Pacific Magazine > Magazine > February 1, 2003

Pacific Fisheries

Coastal Fisheries Bring Stability to Local Communities

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

Often, when people think of Pacific island fisheries, they conjure up images of commercial and recreational offshore catches—longliners with quality yellowfin tuna for the sashimi market, purse seiners with albacore and skipjack tuna for the canneries and trolling vessels reeling in record-size billfish in international competitions. Less known and publicized, but more important to Pacific islanders themselves, are the coastal fisheries.

The akule (atule) is an important coastal fishery throughout the Pacific islands. In Hawaii, the species holds special cultural significance because it was generally not restricted by kapu laws and, therefore, provided a reliable source of seafood when other important species were kapu. The akule was also important in the exchange of food between coastal and upland people. Today, akule still provides a reliable food source for many people of Hawaii. In addition, the fishery provides a source of employment, and participation in it tends to go up during hard economic times.

In the US Pacific islands, 80 to 95 percent of the coastal marine harvest in American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island (CNMI) are collected for home consumption. Only Hawaii bucks this trend, with 84 percent of its coastal catch up for commercial sale. If all components of the coastal catch, including subsistence fishing, were sold at local market prices, the coastal fisheries of American Samoa, Guam and CNMI would have an estimated value of about $1 million to $2 million each, while the Hawaii fishery would tally up to $20 million.

In addition to providing revenue and sustenance, US Pacific island fisheries are important culturally and socially, bringing stability to local communities.

The fascinating palolo of American Samoa illustrates the cultural significance. This marine worm emerges from coral reefs in massive quantities only once or twice a year to engage in a synchorinzed mass spawning event. For centuries, it has been collected, considered a delicacy and given to families and relatives as a form of a greeting.

The individual who can predict the night the palolo will rise is held in high regard. Traditional signs used to predict the event include the blooming of the mosooi, asi and the wild avapui; the release of the scent of the lagaali; and the phase of the moon. Thunderstorms, toxins in reef fish, strong salty odor coming from the ocean and brown scum or slicks on the surface of the ocean area also signs of the palolo rising.

These days, the palolo have diminished. According to the Samoa Journal and Advertiser (Nov. 15, 1990), most Samoan elders believe that the failure of the people to perform the traditional rituals has led to the decline: “In the past, while waiting for the ultimate rising of the palolo, villagers performed rituals of dancing on the shores. Everyone wore new lava-lavas, leis made from the sweet-smelling flowers, and some even had new canoes that were made especially for the occasion. None of that is done nowadays. Palolo is even sold when it was never done in the past.”

Scientists, on the other hand, say the decrease in palolo is due to chemical pollution and dynamite blasting, which have killed the coral in the reefs from which the palolo is formed.

Similarly in Guam and CNMI, rabbitfish is both an important food fish and an important component of the social fabric. Eight species are recorded from Guam, but only six of these have been observed near the island since 1956. Of these, Siganus spinus and S. argenteus are the predominant food species, and the juveniles of these species—the manahac hatang and manahac leso, respectively—play an important part in the culture of the people.

The juveniles appear in the reef flats a few days before or after the last quarter of the moon (called Quatro Menguate locally). In Guam, they arrive in April and May, and occasionally a third and fourth run may occur in June and October. In CNMI, the rabbitfish run happens once per year between May and September.

Traditionally, the annual harvesting of these juvenile fish when they first appear in the reef flats is a major village event. With the approach of the manahac run, residents patrol the beaches from early dawn to spot the incoming schools. When they are sighted, surround and scoop nets are used to capture the fish. The manahac is pickled in heavy brine and served either by itself or mixed with vegetables especially at village fiestas.

Due to their economic, social and cultural significance, the Pacific islands’ coastal marine species need to be managed for sustainable use and their habitats protected. It behooves state and federal agencies, private businesses and local communities to focus research, educational outreach, legislation and enforcement to ensure the future of these important fisheries.

The Coastal Fisheries Management Meeting, to be held in Nadi, Fiji, March 17-21, 2003, is a good example. The meeting is being co-sponsored by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Commonwealth Secretariat, UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council. Its aim is to develop a regional strategy to address common problems associated with the management of coastal fisheries resources in Pacific island countries and advise on how the strategy could be implemented.

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

The Council is the policy-making organization for the management of fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ, generally 3 - 200 miles from shore) around the Territory of American Samoa, Territory of Guam, State of Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and U.S. Pacific island possessions – an area of nearly 1.5 million square miles. The Council is tasked with maintaining opportunities for domestic fishing while preventing adverse impacts to stocks, habitat, protected species and ecosystem resources.

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council
1164 Bishop Street Suite 1400 • Honolulu
Hawaii 96813 • USA
Tel: (808) 522-8220 • Fax: (808) 522-8226
Website: www.wpcouncil.org