Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 4 of 20 BACK | NEXT I. Introduction II. The Context: Fisheries in the Asian and Pacific Region A. The Role of Fisheries B. A Profile of the Fisheries Sector in the Region C. Fisheries Production and Trade D. Major Developments Affecting the Fisheries Sector E. ADB’s Policy on Fisheries III. The Bank's Experience in the Fisheries Sector IV. The Issues: Challenges and Opportunities V. The Recommended Strategy for the Bank

Policy on Fisheries : II. The Context: Fisheries in the Asian and Pacific Region

---

B. A Profile of the Fisheries Sector in the Region

The fisheries sector in the Bank's DMCs may be divided into (i) artisanal fisheries, including inland and coastal fisheries; (ii) industrial fisheries; and (iii) aquaculture. Artisanal (or small-scale) fisheries are generally limited to nearshore waters and inland water bodies, and employ labor-intensive fishing technologies. Artisanal fishing operations are typically family-based, using small craft (usually smaller than 12 meters [m] long) and fishing gear such as beach seine and gill nets, hook and line, and traps. In the Region, artisanal fisheries are estimated to contribute at least 50 percent of total fisheries production. The artisanal subsector is strategically significant to Bank operations, as it supports extensive rural employment in the DMCs, particularly in countries where fisheries have become the employer of last resort.

Industrial fisheries comprise business concerns of varying sizes, with boats usually ranging from 12 to 24 m. This subsector employs relatively capital-intensive fishing technologies, with the equipment owned by commercial entrepreneurs and operated by salaried crews. Industrial fishing vessels are usually licensed to operate in offshore waters, but sometimes they encroach on inshore waters, thus competing with the artisanal subsector. The industrial fisheries in the Region have increased substantially over the 1980s and 1990s, with DMCs such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand now operating modern fishing fleets with vessels longer than 24 m that can also engage in deepsea fishing.

Asia has an advanced aquaculture industry in terms of experience, quantity, variety of culture systems, and range of cultured species. However, the industry still lags behind other food production sectors in terms of development; most developing country aquaculture is still based on the farming of undomesticated organisms in poorly understood systems. Thus, the potential for further development of aquaculture in the Region, particularly in the DMCs, is substantial.

An important characteristic of the fisheries sector in small Pacific island countries, resulting from the declaration of their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) during the late 1970s and early 1980s, is the exploitation of deepsea fishery resources by distant-water fishing nations (DWFNs) and by DWFNs jointly with the island countries. The primary commercial species in this Region are tuna, which are found in relative abundance. The DWFNs (which include People's Republic of China [PRC]; Japan; Republic of Korea; Taipei,China; and United States of America [US]) operate in the EEZs of the Pacific island countries. Access to tuna resources is granted upon payment of fees that are negotiated on the basis of the market value of tuna harvested. In recent years, however, some Pacific island countries have been moving towards increasing their local capacity for harvesting resources within their territorial jurisdiction.

Marine Fisheries

The Bank's DMCs are among the world's major producers of fish products. Most (80 percent) of the DMCs' fish production comes from marine fisheries resources that are distributed over 130,000 kilometers (km) of coastline, about 6 million square kilometers (km²) of known shelf area, and more than 32 million km² of potential EEZ (see Appendix 1). The Region includes the seas of southeast Asia and part of the Pacific and the Indian oceans. The marine fish resources of the Region are concentrated in four oceanic areas: the Northern Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, the South Pacific, and the Northwest Pacific. The Indian Ocean continues to be one of the few fishing areas with increasing catches, primarily of skipjack and yellowfin tunas. The South Pacific has the world's richest tuna fishing grounds, supplying about 60 percent of the world catch.

Eighty-two percent of the world marine catch is taken by 21 countries; 15 of these are Bank members, and 9 were developing members in 1994, including the PRC, which accounted for the largest catch (11.7 million t).⁵ Other developing members in this group, in order of share of total catch, are Thailand; Indonesia; Republic of Korea; India; Philippines; Malaysia; Taipei,China; and Viet Nam. The world marine catch by principal producers is shown in Appendix 2.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture produces three main commodities (excluding seaweeds and other plants): finfish, crustaceans, and mollusks, which account for about 68 percent, 25 percent, and 7 percent, respectively, of total aquaculture production. Aquaculture increased its contribution to the world food fish supply from 12 percent in 1984 to 17 percent in 1994, representing an increase in average annual per capita fish supply from 1.5 to 2.5 kilograms, despite a 15 percent increase in global population. About 60 percent of all aquaculture production originates in inland areas. However, within the Region, coastal aquaculture, often in former mangrove areas, is widespread in East and Southeast Asia.

The Region has a large area of inland waters, ranging from 5 million hectares (ha) to 6 million ha, supplemented by 59,000 km of rivers. This provides fertile environments for aquaculture production, making Asia by far the main contributor, with 84 percent of world aquaculture production in 1994. The PRC contributes 64 percent of Asia's production, and this constitutes about half of total world production. India is the second major Asian producer, with 10.3 percent of the Region's total, followed by Japan with 5 percent.

Ninety percent of world aquaculture production comes from 14 countries, all of which are members of the Bank and all but five of which (France, Japan, Norway, Spain, and US) are DMCs (see Appendix 2). The top five DMCs in aquaculture production are PRC, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines.

Small Island Developing Member Countries

Fisheries are of special importance for the DMCs that are small island states. The small island DMCs — comprising mainly DMCs in the Pacific but including the Maldives as well — have extremely limited land area and few natural resources apart from those located in the sea, predominantly fish stocks. The sustainable exploitation of their fisheries resources, especially the large tuna stocks, represents one of the few available avenues for these countries to develop a major economic activity that can provide employment as well as export earnings. To date, however, most of the fishing effort in the EEZs of these countries has been undertaken by DWFNs, which realize around 95 percent of the revenues from tuna. The attempts of the island countries to develop domestic tuna industries and earn a larger share of the value of the catches have largely been unsuccessful. A major factor in this lack of success has been the direct engagement of governments in fishing, processing, and marketing — activities that are more effectively undertaken by the private sector. While this approach is slowly changing, it has left the Region with a number of nonviable fisheries business entities and has served as a deterrent to private sector investment. A number of other factors have also contributed to the present situation, including geographical isolation, inadequate infrastructure, limited access to markets, low levels of private sector finance, and a lack of entrepreneurial experience and management skills.⁶

Back A. The Role of Fisheries	Next C. Fisheries Production and Trade