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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4 face=Arial>Pacific fisheries need tech to track climate
impact</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=author><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Johann Bell</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=source><FONT size=2 face=Arial>15 February 2012</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=date><A
href="http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/ocean-science-for-sustainable-development/opinions/pacific-fisheries-need-tech-to-track-climate-impact-1.html"><FONT
size=2
face=Arial>http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/ocean-science-for-sustainable-development/opinions/pacific-fisheries-need-tech-to-track-climate-impact-1.html</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV class="article_content cf">
<P><A href="http://www.scidev.net/en/climate-change-and-energy/"><SPAN><FONT
color=#336699 size=2 face=Arial>Climate change</FONT></SPAN></A><SPAN><FONT
size=2 face=Arial> could derail plans by Pacific Island countries and
territories (PICTs) to use </FONT></SPAN><A
href="http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/fisheries/"><FONT
color=#336699 size=2 face=Arial>fisheries</FONT></A><SPAN><FONT size=2
face=Arial> and aquaculture to foster economic development and food security.
</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Bottom-dwelling coastal fish are expected to be
hardest hit. Under continued high emissions of greenhouse gases, stocks of these
fish are estimated to decrease by 20 per cent by 2050 due to global warming and
ocean acidification, which affect the fish themselves as well as the coral reefs
that support them. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>But much uncertainty remains about the impacts
of climate change. And contrary to assessments for some other parts of the
world, the projections for fisheries and aquaculture in the Pacific are not all
negative. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Fisheries boost</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>In particular, tuna stocks are expected to rise
in the eastern Pacific, and increased rainfall is likely to improve the
production of freshwater fisheries and pond aquaculture in the western Pacific.
</FONT></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Indeed, many communities could switch their
fishing efforts to tuna that frequent coastal waters. By installing anchored
fish aggregating devices (FADs) to temporarily hold tuna, small-scale fishers
could access these valuable resources more easily. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Building networks of inshore FADs to increase
coastal communities' access to tuna is an example of a 'win-win adaptation': it
will help supply the additional fish needed by growing populations in ways that
are likely to be favoured by climate change. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Governments should strengthen investments in
monitoring the success of such 'win-win adaptations'. Effective monitoring will
be key to ensuring that the most appropriate adaptations are applied at the
right times and in the right places. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Technical solutions</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>There are technologies available to help
managers monitor the effects of fishing and climate change on coastal fish
stocks. For example, digital photography and image analysis can simplify
sampling to determine species composition and the size of catches landed at fish
markets, providing a baseline against which change can be measured.
</FONT></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>In addition, governments routinely conduct
household and income expenditure surveys which could be modified to assess the
success of efforts to increase the proportion of tuna in the catch of coastal
communities. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Simple methods for collecting remotely-sensed
data, and ground-truthing this information, also have a role to play in
separating the effects of climate change from other stressors on the coral reef
habitats that support fish stocks. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Regular mapping of vegetation cover in water
catchment areas will also be needed to monitor the success of revegetation
programmes designed to prevent sediments and nutrients from degrading coral
reefs fringing the coast. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Missing information</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2>But <SPAN>existing monitoring tools are not in
place for coastal fisheries in many PICTs. Even the basic information required
for fisheries management, such as the relative abundance and sizes of fish
landed at main markets, is often missing. </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P></DIV>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>And although the technology underpinning some
of the priority adaptations to climate change is mature, interventions will not
work in all PICTs, or in all locations within a country. Additional surveys and
planning will be needed to identify sites with the appropriate conditions.
</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>For example, in the case of FADs, information
is needed from local communities to identify areas frequented by tuna, and which
parts of these areas are suitable for installing the devices. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Alongside these efforts, training programmes
are needed to improve the technical skills of coastal communities that are
adapting to climate change by increasing their tuna catches and engaging in pond
aquaculture. The training should extend to improving post-harvest methods to
increase the shelf life of fish caught and produced in remote areas.
</FONT></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Long-term effort</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>PICTs will need to invest in a variety of
monitoring programmes to improve their understanding of industrial tuna
fisheries. The returns could be significant, if not vital — industrial fisheries
contribute 10–40 per cent of government revenue in four PICTs, and 10–20 per
cent of gross domestic product in two PICTs. Tuna canneries also provide 12,000
jobs across the region. </FONT></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>There are key improvements that governments
should make as a matter of priority. Observer programmes that currently monitor
fishing practices on industrial tuna fleets need to be expanded to help provide
the basic biological data needed to better understand the function of ecosystems
that support tuna, and to determine whether these ecosystems are being affected
by fishing and the changing climate. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Investing in more comprehensive observer
programmes that improve the quantity and quality of data will also help to build
and validate the biophysical models needed to assess the potential production of
tuna across the Pacific. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>And new technology is needed onboard
purse-seine fishing vessels (boats that surround schools of tuna with large
nets). For example, digital images would help record changes in the species
composition and size of the tuna caught by different fleets, and from different
areas of the Pacific Ocean. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Such data should preferably be processed by
computers on board, and transmitted to the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries
Agency and Secretariat of the Pacific Community via the vessel monitoring
system. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The necessary tools and capabilities for
long-term monitoring programmes must be developed as soon as possible — the
longer the data are available, the greater the power to detect change and
provide the information needed for adaptive management. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><EM><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Johann Bell is Principal Fisheries
Scientist at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, based in New
Caledonia<STRONG>. </STRONG>He is lead editor of the book </FONT></SPAN></EM><A
href="http://cdn.spc.int/climate-change/fisheries/assessment/e-book/indexcdn.html"
target=_blank><SPAN><FONT color=#336699 size=2 face=Arial>Vulnerability of
Tropical Pacific Fisheries and Aquaculture to Climate
Change</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=2 face=Arial>.</FONT></P>
<P><EM><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial>This article is part of a </FONT></SPAN><A
href="http://www.scidev.net/en/spotlights/"><FONT color=#336699 size=2
face=Arial>Spotlight</FONT></A></EM><EM><SPAN><FONT size=2 face=Arial> on
</FONT></SPAN><A
href="http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/ocean-science-for-sustainable-development"><FONT
color=#336699 size=2 face=Arial>Ocean science for sustainable
development</FONT></A></EM><EM><FONT size=2
face=Arial>.</FONT></EM></P></DIV><BR>
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