonably slow. In some States thesector has shrunk, as attention and resources havebeen diverted to brackishwater shrimp production.

Although the principle species cultured infreshwater (M. rosenbergii) does not suffer thesame problems with viral diseases that impact thebrackishwater shrimp industry so severely, exportmarkets for freshwater prawns are much smallerand less developed. This is because consumersin general are not as familiar with these species aswith brackishwater shrimp. Freshwater prawns,however, enjoy good domestic markets especiallyin South and Southeast Asian States.

Table 17Penaeid shrimp top ten producer States (2002)

Country Tonnes

China PR 384 141Thailand 162 100Indonesia 137 548India 114 970Viet Nam 67 500Bangladesh 57 581Philippines 37 032Malaysia 25 582Taiwan POC 9 966Myanmar 6 550

Other major producers, Thailand and Viet Nam,have also encountered fluctuations in productionwhich are primarily associated with the impact ofthe diseases. Production in the Philippines, India,Sri Lanka and Indonesia has also been affected bythe impact of viral diseases (typically WSSV26).Generally the high international market demand hasmaintained interest in the culture of shrimp forexport.

More recently, the introduction of P. vannamei forculture in the Asia region has led to increasingproduction of this species27. China PR has a largeand flourishing industry for P. vannamei withproduction of more than 270 thousand tonnes in2002 and an estimated 300 thousand tonnes(71 percent of total shrimp production) in 2003,which is higher than the current production of thewhole of Latin America. Other Asian States withdeveloping industries for this species includeThailand (estimated production of 120 thousandtonnes in 2003), Viet Nam and Indonesia(30 thousand tonnes each), Taiwan POC, thePhilippines, Malaysia and India (thousands oftonnes each) 28.

26 Shrimp White Spot Syndrome Virus27 The information related to P. vannamei is presented in

a full review document of the introduction and culture ofP. vannamei in the Asia-Pacific region. Please contact thethird author for a copy of this.28 The reported production of P. vannamei to FAO in 2001

was 5 809 tonnes; only Taiwan POC officially reported theproduction.

40

Crabs

Chinese river crab (Eriocheir sinensis) andIndo-Pacific swamp crab (Scylla serrata)constituted the major cultured crabs in the region.Chinese production of this freshwater crab andmarine crabs30 has shown very strong growth since1994 and they were ranked 11th and 4th respectivelyamong the region’s top culture production speciesin inland and marine waters in 2002. Indo-Pacificswamp crab showed relatively stable productiontrends for the past decade.

4.4 Molluscs

Mollusc culture is split into low value speciesproduced in extensive cultured systems(e.g. seeded blood cockle mudflats, mussel andoyster stake culture) and high value speciesproduced in intensive systems (fed systems, andpossibly recirculation).

Whilst it is possible to separate species such asAbalone or Giant clam as high value species, thereare difficulties with some species such as musselsthat may be cultured in low input systems in onecountry (e.g. Thailand) but relatively high input inanother (e.g. New Zealand). Many States reporttheir mollusc production in a large grouping suchas marine molluscs nei.

The IFPRI/WFC outlook on fish supply31 projectedincreasing mollusc production, although this mayhave been based on current production trends

rather than the resource potential. The issue of siteavailability is likely to constrain future developmentof mollusc culture in several States as can be seenfor the examples of Japan and Korea RO.

In these two States, the production of molluscs andseaweeds has been relatively stable for manyyears. This indicates that suitable sites may nowall be taken. Unlike fish culture, the intensificationof mollusc culture is quite difficult and probably noteconomically viable. The trend in mollusc cultureis more likely to be a shift from lower value speciesto higher value species in those areas wheresites are suitable. A further dimension is thedevelopment of intensive on shore cultureoperations such as those for abalone and a numberof gastropod species.

4.5 Aquatic plants

Aquatic plant production can be divided into twodistinct groups. The first group consists ofseaweeds of temperate waters solely andtraditionally used for food purposes and the secondgroup consists of tropical species mainlyprocessed as a source of commercially valuable

Table 18Freshwater prawn top eight producer States(2002)

Country Tonnes

China PR 113 743Thailand 31 174India 30 500Viet Nam29 28 000Bangladesh 7 998Taiwan POC 7 026Malaysia 535Indonesia 400

29 This figure was reported as Freshwater crustaceans nei,which was most likely freshwater prawn production, andhence it is included here.30 Although the species name is not specified in Chinese

official statistics, it is most likely Indo-Pacific swamp crab.31 Delgado, C.D., Wada, N., Rosegrant, M.W., Meijer, S. and

Ahmed, M. (2003). Fish to 2020. Suplly and demand inchanging global markets. WorldFish Centre Technicalreport 62. 226 pp.

Table 19Lower value molluscs top ten production (2002)

Country Species Tonnes

China PR Japanese carpet shell 2 300 941China PR Constricted tagelus 635 486China PR Blood cockle 237 534Thailand Green mussel 89 200Malaysia Blood cockle 78 712New Zealand New Zealand mussel 78 000Thailand Blood cockle 40 000Taiwan POC Northern quahog 30 711Korea RO Japanese carpet shell 16 071Korea RO Korean mussel 13 353

Table 20Higher value molluscs top ten production (2002)

Country Species Tonnes

China PR Pacific cupped oyster 3 625 548China PR Yesso scallop 935 585Japan Yesso scallop 271 996Japan Pacific cupped oyster 221 376Korea RO Pacific cupped oyster 170 286Taiwan POC Pacific cupped oyster 19 800Thailand Cupped oyster nei 16 110Philippines Slipper cupped oyster 12 569Australia Pacific cupped oyster 4 924Australia Sydney cupped oyster 4 605

41

biopolymers (carrageenan, agar) that are used forvarious food and non-food purposes.

4.6 Reptiles and amphibians

Reported species are soft shell turtle, crocodilesand frogs. China PR has greatly increased itsreported production of soft-shell turtle in the pastfive years. Crocodile production is growing quicklyin the region with Cambodia exporting juvenilecrocodiles to both Viet Nam and China PR.Thailand also has crocodile farms. This productionis rarely reported in fishery or aquaculture statistics.

There are limited data on frog production, althoughfrogs are being increasingly cultured in manyStates. The small size of a typical frog farm(using small cement tanks or even pens) meansthat quantification of this type of operation isproblematic.

4.7 Niche aquaculture species

There are a number of niche aquaculture speciesthat this review does not cover with statisticalinformation. These species are either cultured atthe pilot/experimental level or simply not reportedby many States. Some of the species are notfood type commodities (e.g. sponge and pearls,ornamental shells, ornamental fish) and aretherefore not routinely monitored by the authorityreporting fisheries information.

Table 21Aquatic plants top ten producer States (2002)

Countries Tonnes

China PR 8 809 090Philippines 894 856Japan 558 248Korea RO 497 557Korea DPR 444 295Indonesia 223 080Malaysia 18 871Taiwan POC 16 799Viet Nam 16 000Kiribati 12 600

Seaweeds for food purpose

This group includes Japanese kelp, laver (Nori),green laver and Wakame. The production of thesespecies is confined to East Asian States and hasa relatively stable production. The only exceptionto this is Japanese kelp culture, which has thelargest share of production (41 percent in 2002). Itsproduction was doubled from two million tonnesin three years to 1993 and another one milliontonnes was added in the next six years. This rapidincrease was probably due to continued expansionof cultured areas in China. Production of Japanesekelp peaked in 1999 and since then has stabilized,which might indicate that the rapid expansion ofproduction area reached a limit and further sites arenot available.

Seaweeds for biopolymers

This group consists of Eucheuma, Gracilaria, redseaweeds and others. The Philippines has thehighest production of these aquatic plants andEucheuma cottonii (Zanzibar weed) production inthe Philippine far exceeds the production of otherseaweeds (778 thousand tonnes in 2002).

New areas are being investigated for the expansionof seaweed production since global demand forcarrageenan and other alginates is expected tocontinue to rise.

Table 22Aquatic plants top ten cultured species (2002)

Species Tonnes

Japanese kelp 4 726 400Laver (Nori) 1 330 325Zanzibar weed 790 563Wakame 287 563Red seaweeds 223 080Spiny eucheuma 83 051Elkhorn sea moss 21 409Gracilaria seaweeds 17 643Warty gracilaria 16 775Eucheuma seaweeds 12 920

Major cultured aquatic plants in East Asia are Laver(Nori), Japanese kelp and Wakame. They are allseaweeds for food purposes in contrast to thoseproduced in Southeast Asia, which are mainly usedas a source of commercially valuable biopolymers

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5.1 “Trash fish” catches

“Trash Fish” is a broadly used term that relates fishspecies that by virtue of their small size or lowconsumer preference have little or no commercialvalue. The use of the term “trash fish” variesamong States and fisheries and can also changeboth seasonally and with location.

One category of “trash fish” includes species thosethat are not used for human consumption. Theymay be either landed, or discarded at sea. Thelanded portion of this type of trash fish is oftencomposed of small fish that are targeted forprocessing into fish meal and oil or used forsmall-scale rural aquaculture and livestock raising.Japanese anchovy and chub mackerel are typicalspecies that fall into this category. Those fish thathave become damaged during fishing operationsor in on-board storage can also be categorized inthis group.

The other category of “trash fish” is low-value fishthat are directly used for human consumption.The huge number of small-scale fisheries in theAsia-Pacific region generates a large quantity ofthis type of “trash fish”, much of which isconsumed or utilized locally as part of householdfood security, by way of artisanal processing.Utilization may be extremely efficient with nothingbeing wasted and a lot being converted throughdrying, fermenting and salting into a very widerange of human food products. In countries suchas Bangladesh, almost all of fish caught isconsumed.

The issues relating to these types of “trash fish”are different but interconnected. One major issuefor the region is the increasing demand for “trashfish” for aquaculture and other animal feeds.Recognizing the potential effects of declines inmarine capture fisheries, many governments haveturned to aquaculture as a means to increase fishsupply, provide employment and generate foreignincome. Aquaculture development can be seen asa viable option to utilize “trash fish”; however, itsdemand for fish meal and “trash fish” can be seenas increasing fishing pressure on the alreadyover-exploited fish stocks in the region. Over thelast decade, the price of “trash fish” has risenconsiderably and it is predicted to increase over thenext few years due to increased demand for fish

meal and fish oil to meet market demands foraquaculture of carnivorous fish (as well as a sourceof affordable food). Declining stocks of many trashfish species such as Japanese anchovy, chubmackerel and filefish in China PR will aggravate thesituation. Given that aquaculture is predicted togrow while capture fisheries remain stable, it willbe difficult to meet the demand for trash fish.

Another issue relates to fish landed by largerindustrial vessels. These fish are typically landedat a single point (port) and typically in a poor stateof preservation or severely damaged by the capturemethod. Utilization of this fish is consequently verylimited; either through conversion into fish meal ordirect use for livestock or aquaculture in thegeneral vicinity of the landing site. Would betterpost-harvest handling and processing yield a betterreturn for this limited resource?

A linked issue is the capture of juvenile fish ofpotentially important commercial species (so-called“growth overfishing”). Trash fish currentlyconstitute about 60 percent of the total trawl catchfrom the Gulf of Thailand and between 18 and32 percent of trash fish are juveniles ofcommercially important fish species. Givena chance to grow to a larger size, these specieswould provide much more benefits, both in termsof production and more importantly in terms ofvalue.

Before 1970, trash fish were caught mainly asa by-catch of trawling, set nets and drift nets.Although used as food in some poorer areas of theregion, a lot of this fish was thrown back into thesea. With the decline in fish abundance in manyseas of the region, and the shift from high trophiclevel to the more abundant lower trophic levelspecies, trash fish increasingly became the targetspecies.

The overall amount of trash fish actually landed inthe Asia-Pacific region is not well known, butrecent estimates from some States give anindication of the amount of trash fish currentlybeing landed. In China PR, for example, therecorded trash fish production rose from 1.3 milliontonnes in 1980 to over 5 million in 2002. In theSouth China Sea, the catch of trash fish exceeded60 percent of the total marine production. Trashfish currently constitute about 60 percent of the

5. Selected issues facing fisheries and aquaculture in Asia and thePacific

43

total trawl catch from the Gulf of Thailand andbetween 18 and 32 percent of these trash fish arejuveniles of commercially important fish species. InViet Nam, some of the traditional gear is of verysmall mesh size leading to 30-80 percent ofthe catch coming from juvenile and trash fish.In Western Malaysia trawl landings consistedmainly of trash fish (51 percent), demersal fish(14.9 percent) and pelagic fish (13.3 percent).

Another indicator of trash fish production andutilization can also be derived from mariculturestatistics. The cage culture of fish is typicallyreliant on the use of feeds rather than naturalfertility of waters. Cage culture can therefore beseparated into two types of operation – those usingformulated fish feeds/pellets (which are typicallybased around fish meal) and those using ‘trash fish’directly, the trash fish being obtained from trawlerlandings or from small-scale fisheries.

Use of “trash fish” for aquaculture in selectedStates32

Bangladesh

Trash fish landings in Bangladesh are either utilizeddirectly or converted into fish meal. It is estimatedthat 5 000-7 000 tonnes of trash fish are used foraquaculture in this way.

China PR

China PR is reporting declining trash fish catchessince the late 1990s and this is already impactingon the price and availability of fishmeal. It isestimated that four million tonnes (2000) of “trashfish” are used directly for aquaculture, representing72.3 percent of the trash fish landed in China PR.Trash fish are making up an increasingly largecomponent of the marine fishery catch of China PRwith a recent estimate of nearly 70 percent of thetotal catch being trash fish type species.

A rough estimate of the total fish meal requirementfor aquaculture for China PR, based on reportedproduction figures, ranges between 3.0 and3.6 million tonnes. This figure is strongly influencedby assumed fish meal used for the culture offreshwater omnivorous species such as grass carp,common carp, crucian carp and tilapia. Furtheranalysis of this particular part of the Chineseaquaculture sector is needed.

Domestic trash fish landings could provide onemillion tonnes of this usage and it is assumed that

the rest is sourced from imports. The reported netfish meal usage33 for China PR in 2000 was nearlytwo million tonnes of which 806 thousand tonneswas national production34. One estimate of futureneeds is that China will require about 13-18 milliontonnes per year in the future but can only producefive million tonnes, leaving a large gap to be filledfrom imports.

Philippines

The estimated use of trash fish for aquaculture inthe Philippines is 144 638 tonnes, of which anestimated 80 percent is used for marine cageculture.

Viet Nam

A recent study in Viet Nam concluded that thereis rapidly increasing demand for trash fishfor aquaculture. The total amount of trash fishused for aquaculture is estimated to be between176 thousand and 323 thousand tonnes. Ingeneral, trash fish are a by-product of fishing forhigher value fish with the exception of one fisheryin southeast Viet Nam, where trash fish is the maintarget as this is more economic than fishingfor larger species. Any future planned increasesin aquaculture production will probably beconstrained by the finite sources of feed fish.

5.2 Fish meal and other fish-basedingredients for aquaculture feed

The tables below present the ‘apparent utilization’of fish-based feed ingredients in the Asia-Pacificregion35. The trends in the usage of fish meal foraquaculture and other sectors are stable in manyStates of the region (Figure 39).

It was recently estimated that the globalaquaculture industry uses about 35 percent of totalfish meal supply (Figure 40). This is a significantincrease over estimated use in 1988. By 2010, the

32 Unless otherwise referenced the information in this sectionis drawn from the regional review (see footnote 12).

33 Net fish meal usage = (production + import – export).34 FAO FISHSTAT (2002 edition).35 There are some important considerations when interpreting

this information which are as follows:

1) ‘Apparent utilization’ is the sum of the quantitiesproduced and imported, less the exported andre-exported quantities.

2) Many States do not submit complete information(e.g. the Philippines does not report nationalproduction).

3) These feed ingredients have various uses and are notsolely used as aquaculture feeds.

4) These ingredients do not include so called ‘trash fish’which are small, low market value species landed aspart of fisheries catches and which are utilized directlyas feeds and not transformed into meals.

44

same author estimates the aquaculture share offish meal usage will be 48 percent.36

The trend in global production of fishmeal appearsto be relatively stable and currently availableinformation suggests that there is little likelihood ofincreasing total global production. This means thatthe expanding aquaculture and livestock sectorswill be competing for a resource that is notincreasing. This situation has been referred to asthe “fish meal trap”37 and it is considered that giventhe apparently limited supply of fish meal and fishoil, the expansion of some types of aquaculture willbe constrained (or stopped). It is argued that givenstable (neither increasing nor decreasing) suppliesof raw fish for fish meal production, the growingdemand for fishmeal will drive the price of fish mealand fish oil upwards. This will eventually reacha level where fish and shrimp farmers may not beable to afford to buy fish feeds that containadequate amounts of fish meal and fish oil toeffectively produce their animals.

These predictions assume that there will be littleimprovement in the efficiency of use of fish mealand fish, and that effective substitutes will not befound in the near future. It could be easilyexpected that the efficiency of the use of fishmealwill rise as a reaction to increasing prices andcompetition between the livestock and aquaculturesectors for the resource. It should be pointed outthat to date, the greatest advances in the area ofreducing reliance on fish meal appear to have beenin the livestock sector. Considerable research isalso being done to find substitutes including othersources of fish meal, and vegetable substitutes,including genetically modified plants.

Projections show that the rising cost of wild fishwill also see aquaculture prices rising. The higherprice for fish products may enable aquaculture tocommand a higher share of the fishmeal market.There is no doubt that the high value sector ofaquaculture is growing and this sector is themost reliant on feeds containing fish meal and fishoil. Even within the aquaculture sector, there arelikely to be shifts in feeding and feed compositionsince the freshwater aquaculture sector hasa greater opportunity to use non-marine sourcedfeed ingredients (particularly slaughterhousewastes, brewery wastes and agriculturalmilling by-products). The purchasing power ofmaricultured fish and crustaceans will enable thispart of the sector to afford higher fish meal pricesas demand increases.

Combining the total aquaculture production ofcarnivorous fish species and crustaceans culturedin all types of environments38, the approximaterequirement for fishmeal for the Asia-Pacific regionincluding China PR in 2000 was over 1.2 milliontonnes. The fish meal requirement of freshwaterfish aquaculture is far more difficult to estimate,since feeds vary from complete feeds containingfish meal to supplemental feeds with no fish mealwhatsoever.

The inescapable conclusion is that even though fishprices will rise, the price of fishmeal will rise evenmore quickly and therefore there is considerablepressure on aquaculture to reduce its reliance onfeeds containing fish meal and also to increase theefficiency of its current usage of this resource.

Table 23Net fish meal usage in the Asia-Pacific region(2001)

Country Tonnes

China PR 1 622 136Japan 688 396Thailand 496 316Taiwan POC 303 691Philippines 156 126Indonesia 104 479Australia 104 012Iran 68 096Korea RO 59 578Pakistan 33 742Viet Nam 28 262India 18 897New Zealand 17 412Sri Lanka 12 444Bangladesh 6 358Cambodia 2 200Malaysia 1 316Korea DPR 898Papua New Guinea 792Brunei Darussalam 328New Caledonia 310China, Macao SAR 301Myanmar 257Lao PDR 244

36 http://www.iffo.org.uk S.M. Barlow “The world marketoverview of fish meal and fish oil” Paper presented to the 2nd

Seafood By-Products Conference, Alaska, November 2002.37 See FAO (2000) The State of World Fisheries and

Aquaculture, 2000, page 115.38 Freshwater, brackish water and mare water.

45

Unit: 1000 tonnes

0

500

1000

1500

2000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

China

Japan

Thailand

TaiwanPOCPhilippines

Indonesia

Australia

Iran

Figure 40

Share of total fishmeal use

1988 2002

2010 (projected)

Source: Redrawn from

1) S.M. Barlow & I.H. Pike “ SUSTAINABILITY OF FISHMEAL AND FISH OIL SUPPLY” Paper presented at the Scottish Norwegian

Marine fish farming conference, University of Stirling, Stirling Scotland, June 2002

2) S.M. Barlow “THE WORLD MARKET OVERVIEW OF FISH MEAL AND FISH OIL” Paper presented to the 2nd Seafood By-Products

Conference, Alaska, November 2002, http://www.iffo.org.uk

Others

10%

Aquaculture

10%

Pigs

20%

Poultry

60%

Others

9%Ruminants

1%

Pigs

27%

Poultry

29%

Aquaculture

34%

Others

15%

Pigs

22%

Poultry

15%

Aquaculture

48%

Figure 39Usage of fishmeal for aquaculture and other sectors

Figure 40Share of total fishmeal use

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5.3 Live fish trade – food fish and ornamentalaquarium fish

Fisheries dedicated to the live food and ornamentalfish trade generate billions of dollars each year.The live reef fish trade has two main components– live food fish and ornamental aquarium fish.Accurate figures are not available on the total valueof these trades, but extrapolation from partialestimates indicates that the total value of theaquarium trade exceeds US$ 1 billion per year.

There are environmental concerns regardingthe manner in which aquarium and live reef foodfish are exploited. The methods for collectionand transportation can be wasteful, although forsome areas this is one of the few commerciallyexploitable resources. The total annual net benefitof sustainable coral reef fisheries across SoutheastAsia is estimated to be US$ 2.4 billion per year.

The marine and freshwater aquarium trade

In 2000, the global total wholesale value of liveornamental fish both freshwater and marine(live animals for aquarium only) was estimated atUS$ 900 million, with an estimated retail value ofUS$ 3 billion (live animals for aquariums only). Asiaprovided more than 50 percent of the global totalornamental fish supply39.

Estimates place the value of the marine ornamentaltrade at US$ 200-330 million per year40 and theoverall value of the marine fish trade, accounts forabout 10 percent of the international ornamentalfish trade (marine and freshwater included)41.

A total of 1 471 species of marine fish are tradedworld wide but the ten ‘most traded’ speciesaccount for about 36 percent of all fish traded forthe years 1997 to 2002.

Southeast Asia is the hub of this trade, supplyingup to 85 percent of the aquarium trade42. In 1985,the world export value of the marine aquariumtrade was estimated at US$ 25 million to 40 millionper year. Since 1985, trade in marine ornamentals

has been increasing at an average rate of14 percent annually. In 1996, the world exportvalue was about US$ 200 million. The annualexport of marine aquarium fish from SoutheastAsia alone was, according to 1997 data, between10 million and 30 million fish with a retail value ofup to US$ 750 million; the actual value at point ofsale is considerably higher.

Ornamental marine species (corals, otherinvertebrates and fish) are collected andtransported mainly from Southeast Asia, but alsoincreasingly from several island nations in theIndian and Pacific Oceans, to consumers in themain destination markets: the United States, theEuropean Union (EU) and, to a lesser extent, Japan.

Coral species in seven genera (Euphyllia,Goniopora, Acropora, Plerogyra, Catalaphyllia) arethe most popular, accounting for approximately56 percent of the live coral trade between 1988and 2002. There were also 61 species of soft coraltraded, amounting to close to 390 thousand piecesper year.

An important distinction that can be made betweenthe freshwater and marine aquarium trades is thelevel of reliance on capture of animals rather thanculture. It is roughly estimated that the freshwateraquarium trade relies on cultured animals for98 percent and only two percent of the productsare captured43. The marine aquarium trade relieson capture for 98 percent of its production versus2 percent culture44. There is, therefore, significantpotential for increasing the contribution ofaquaculture to the marine aquarium trade and thefreshwater aquarium trade is also a significantaquaculture contributor in terms of value. Bycalculation – if the freshwater aquarium trademakes up 90 percent of the total aquarium tradeand 98 percent of that is cultured, then a crudeestimate of the wholesale aquaculture value isapproximately US$ 794 million.

There are increasing trends to certify the aquariumtrade as “undertaken responsibly”. There areopportunities for remote islands to benefit from thisresource which is often one of the few livelihoodoptions available to them.

Live finfish (groupers, wrasse etc.)

The markets for live groupers and other reef finfishare concentrated in Hong Kong SAR, Singaporeand increasingly China PR.

39 FAO SOFIA 2000.40 These trade figures were calculated by the UNEP report

from export value of the top ten producers. Unofficial figuresplace these values much higher. There is also significantintra-regional trade which also adds value.41 http://www.unep-wcmc.org/index.html?http://www.unep-

wcmc.org/resources/publications/UNEP_WCMC_bio_series.htm~main42 Useful references to marine aquarium trade can be found

at: Global Marine Aquarium Database:http://www.unep-wcmc.org/marine/GMAD/http://marine.wri.org/

43 http://www.nmsfocean.org/chow/Best.pdf44 Marine Aquarium Council website.

47

In 2000, Hong Kong SAR alone imported anestimated 24 362 tonnes of live food fish. Typicalwholesale prices for these species range fromUS$ 11 to 63 per kilogram. Overall averagewholesale price for reef fish was US$ 20/kg45.

The very high retail values of these fish enablethem to be brought long distances in well boats orto be transhipped and held in cages. These fishare sourced throughout Southeast Asia and alsofrom the Pacific Islands. Estimates of the value ofthis trade vary. One estimate for Hong Kong SARalone put the value at approximately US$ 400 to500 million.

More recently the culture of groupers has beenexpanding as hatchery technology and transfer ofthis knowledge has enabled the establishment ofgrouper aquaculture. In particular, Indonesianaquaculture of grouper has increased notably inrecent years.

Table 24Live fish imports to China PR, Hong Kong SAR,Macao SAR and Singapore in 2000

Country Tonnes

China PR 888China, Hong Kong SAR 24 362China, Macao SAR 4 601Singapore 3 337

45 Lau, P. & R. Parry Jones. (1999). The Hong Kong tradein Live reef fish for food. TRAFFIC East Asia and World WideFund for Nature Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

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6.1 Global and regional trends

The International Food Policy Research Institute incollaboration with the WorldFish Centre hasrecently published “Fish to 2020”46. Based ona global supply and demand model the studyexamined six different scenarios. Although eachof the scenarios provided some differences,especially in timing of critical trends, the studypredicts that production and consumption willcontinue to increase in developing States, but slowdown in developed States resulting in an increasein the price of fish, especially fish meal and fish oil,wild fish, and high-value fish (assuming thatconsumers will not greatly shift their preferencesto other commodities such as poultry as fish pricesincrease).

Consumption trends will drive an increase in thedemand for fishery products for food, partly due tochanging food habits but also due to the increasingpurchasing power of several developing States.Most forecasts for the future predict a stable ordecreasing supply from capture fisheries and anincreasing proportion coming from aquaculture. Asa result of these trends the price of fishery productsis also expected to increase since in most of theprojected scenarios, supply cannot keep up withdemand. Projected rises in prices between 1997and 2020 are about 15 percent, and significantlyfor aquaculture, increases in prices of fish meal andfish oil are predicted to be up to 18 percent.

Fish trade is increasing rapidly with roughly40 percent of global fish output being tradedacross State borders. This proportion isconsidered to be high compared to that of meat(less than 10 percent). For such a perishableproduct, this high proportion of traded output issurprising, but it mirrors changes in diets worldwide, and turnarounds in supply and demand.Globally, the main source of fish production hasshifted from developed to developing Statesand the share of aquaculture has increasedsubstantially. Seafood demand from developingStates is expanding rapidly and major shifts inseafood and aquaculture production, trade, andconsumption world wide are expected to continueover the next 10-20 years with an increasingsouth-south trade in seafood in relation tonorth-south trade.

Developing States are expected to remain netexporters overall, but the percentage of theirproduction exported is expected to decrease dueto rising domestic demand. There appears to bea decreasing trend of fish consumption due toincreased urbanization; however this does notseem likely to offset the increased demand for fishin developing States.

6.2 Coastal fisheries

Based on current trends, production from capturefisheries in the Asia-Pacific region will decline overthe next 10-20 years unless excess fishing capacityand fishing effort is greatly reduced. Increasedproduction in the North Sea after two world wars,for example, showed that heavily exploited fishstocks can recover when released from their heavyfishing pressure. Current examples include severalfish stocks in waters of the USA where fishing hasbeen drastically reduced. Ecosystem modellinghas also shown that the situation can be reversed.However, it is unknown to what extent severelyaltered ecosystems such as the Yellow Sea and theGulf of Thailand would recover.

It could be argued that “fishing down the foodchain” is both a good and an unavoidableconsequence of the growing demand for fish in thatremoving predators may lead to more of their preybeing available for humans. This simplistic view,however, seldom holds up in practice as it oftenleads to increases in, or outbursts of, previouslysupressed species such as invertebrates. Theecosystem changes associated with heavy fishingare not clearly understood, but it is known thatthe effects can be increased variability andunpredictability.

There have been few studies on the benefits thatwould accrue if fishing effort could be reduced.One example for the Gulf of Thailand was givenearlier (Table 1). Another estimate made for thePhilippines showed that for the demersal andsmall-scale pelagic fisheries in shallow coastalwaters in the mid-1980s, the level of effort was150-300 percent needed to gain the maximumeconomic yield resulting in a wastage of US$ 450million47. Although much of the trash fish currently

6. The outlook for fisheries and aquaculture in Asia and thePacific

47 Silvestre G. and Pauly, D. (1997) Status and managementof tropical coastal fisheries in Asia. ICLARM ConferenceProceedings 58, 208 pp.46 see footnote 31.

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being caught consists of species that would notgrow to much larger sizes; about 30 percent isthought to consist of juveniles of commercially highvalue fish species. If fishing pressure would bereduced on these species, they could make a muchmore significant contribution to catches and toincomes.

Many States in the Asia-Pacific region have agreedto a number of high level principles relating tofisheries and sustainable development (e.g. theWorld Summit on Sustainable Development;the UNCED’s Agenda 21, and the FAO Code ofConduct for Responsible Fisheries). Althoughthese principles are often stated in legislation andpolicies, this alone will not bring about theimproved management that is needed. Decisionsneed to be made on how to implement them,especially in the context of small-scale fisheries.A key factor to turn around the current trendswould be for States to resolve the competing policyimperatives of:

i) optimal and sustainable use of fish resourcesand their supporting ecosystems;

ii) economic objectives, especially in relation toeither small- or large-scale fisheries;

iii) social objectives, including maximizingemployment and improving livelihoods;

iv) objectives related to equity, including accessfor only small-scale fisheries; and

v) any other objectives (for example tradeliberalization, market access etc.) which mayhave impacts on this sub-sector

Very few fisheries (both globally and in theAsia-Pacific region) have adequately consideredand resolved the trade offs among theseobjectives. For example, trade-off agreementsneed to be reached on:

● Equity versus efficiency;

● Maximising sustainable yields (and economicbenefits) versus widespread employment andproviding a safety net for the poor;

● Export-oriented production versus nationalfood security;

● Imports versus national self sufficiency;

● Large-scale versus small-scale fisheries;

● Long- and short-term management goals;

● Market liberalization versus protection ofsmall-scale fisheries; and

● Foreign fishing vessels versus local fleets

In fisheries, this lack of clarity with respect toobjectives often leads to conflict amongstcompeting sub-sectors (e.g. small-scale fishingversus large-scale fishing) resulting in manymanagement interventions implemented only toalleviate the symptoms, but not solving the problemitself.

The obvious dilemma in relation to reducingcapacity and fishing effort in the Asia-Pacific regionis that a large part of the production comes fromsmall-scale operators, and they are often totallydependent on fishery resources for their livelihood.Despite efforts to “modernize” small-scale fisheriesin the region, for a variety of reasons these havenot been successful and the level of small-scalefishing activity has not decreased. Given thesignificant contribution that small-scale fisheriesmake to food security and poverty alleviation, therole of small-scale fisheries and how they fit intothe multiple activities of rural economies should becarefully examined. Unlike large-scale industrialfisheries, they have low visibility and receive littleattention from policy makers. They are often openaccess enterprises that contribute little to thenational GDP and command little political attentionand support through research, subsidies etc. Assuch, they tend to be dealt with through projectwork funded by donors.

The vision for small-scale fisheries should be onein which their contribution to sustainabledevelopment is fully realized and their contributionto national economies and food security isrecognized, valued and enhanced. This will requirea paradigm shift in policy, resulting in fishers,fish workers and other stakeholders havingopportunities to participate in decision-makingprocesses. In doing so, their capability and humancapacity should be enhanced, which subsequentlyleads to a situation where social, economic andecological systems are managed in an integratedand sustainable manner, thereby reducingconflict. The move towards decentralization andco-management in the region is an attempt toachieve this.

Many projects across the region havedemonstrated that co-management cannot beachieved without using a more holistic livelihoodsapproach (i.e. dealing with all the issues outside offisheries such as health, education, alternativelivelihoods, etc.) and empowering communitiesthrough improved organization to enable them tohave a greater say in issues that affect their future.Larger issues such as poverty, inadequatesanitation, inadequate water supplies etc. have to

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be addressed before more responsible fishing ispossible. It is probably the right time to take stockof the lessons learnt through these projects andformulate “best practices” for the guidance offuture activities. APFIC is currently putting togethera database of project sites to help in this analysis.

Co-management will also require considerablecapacity building at all levels so that all thoseinvolved can communicate common goals andunderstand each other’s roles and responsibilities.This needs to be done through “on-the-job”training involving tackling every day issues andfinding solutions that are practical and feasible.

Some progress is being made through a numberof projects in the region that attempt to addressconservation and management issues by firstdealing with larger problems of poverty (hunger andunderdevelopment), in terms of health, educationand general human well-being. However, theseshould be considered in the context of national andregional aspirations, not just as isolated projectssupported by donors and non-governmentalorganizations.

The reduction of industrial fisheries fleets shouldresult in an increase in net benefits from theresources, via taxation on the remaining fishers forexample, useful for easing the transition of thosewho have had to stop fishing. It could also beargued that if more fish are available for small-scalefisheries, there would be more marketing anddistribution jobs and alternative employment. Thiswould be in contrast to the present situation wheretaxes from outside the fisheries are used assubsidies to maintain fishing at levels that areunsustainable. The short-term cost to cut downon the number of large vessels, e.g. trawlers,probably justifies the investment and in the long runthere would be significantly lower investment andoperating costs in the fleet. More detailed analyseson the costs and benefits of improved fisherymanagement are required.

6.3 Offshore fisheries

Global fisheries have been characterized bya steady expansion of fishing from inshore localregions to further offshore fishing grounds as thelocal stocks became depleted. Many believe thatthis trend can be continued in the Asia-Pacificregion and many States in the region include furtherexpansion into offshore fisheries as part of theirfuture fishery plans. Although the potential isrelatively unknown, it is dangerous to assume that

the offshore regions will supply fish in quantitiesthat we are familiar with in inshore regions. It iswell known that biological productivity declinesexponentially as one moves away from the coast.Of the 363 million km2 of ocean, in less than sevenpercent are waters with a depth of less than200 m, and this continental shelf area accounts for90 percent of the global fish catch. The rest comesfrom deep-water demersal fish and highly migratoryfish such as tuna that roam the vast desert-likeexpanse of the open ocean. It is unlikely that thispercentage will change dramatically over the next10-20 years.

There have been some resource surveys fordeep-water demersal fish in the region, inparticular, those done by India. The Fishery Surveyof India (FSI) is responsible for survey andassessment of marine fishery resources of theIndian EEZ. With its headquarters at Mumbai, theInstitute has seven operational bases at Porbandar,Mumbai, Mormugao and Cochin along the westcoast; Madras and Visakhapatnam along the eastcoast and Port Blair in the Andaman & NicobarIslands. A total of 12 ocean-going survey vesselshave been deployed for fisheries resources surveyand monitoring. At the time of writing, FAO did nothave access to these results and would beinterested in hearing more on this subject.Experience from other parts of the world, however,has shown that many of the scarce deepwaterdemersal stocks are long-lived (over 100 years)species of low productivity and many have alreadybeen overexploited in many temperate waters.FAO’s Fishery Committee of the Eastern CentralAtlantic (CECAF) has just decided that, althoughcurrent catch levels of the Alfonsino (Beryxdecadactylus) and similar deep-water fishes in theCECAF zone are low, CECAF States will beginsubmitting annual reports on high-seas fishingactivities for non-tuna species. The Committeestated that “Any exploitation of these speciesshould be carefully designed, taking into accountthe very low level of sustainable yield of these fishpopulations and the isolation of sea-mount benthicecosystems.”

Purse-seine fishery in the Western and CentralPacific (WCPO) has accounted for around55-60 percent of total catch in the area since theearly 1990s, with annual catches in the range of790 000-1 200 000 tonnes. The majority of theWCPO purse-seine catch (>70 percent) is taken bythe four main distant-water fishing fleets (Japan,Korea RO, Taiwan POC and USA), which currentlynumber around 140 vessels.

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The current catch history for tuna in the WCPOis shown in Figure 41 and the status of tunaspecies in the WCPO and the Indian Ocean is givenin Table 25.

There has been an increasing contribution from thegrowing number of Pacific Island domestic vesselsin recent years (40 vessels in 2000), with thebalance from Philippines fisheries and a variety ofother fleets, including a small seasonally activeSpanish fleet.

Assessments of the stocks in both the WCPO andthe Indian Ocean highlight the variability inrecruitment in the faster growing more productivetuna species (skipjack and yellowfin), driven toa large extent by climatic changes such as theEl Niño. Skipjack tuna, in particular is consideredas biologically underexploited at the moment(although there is some concern over economicoverfishing resulting in low prices in the Pacific). Incontrast, the longer-lived slower growing bigeyetuna is showing signs of overfishing in both oceans.Scientists warn that because of the multi-speciesnature of the purse seine and longline fisherythe impacts of fishing on skipjack could havea negative impact on more vulnerable species.

In this respect, they advise that the TunaCommissions should consider how to implementmanagement measures to address over-fishing andalleviate over-fished stock conditions in the future.

In summary, it would appear that any expansioninto offshore waters will be limited for both pelagicand demersal fisheries, unless more selectivefishing gears for tunas can be developed. Overall,therefore, even to maintain the status quo incapture fisheries in the region, especially in termsof providing food security and poverty alleviationfor the region’s poor, the many issues highlightedin this review will need to be addressed. It isunlikely that any State can do this unilaterally, anda concerted and collaborative effort will berequired.

6.4 Aquaculture

Since the yield from capture fisheries is notexpected to increase greatly, there is an emphasisbeing placed on the aquaculture sector’s ability toprovide increasing quantities of fish to satisfyincreasing demand in all regions. Severalconditions must be satisfied in order thataquaculture be able to achieve this expectation.

Figure 41Tuna catches in the Western and Central Pacific region

Table 25Status of tuna species in the Western and Central Pacific and in the Indian Ocean

Species Central & Western Pacific Indian Ocean

Skipjack tuna Underexploited UnderexploitedYellowfin tuna Under/fully exploited Fully exploitedBigeye tuna Fully/overexploited Fully/overexploitedAlbacore tuna Underexploited UnderexploitedSwordfish Overexploited

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The massive expansion of aquaculture required willneed increased production area, as well as greatlyincreased intensity of production. Obtaining theland and water may be possible if the value offishery products increases so that aquaculture canchallenge other production systems for the use ofthe feeds, land and water required to effect thisproduction. Alternatively, increased efficiency inthe use of water and intensified production willreduce land requirements. The current intensity ofproduction in many States of Asia is such that thereis considerable scope for increased production perunit area. However, the increased feed usage andprobable increased water requirement will bea constraint. The current reliance on fish meal asa protein source for aquaculture feeds is a potentialconstraint (this has already been discussed in theprevious section).

Aquaculture currently competes with the livestocksector for fish meal for feeds. If fish valueincreases the “purchasing power” of aquaculturemay draw this resource away from the livestocksector. There are calls for aquaculture to reduceits reliance on fish meals and increase theefficiency of their utilization. Whilst more efficientuse of fish meal is possible, reduced reliancemay be more difficult to achieve. In the face ofincreasing purchasing power of aquaculture feeds,it may be the livestock sector which makes thegreater progress towards reducing reliance on fishmeals.

One scenario considered in the IFPRI/WFC reportis that a rapid expansion of both the scale andefficiency of aquaculture could lead to decreasingfish prices (this was the only scenario wherefish price decreased). The efficient culture ofherbivorous/omnivorous fish is already a reality;however, it is apparent that current trends indicatethat aquaculture is drifting towards higher valuespecies that present greater profit margins. Thistrend is even being seen in species that aretraditionally considered to be relatively low inputspecies such as tilapia. The production of tilapiain several States is moving away from greenwaterfertilized systems towards pellet-fed intensifiedsystems. This may be a reflection on the availableareas for aquaculture and increasing restriction onwater availability and to some extent environmentalrequirements. The production of higher valueaquaculture species allows investment in moreintensive production systems and their associatedeffluent treatments. The higher value products mayalso be easier to market and often have greaterexport potential.

It is inevitable that as fish prices rise, there will bea tendency for poorer parts of national populationsto shift towards cheaper forms of meat such aschicken and pork. The question is whether fishin the Asia-Pacific region will remain a common(and even central) part of the diet of most peopleor increasingly become a luxury food item.

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