Pacific Science Association

Resolution from the 21st Pacific Science Congress on Coral Reef Fisheries and Ecosystems

DRAFT Approved by the PSA Council, 19 June 2007

Recognizing that coral reef fisheries have a critical role in food security in the Pacific region and that they are being depleted at an alarmingly unsustainable rate; and

Recognizing that Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) has been identified as the most suitable approach for the sustainable utilization of coral reef fisheries in the Pacific by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002), by the Mauritius Declaration on Small Developing States (Mauritius, 2005) and more recently by the Head of Fisheries of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC; Noumea, 2006); and

Recognizing that Community-Based Management and Co-Management of fishery resources that effectively involve stakeholders are the most appropriate and promising approaches to the sustainable development and use of reef resources; and

Recognizing that the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) promotes greater communication and cooperation between local communities and scientists, as well as the appropriate integration of traditional knowledge with modern scientific methodologies for the sustainable utilization of reef resources; and

Recognizing that there is a strong need for (1) setting up and implementing easy-to-use tools and (2) gathering critical information for improving EBFM;

Be it resolved that the 21 st Pacific Science Congress endorses the following actions in order to enhance the effectiveness of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management in the Pacific region:

  1. More inclusive resource management approaches that ensure that all stakeholders and users of reef resources are actively engaged in the sustainable management of these critical ecosystems;
  2. Greater collaboration between scientists and resource managers to develop easy-to-use data processing tools that will facilitate more effective monitoring and managing reef fisheries, and the development of appropriate research programs and management and policy plans;
  3. Enhanced cooperation between scientists, local fishers, and local stakeholders to increase data collection on coral reef fisheries and ecosystems, which will facilitate more effective implementation of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management;
  4. More intensive efforts to increase international and inter-regional institutional collaboration, particularly between those with advanced marine science expertise and regional Pacific institutions;
  5. Enhanced information sharing and collaboration between projects and programs in the Pacific region to ensure more efficient Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management;
  6. Strengthening the PSA Coral Reef Task Force in order to more effectively address these issues.

PSA Committee on Coral Reefs

Chair:
Dr. Charles Birkeland,
Adjunct Associate Professor,
Department of Zoology and
Assistant Leader,
Hawai’i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit
Department of Zoology, University of Hawai`i
2538 McCarthy Mall, Edmondson 152
Honolulu, HI 96822
phone: (808) 956-8350
fax: (808) 956-4238
charlesb@hawaii.edu