Sustainable management of the live reef fish trade-based fishery in Solomon Islands

• Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Solomon Islands
• Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Australia

Villagers in remote areas of Solomon Islands need a sustainable source of income. An opportunity exists to earn money by supplying live groupers to traders collecting for the live reef food fish trade (LRFFT) in the expanding Hong Kong market. The trade had been supplied by the Philippines and Indonesia, but fish were taken by cyanide, leading to damaged reefs and depleted fish stocks.

Now the trade has moved east to the Pacific Islands where cyanide is seldom used; instead fish are captured by handline during spawning aggregations (SPAGS). However if excessive LRFFT fish are taken during these aggregations, along with catch for subsistence and local sale, then stocks of the target groupers could crash irretrievably, as has already happened in the Caribbean. As a result villagers lose income from LRFFT, there is a loss of fish species taken for subsistence and artisanal sale, and depletion of vulnerable species with consequent loss of biodiversity. Effective, scientifically based management is thus needed.

The project aimed to place the live reef fish trade on a sustainable basis, from social, economic and biological perspectives. Other objectives were to train Provincial Fisheries Officers (PFOs) to identify target species, locate new spawning aggregations and undertake Underwater Visual Census (UVC) to assess species, sizes and sexes that remained after harvesting from the spawning aggregations. They would also assess and monitor fishing effort in those areas, and develop a system and maps for identifying future potential areas. The research outcomes would guide design of a sustainable management plan for the fishery.

The work was divided into six sub-projects. The first described the existing LRFFT in Solomon Islands, including present catches, prices paid and areas fished. Potential new areas were noted, and personnel were trained to identify species and monitor spawning aggregations. The second studied the current institutional arrangements- comprising a review of management strategies and the impacts of fishing in spawning aggregations, and an analysis of the legal and institutional structures involved in policy development and management. The third and fourth sub-projects focused on economic matters, with an analysis of the marketing and handling systems, including postharvest storage and transport.

The fifth sub-project created a database on the LRFFT in Solomon Islands, including species lists, fish sizes and catch levels. The team also set up a community-based monitoring system. Finally, the sixth used the results of the research to prepare an Interim Management Plan and to help develop policy options for the management of the trade.

Events including civil disorder and social unrest in Solomon Islands made work difficult for staff in some areas. The national fiscal crisis meant that PFOs were left without salaries or resources to perform some important tasks. A moratorium was imposed on the issue of new LRFFT export licences and existing licences expired, leaving project researchers with no ongoing legal fishery as a case study. Nevertheless a substantial number of the project objectives were met.

Researchers were able to assess the current socioeconomic status of the fishery. Project staff also developed a system of identifying potential SPAG sites from hydrographic charts then confirming them by diving on them. Several new sites were identified and mapped in this way.

Some PFOs were still able to attend 'train the trainer' courses in identification of target grouper species, their size and sex. They also received identification kits that will enable them to train fishers in reef-owner villages when the national fiscal crisis eases. A group of PFOs also received hands-on training in UVC identification and monitoring of SPAGS. They are now equipped to monitor impact of LRFFT on SPAGS and to advise reef owners when fishing should be suspended to protect remaining fish-however if the fiscal crisis is not addressed this group may be dispersed.

The national situation made it difficult to formulate and implement a management plan-only a draft interim management plan was devised. However, much information was gathered about the marketing and handling of live fish from fisher through to the Hong Kong consumer. Transport from Solomon Islands to Hong Kong entailed an 11-day voyage and fish mortality was high.

At the end there were still some significant tasks to be completed. However the review team recommended that these be curtailed until the situation in Solomon Islands improved through restoration of peace and order, the awarding of at least one LRFFT licence and the national fiscal crisis is solved. Alternatively the Management Plan could be revised and a system established, whereby the operator as a condition of licence trains PFOs and reef owners in best practices in fish handling, equips and trains PFOs in monitoring SPAGS by UVC, and trains and pays villagers to record catch, effort and prices.