The effects of marine resource development, aggravated by the rise of population in some Pacific countries, are disturbing those elements on which life depends. Modem technology is making it possible for distant water fishing nations (DWFNs) to fish the Pacific Ocean and sometimes within the exclusive economic zones of Pacific Island countries. The coastal zones, the breeding grounds for marine life, are under pressure from overfishing, coastal run-offs and wastes dumped in the
To date, few quantitative assessments of the marine resources of Palau have been conducted. For the off-shore tuna fishery, reasonable data time-series are available for the foreign access tuna fishery, but data for domestically based tuna operations are incomplete. For the near-shore fishery, reef resources are exploited by subsistence, commercial and recreational fishermen. Very few data are available that document trends in production for most reef-resident and reef-associated fisheries resources in Palau, except for the trochus fishery.
The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) was established in 1979 when ten Pacific nations signed the FFA Convention. Since that time the membership of the FFA has increased to seventeen.
The FFA consists of the Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC) as the governing body comprising a representative from each
member Country and Territory; and the FFA Secretariat based in Honiara in the Solomon Islands. A Council of Ministers
meets on a biennial basis to provide oversight of regional fisheries matters.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]