Where are they caught? Who's catching tuna for us?
Statistics show that over half of the world's tuna come from Western and Central Pacific.
Although some East Asian countries such as Japan, China, and Korea take up considerable portion on commercial fishing, Tuna fishery on industrial scale is more important in Pacific Islands since it is
one of the major export sources.
Let's explore Tuna fishery in Pacific Islands!
Methods of commercial fishing vary, but fishing rods are still in use for commercial fishing.
(of course, nets are also widely used, but there are regulations on the size of the net to protect
juvenile tuna fish.)
Please watch a BBC two videoclip on Tuna Fishery in South Pacific from Youtube below.
Commercial Tuna Fishing in South Pacific
Sometimes knowing a good fishing location is more useful than new fishing technology when it comes to catching fish in Pacific Islands.
Today, Indigenous people of Kiribati still use traditional fishing methods.
They are familiar with where to go fishing in the ocean.
Usually, they take a small boat (sometimes smaller than a big tuna!) and use the special type of tree leaves to trap fish in a circle. Using nets, posion, and spears, local fishermen can catch fish just as efficiently as large commercial fishing boats do.
Fishermen on the outer Kiribati Island of Abiang
However, commercial fishing still dominates and it contributes largely to tuna export industry in Pacific Islands. Demand for fresh tuna in the consumer market is especially high in Japan and USA. As long as people like eating tuna, Pacific Island countries will enjoy profitable tuna exportation.
Commercial Fishing
Not everyone is happy about tuna fishery in Pacific Islands. Non-governmental environment organization like Greenpeace is taking actions to protect tuna in the Pacific Ocean. Studies
have shown that tuna are not species of conservation concern at this point yet, but as foreign fishing vessels tend to target primarily for tuna, it concerns a lot of conservation activists.
For example, in the past, fishermen used to throw away non-tuna fish to have more space available for other fish of higer value (usually tuna). This is no longer allowed. It is requried to carry every single fish that they caught. Also, using devices to attract young tuna fish is prohibited. These rules took effect as of June 15th, 2008
Greenpeace Activists
As the fishing industry take up a major proportion in the economy of Fiji and Kiribati Islands, how would climate change affect this? How will the physiological response of tuna species to climate change change the trend in fishing industry? Let's keep these questions in mind and move on to the next section "cliamte change and range shift" to investigate in detail.
References
1. Norman J. Quinn. “Traditional Methods of Fishing (Southwest Pacific)” The Role of Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in Human Nutrition –Volume II. Discovery bay marine Laboratory, University of the West Indies, Jamaica Online
2. Pacific Islands Act to Save Tuna. Greenpeace International. 21 May 2008 http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/pacific-saves-tuna210508/
*Photos used above were taken from the following websites:
1) en.wikipedia.org : who's catching all the tuna?
2) ftc.info.ki : Fisherman on the outer Kiribati Island of Abiang
3) english.rfi.fr : Commerical Fishing
4) www.greenpeace.org : Greenpeace Activists
*Link of the Youtube Video : Tuna Fishing-South Pacific-BBC Two
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5mMI8t7vV0
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