WWF-South Pacific’s project manager Frances Areki, when taking the floor during the recent 2017 Speaker’s Debate, said he would speak specifically on the coastal fisheries sector.
“That’s because the sector itself is very large but is often ignored because of its small contribution to the national economy,” he said.
Mr Areki said the fisheries industry was classified as Fiji’s third largest private sector contributing on average annually about 2.8 per cent of Fiji’s GDP and generated a high per cent of total domestic exports. “The bulk of the contribution from the sector is primarily derived from offshore fishing or specifically around tuna. That’s why the national focus is normally around offshore fisheries,” Mr Areki said.
“Offshore fishing generates income of around $107.6 million annually in total revenue based on the report in 2014. But in comparison, the coastal fisheries sector, often ignored; it’s around $58m for coastal subsistence fishing; which is what we eat on a daily basis and is not really taken into national accounting; and $75m for coastal commercial fishing; so in total $133m for coastal fishing which is much more than the offshore fisheries sector,” he said.
Mr Areki said when people talked about the food security at the national level and they talked about incomes the coastal fisheries was by far the bigger and more contributing sector.
“But when you consider the sector itself, it’s a very narrow, very productive, astute sector.”
He highlighted the four major problems within the coastal fisheries which are sedimentation and the liberties to bad land management practices, focus on planning and development, lack of effective governance for coastal fisheries management and climate change.
“What we need to emphasise here is the state cannot manage fisheries on its own; it will need the support of all stakeholders; and encouraged community partnership; we need to all share in the collective responsibility.”
2014, Fiji Times Limited.