Assessment of the exploitation of coral reef fishery resources in Papua New Guinea
1986
Dalzell, P. | Wright, A. (Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Konedobu, National Capital District (Papua New Guinea))
Past utilization of Papua New Guinea's coral reef resources has been low in comparison with other countries which possess similar resources. This does not appear to be due to resource limitation but to social and economic factors. Although the government has actively encouraged increased exploitation of the coral reef resources, finfish harvests have only increased slowly to an estimated 8,344 t/year of which 7,235 t is subsistence catch. The only industrial fishery in coraline areas is a supportive live-bait fishery for a pole-and-line tuna fishery which has developed since 1970. This fishery specifically targets previously unexploited stocks of pelagic anchovies and sprats and caught on average 1,223 t/year during the first 11 years of operations. Approximately 420 t/year of benthic invertebrates such as pearl shells, spiny lobster and sea cucumber, are harvested each year for export. Annual harvest of pearl shells have declined markedly from a mean of 748 t/year during the 1950's to 333 t during the present decade. The reasons for this and other trends associated with the exploitation of organisms from coraline areas are discussed.
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