Understanding spatial and temporal fisheries trends to inform multilevel coastal fisheries management in Melanesia

In New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, the Wildlife Conservation Society is working with 13 island villages and the provincial government to manage coastal fisheries. Central to this process has been the collection of... [ view full abstract ]

In New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, the Wildlife Conservation Society is working with 13 island villages and the provincial government to manage coastal fisheries. Central to this process has been the collection of fisheries catch and effort data to better understand spatial and temporal fisheries health trends at a regional and sub-regional level. So far, data has been analyzed from over 3000 fishing trips accounting for over 35,000 fish and 13,000 invertebrates – primarily from coral reefs, seagrass and mangroves. Relative to comparable data from 1983 and 2004, current catches indicate significantly smaller fish sizes, lower catch rates and large ecosystem shifts from higher trophic ordered and more vulnerable species to lower trophic ordered and more resilient species. Length-based stock assessments also suggest that many key fisheries are either approaching, or have exceeded critical spawning biomass thresholds indicating recruitment overfishing. At a sub-regional scale, fisheries health indicators have identified considerable differences between local island groups suggesting the need for spatially based management. In response, we have implemented fisheries management measures at our partner communities on a needs basis, including spawning site fishing bans, assistance with upgrading to more sustainable gears and the deployment of inshore FADs. At a regional level, we are working with the local provincial government to implement marine spatial management and build staff capacity. We feel that our approach to addressing observed trends through management initiatives at multiple levels has good success potential and could serve as a model for fisheries management throughout the broader region