The intensifying pressure on the ocean is a challenge for Pacific Islanders, so it is vital that ‘climate issues’ are prioritised.
Under the topic ‘healthy oceans’ the biggest fear remains unseen as the ocean ecosystem and communities are being threatened.
“Certainly, the oceans are in trouble, for many years now they’ve been looking after us,” says Mr. Kininmonth, Head of Marine Studies at USP.
“They’ve absorb a lot of excess from climate change, they’ve absorb large amount of pollution and yet we’ve taken many fishes as we possibly can as if there’s no tomorrow.
“We continue to treat the ocean in a way which is lacking respect and the oceans are now showing signs of really being in a large quiet amount of trouble.”
Women face unprecedented crises given the role they play to gather food especially those within the coastal.
“When we talk about climate crises, issues such as what is happening with our ocean, the catastrophe of this nature exacerbates in social inequalities,” says Zakiyyah Ali, member of Project Survival Pacific.
Healthy oceans are vital to the prosperity of Pacific communities and the global ecosystem, yet are facing an unprecedented crisis with issues of over-fishing, marine pollution and coastal erosion exacerbated by climate change.
Maureen Penjueli, from Pacific Network on Globalization (PNG) highlighted activities of seabed mining in Papua New Guinea (PNG) as destruction to their lifeline.
The message on healthy ocean will likely be heard at the United Nations this year when Mr. Justin Hunter attends to present at the Blue Pledge climate week.
The topic ‘Healthy Oceans’ was the first of its kind co-hosted by the University of the South Pacific (USP), the World Bank and its sister organization the International Finance Corporation, Future Pasifika.
Tony Yao used to fish in his outrigger canoe in the coastal waters off Tahiti in French Polynesia. But the decline in fish populations has forced his family to move in order to find less exploited fishing grounds.
His is just one story from the South Pacific that hints at a paradise being lost. The coral and volcanic archipelagos scattered across this massive expanse of ocean face a number of threats, but climate change and overfishing are arguably the most serious. In the past decade, many small-scale fishers have done the same as Tony Yao or abandoned their traditional livelihoods altogether.
Figures from the World Bank show that nearly one-third of global fish populations are overexploited. This has been driven by the rising demand for seafood across the world, but especially in China. Dwindling catches in China’s coastal waters have seen the country’s distant-water fishing fleet travel to the farthest reaches of the Pacific. There they are targeting tuna, the region’s highest-prized species.
Source: Congressional Record Service
The Pacific tuna fishing grounds are the largest in the world, contributing more than 60% of the global tuna catch. According to the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), almost all tuna in the region are caught in one of two ways. Those to be sold in cans are mainly caught by purse seine fishing boats targeting skipjack tuna. While longline vessels catch bigeye and yellowfin destined for high-value sashimi markets.
It’s a lucrative industry where a single tuna can net US$3 million. The fees paid by foreign vessels have also become a significant source of revenue for national governments. According to a Food and Agriculture Organization study completed in 2014, South Pacific island countries received just over US$340 million in fishing licence fees that year. At the same time, tuna remains a vital source of food and employment for local people, and many are unhappy about the increasing presence of Chinese fishing vessels.
In French Polynesia, there’s been a wave of online protests and petitionsto ban Chinese tuna fishing this year. Many accuse the Chinese of fishing illegally. There is no evidence for this and the Chinese deny it. However, they are buying up the biggest share of fishing licences, which is leaving competing fishers with less.
The Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) oversees an international convention that aims to ensure rules are fair for all foreign nations operating in exclusive economic zones (EEZs) – up to 200 nautical miles off shore – of the Pacific nations as well as in the high seas (international waters) area between latitude 20N to 20S. The latest WCPFC figures show that 3,239,704 metric tonnes of tuna were caught across the Pacific in 2017. Of that, 78% (nearly 2,539,950 metric tonnes) came from the area managed by the commission.
But much of the fishing for tuna takes place in the high seas, which is largely unregulated. Despite WCPFC efforts, the management of shared stocks of highly migratory species, like tuna, often fails. The presence of extensive areas of international waters among the EEZs complicates the region’s fishery management efforts. It is here that China dominates, with more than 600 vessels out of a total of 1,300 foreign-operated ships. Their fleet is enabled by government subsidies on fuel and shipbuilding, which assist new enterprises and allow others to keep operating.
James Movick, director general of the FFA, claims that management of the high seas is the biggest single threat to the sustainability of the Pacific tuna fisheries. “When fishing in our 200-mile EEZs, they are subject to regulation and a robust fishery management regime. Outside, it is pretty much a free-for-all, and tuna do not recognise the boundaries of our EEZs,” he said.
A lack of data transparency and public reporting on fisheries compounds the problem. The Pacific Islands Tuna Industry Association in Fiji maintains a registry of all fishing vessels licensed to fish in the region. John Maefiti, an executive officer with the association, indicates that there are 627 Chinese fishing vessels registered, and the majority are longliners. But he adds: “There are some Chinese-owned vessels that fly Pacific islands flags.”
Cecile Matai, responsible for offshore, coastal and lagoon fishing licence applications in Papeete, the Tahitian capital of French Polynesia, claims: “No Chinese ship has a fishing licence, but there are Chinese ships in our ports for refuelling and obtaining supplies, or with mechanical problems which are being repaired.”
A compounded crisis
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), climate change is compounding food security issues in the Pacific islands, with harvests from fisheries expected to fall between 10-30% by 2050. Rising water temperatures, lower levels of oxygen and shifting ocean currents are already having a profound impact on the four main tuna species, as well as more generally on fish habitats, food webs, fish populations and the productivity of fisheries.
Climate change is also leading to more extreme weather in the South Pacific. The 2015-2016 tropical cyclone season was one of the most disastrous on record. Cyclone Winston, which smashed into Fiji in February 2016, was the strongest ever to make landfall in the southern hemisphere. As sea surface temperatures become warmer, hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones become more powerful.
Rising sea levels are another major issue for the region’s islands. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts global sea levels could climb by as much as 83 centimetres by the end of this century if greenhouse gas emissions remain high. The levels are creeping up even faster in the Pacific, where at least eight low-lying islands have been submerged in recent years.
Marine scientists are now finding links between ocean acidification and a decline in tuna populations. A new study in the journal Scienceoutlines the impacts warming waters have on commercially important fish species. Changes in the ocean temperature are affecting fragile ecosystem food webs. “While tuna spend their time in open water, tuna species as well as tuna fisheries depend on healthy coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs” claims UN Environment coral expert, Jerker Tamelander.
Over the sweep of a rich history in the South Pacific, Tony Yao and his ancestors have maintained a deep connection to the marine environment. After all, the ocean has always been the provider of life itself. Having met extraordinary challenges during their evolution, island cultures are now experiencing ones they could not have imagined, including unprecedented sea levels, storm surges from tropical cyclones, ocean warming, acidification, disappearing coral reefs, and competition from registered and unregistered fishing vessels.
Friday, June 21, 2019Cook Islands News, Pacific “Conservation is in our blood. By protecting our ecosystems we conserve our cultural heritage and ensure that we can pass that heritage to future generations”
Those were the words of Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna while opening the 11th Pacific Community (SPC) Conference of Ministers in Noumea today.
Prime Minister Puna said the people of the Cook Islands, like Pacific people throughout the region, are born conservationists.
“As you all know, the Cook Islands have declared our entire EEZ – close to 2 million square kilometres – as the Marae Moana or ‘Sacred Ocean’. This marine protected area is just one example of how we in the Cook Islands are putting the Blue Pacific narrative into action.
“Sustainable Development Goal 14.5 is to conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas by 2020. And so with Marae Moana, we have exceeded the expectations of the SDGs.
Cook Islanders, like Pacific people everywhere, take our ocean stewardship role seriously by balancing commercial interests against our conservation ambitions,” Puna told fellow Ministers and delegates.
He explained the the pearl farms of the Cook Islands are a great example of this dedication to balance.
“An enormous effort is made to conserving the natural environment, not only because it is part of our Blue Pacific identity, but because the farmers know that a healthy lagoon leads to a healthy harvest.
“We monitor the health of the lagoon, collecting scientific data on the physical, chemical and microbiological properties of the water, as detailed in the The Manihiki Pearl Farming Management Plan, which the Manihiki community and Cook Islands Government developed with the assistance of SPC,”
he said.
He said the Marae Moana takes this concept to the national scale.
“Marae Moana legislation provides the framework to make resourcing decisions on integrated management through adopting a precautionary approach to the marine environment in sustaining fishery stocks, and environmental impact assessments for seabed mining.
“Forty years of ocean survey work suggests as much as 10 billion tonnes of mineral rich manganese nodules are spread over the Cook Islands Continental Shelf. This seabed mineral resource offers a significant opportunity for the long term sustainable economic and social development of the Cook Islands.
“But any decisions on whether the recovery of seabed minerals will take place must start by gathering technical data, and using scientific analysis. This includes detailed mapping of the bathymetry of the seabed, mapping and evaluating the distribution of the nodules and their elements, a complete understanding of the ecology where the recovery of the nodules will take place, economic analyses and mining feasibility plans and the development of suitable recovery technology.
At the local scale, as a veteran pearl farmer, and at the national scale, as the Prime Minister, I rely on scientific and technical data to make evidence based decisions for the good of my community and our people today and long into the future. And this is where SPC has proven invaluable in availing, over many years, scientific and technical data to all our members to ensure evidence-based decisions,” he explained.
He emphasised the changes in global climate now occurring have dramatically increased the risk.
“Just four days after I completed my very first pearl seeding, Cyclone Martin struck. Virtually the entire island population of Manihiki had to be evacuated and many people lost their lives.
Manihiki today, as with all our atoll communities across the Pacific, remains highly vulnerable to the increased frequency and intensity of cyclones, sea surges, and coral degradation as a result of climate change. Many communities in the Cook Islands and across the region, remain one cyclone away from utter devastation.
The failure of the developed world to adapt and adopt stronger mitigation measures, including reducing global carbon emissions, threatens the Blue Pacific’s very existence,” PM Puna emphasised.
Puna stressed the Pacific are not standing by idly waiting on others to offer solutions.
“Our Blue Pacific future requires moving beyond an understanding of climate change as an existential threat, to understanding the extent, nature and severity of that threat through scientific and technical studies, data and interpretation. Empowering our people to formulate strategies, policies and actions to adapt and protect our way of life.
“In the Pacific we have the tools we need to become leaders in developing cutting edge resilience and adaption measures, thanks to SPC and its sister CROP agencies. But just having the tools is not enough.
Just as the pearl farmers of Manihiki share knowledge on improved farming methods and help each other out whenever possible so we as Pacific Islanders need to harness our common history and connection to the region to champion collaboration,”
