ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF FISHERIES IN THE INDIAN OCEAN: FROM RESOURCE

SUSTAINABILITY TO REGIONAL SECURITY

Dr Mary Ann Palma-RoblesAustralian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS)

University of WollongongOCEAN LAW AND POLICYMARITIME SECURITYINNOVATIVE WORLD-CLASS RESEARCHOUTSTANDING CAPACITY BUILDINGCONNECT: ANCORS

Presentation Outline

• Economic and conservation significance of fisheries in the Indian Ocean – Patterns of production and trade

• Key issues and challenges confronting the region in addressing the sustainability and security of fisheries resources

• Commitments of six regional and sub-regional bodies in the Indian Ocean

• Opportunities for the region

Fisheries in the Indian Ocean• Involves numerous countries with diverse economies, cultures, and

fishing practices• Fisheries comprise a complex mix of inshore, artisanal, offshore,

commercial, traditional, and recreational marine capture fisheries, as well as aquaculture

• Contributes to food security, poverty alleviation, and economic development in the region– Up to 50% of animal protein intake in some IO countries– Commercially valuable species from a range of pelagic fish, demersal fish,

and crustaceans– Livelihood from downstream industries– Source of foreign exchange and high contribution to GDP in some

countries

• Subject to different fisheries management approaches and regimes

Indian ocean fishing area for purposes of fisheries statistics (FAO)

Eastern

Western

Antarctic and Southern

Eastern

Indian Ocean • Bangladesh, eastern

India, southern and western Indonesia, western Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, western Thailand, and Australia

• Bay of Bengal, central and oceanic Indian ocean region, western and southern Australia

Source: FAO Website, Regional Fishery Bodies, 2014

Western Indian Ocean

• Red Sea, the Gulf, Western and Eastern Arabian Sea, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique Channel, oceanic part

Source: FAO Website, Regional Fishery Bodies, 2014

Antarctic and Southern Indian Ocean

•  Enderby-Wilkes, Kerguelen, McDonald, Crozet, Marion-Edward

Source: FAO Website, Regional Fishery Bodies, 2014

Source: Generated from FAO FishStatJ, 2014)

Indian Ocean Fish Production, 1950-2012, in tonnes

Catch in the Indian Ocean

Source: FAO, State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012

Trend in Tuna Catch in the Indian Ocean (Major Species)

Source: Extracted from data provided in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Website, 2014

RECOFI Members Catch in the Gulf and Oman Sea, 2007-2011, in tons

Country 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Bahrain15 014  14 175  16 356  13 490  9 915 

Iran329 626  341 980  348 122  368 505  411 897 

Iraq7 572  4 594  5 986  7 118  1 647 

Kuwait4 373  3 979  4 707  4 500  4 500 

Oman151 744  151 910  158 551  163 927  158 566 

Qatar15 190  17 688  14 064  13 760  12 985 

Saudi Arabia 40 052  43 509  41 602  39 084  37 420 

UAE96 453  74 075  77 705  79 610  75 147 

Total660 024  651 910  667 093  689 994  712 077 

Source: Extracted from FAO, Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS), 2014

Aquaculture Production

• 6,138,043 tonnes worth US$12.2 billion for South Asia

• Equivalent to about 8 percent of the total world aquaculture production

• Growth rate of 9% per year (volume) and 13% per year (value) between 2000 and 2010 

Comparison of Regional Fish Trade

Fish Trade Flows in Indian Ocean Countries, 2007-2011, in tons 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011Export 12 829 956 14 146 032 13 840 389 15 999 232 19 003 392Import 3 872 365 4 761 089 4 469 980 5 207 432 6 452 768

 Reexport 124 942 136 257 81 544  89 963 83 907

 

Fish Trade Flows in Pacific Island Countries, 2007-2011, in tons 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011Export 614 068 555 817 603 966  653 184 635 812Import 387 643 397 615 369 013 389 971 413 961

 Reexport 4 136 2 126 6 774 11 843 36 114

Fish Trade Flows in Asian Countries, 2007-2011, in tons 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011Export 31 387 103 35 120 440 34 406 245 41 635 328 50 439 363Import 12 029 743 12 277 607 12 337 598 12 939 121 13 535 138Reexport 471 253 493 200  416 364 479 773 569 478

Fish Trade Flows in African Countries, 2007-2011, in tons 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011Export 1 627 906 1 696 691 1 677 177 1 717 998 1 697 565Import 3 459 160 3 352 554 3 282 902 3 487 198 4 054 158

 Reexport 42 094 36 969 39 817 44 920 40 025

 

Source: Extracted from FAO, Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS), 2014

Value of Fish Exports, Selected Indian Ocean Countries, 2009-2012, in USD

IO Country 2009 2010 2011 2012

India 1,412,385,626 2,163,676,018 3,211,757,854 3,282,148,106

Sri Lanka 179,205,964 171,580,646 195,270,992 204,744,589

Pakistan Data not available Data not available Data not available 292,204,684

Kenya 47,338,646 52,022,411 Data not available Data not available

Mozambique Data not available Data not available Data not available 25,786,670

Comparison of India and ThailandIndia fish import: $68 millionThailand fish import: $2.8 billion

Source: UN COMM TRADE Statistics, 2014

Global vessel size and distribution

Source: FAO, State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012

Fisheries-related Challenges in the Indian Ocean

• Inadequate stock assessment• Poor data collection• Resource threats from: overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction,

illegal activities • Extreme environmental occurrence• Post-harvest losses due to lack of capacity• Lack of effective management for small-scale fisheries

– Problem of overcapacity

• Ineffective domestic fisheries management regime and legal framework

• Lack of comprehensive regional approach or framework• Increasing international regulation on fish trade and IUU fishing

Emergence of Other Fisheries Issues with Regional Security Impact

• Use of fishing vessels for acts of terrorism or other criminal activities

• Involvement of organised criminal groups in illegal fishing, especially for high value species

• Alleged harassment of fishing vessels by naval vessels in contested areas

• Lack of international and regional legal and policy framework to address the above issues

The Indian Ocean in terms of regional fisheries policy and management

Regional Fishery Bodies with Scientific and/or Policy Functions

• Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organization (BOBP-IGO)

• Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI)

• Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA)

• Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC)

Regional Fishery Bodies with Management Functions (RFMOs)

• Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)

• South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA)

• (SWIOFC)

Other regional fishery bodies: CCAMLR, APFIC

RFB Area of Competence Species coverage Members

BOBP-IGO EEZ, High seas All marine fish stocks Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka

RECOFI Areas under national jurisdiction

All living marine resources

Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE

PERSGA The Red Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba, the Gulf of Suez, the Suez Canal to its end on the Mediterranean, and the Gulf of Aden

All elements of the marine and coastal environment

Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen

SWIOFC Areas under national jurisdiction

All living marine resources

Comoros, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Yemen

IOTC High seas and areas under national jurisdiction

Tuna and tuna-like species in the Indian Ocean and adjacent seas

Non-target species of ecological importance

Australia, Belize, China, Comoros, Eritrea, European Union, France, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen Cooperating Non-Members: Senegal, South Africa.

SIOFA High seas All marine fish stocks (non-highly migratory species)

Australia, Cook Islands, European Union, Mauritius, Seychelles

Other regional bodies:  CCAMLR, APFIC, SADC    

IOTC Area of Competence

Source: IOTC Website 2014

Importance of the IOTC in the region• Provides a management regime for one of the most

commercially valuable species in the region and the world• Implementation of fisheries conservation and management

measures through monitoring, control and surveillance– Vessel record– IUU vessel listing– Statistical documentation scheme– Port state measures– Regional observers– Compliance monitoring

• Future development– Establishment of a high seas boarding and inspection

Key tuna and tuna-like species in the IOTC Area of Competence

Catch (2012) Average Catch(2008-2012)

Status of Stocks

Albacore tuna 33,960 t 37,082 t Not overfished but may be subject to overfishing

Bigeye tuna 115,793 t 107,603 t Stock not overfished and not subject to overfishing

Skipjack tuna 314,537 t 400,980 t Stock not overfished and not subject to overfishing

Yellowfin tuna 368,663 t 317,505 t Stock not overfished and not subject to overfishing

Swordfish 26,184 t 24,545 t Stock not overfished and not subject to overfishing

Striped marlin 4,833 t 3,011 t Stock is overfished and subject to overfishing

Longtail tuna 155,603 t 133,890 t Not overfished but may be subject to overfishing

Type_Gear (Multiple Items)

Count of IOTC_no Year_Active                        Flag 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Australia 78 81 23 21 17 11 10 9 8 13 12 11 11Belize 105 36 24 8 16 12 8 10 9 5 7 7 6China 98 92 90 62 62 67 67 67 46 32 20 15 36France (EU)   16 42 18 18 298 290 42 44 42 35 33 27Italy (EU)   1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  Portugal (EU)   8 10 2 2 7 14 15 5 6 4 4 3Spain (EU)   36 17 20 34 41 49 50 39 30 26 34 38United Kingdom (EU)   4 4 4 4 4 3 3France (Territories)   1 2 2 2 4 5 5Guinea   3 3 6 3 3 3  India   3 3 2 2 4 70 77 34 50 64 51 20Indonesia   754 1171 1201 993 1196 1275Iran   1016 1109 1206 1307 1270 1251 1233Japan 500 496 189 170 182 184 227 217 210 140 112 70 72Kenya   2 2 1  Korea_Republic of 54 155 202 36 28 29 33 24 20 13 7 10Madagascar   1 5 2 1 2 6 4 8Malaysia   13 7 14 18 28 62 58 59 43 8 5Mauritius   7 7 8 8 8 10 8 1 3 4 5Oman   4 11 24 29 27 8Philippines   17 33 16 25 12 18 17 17 8 7 3 14Senegal   1 1 1 3  Seychelles   28 36 80 51 51 43 45 42 50 50 31 39South Africa 6 12 12 16 9 4 13 14 10 15 13Sri Lanka   1001 2631 2975 3261 3295 3588 2482Tanzania   3 4 1 8Thailand 3 2 4 2 2 8 13 11 6 11 10 5 5Uruguay   2 2 1 1  Mozambique   1 1 1Pakistan   10 Vanuatu   4 4 2Maldives   234 249Grand Total 844 833 664 643 1241 1946 4145 4459 4779 5045 5988 6591 5578

Number of Active Vessels in the IOTC region

Source: IOTC Website 2014

Limitations of regional agreements and arrangements

• Most regional organisations do not have legal mechanisms that bind members to ensure implementation of management measures– Only the IOTC has a compliance monitoring system

• Limited species coverage• Existence of IUU fishing activities • Organisation functions are limited

– Mostly on fisheries conservation and do not have jurisdiction to address transnational crime in fisheries

• Underdeveloped involvement of the navy in regional fisheries compliance

• Implementation of measures depends largely on the capacity and political will of member states

Opportunities to Address Fisheries Issues in the Indian Ocean

• Most commercially valuable fisheries are not overfished• Regional trade advantages

– IO countries are net exporters of fish

• Increasing access of coastal States to resources of the Indian Ocean • Growing awareness on the nexus between illegal fishing and transnational

crime• MCS development

– High seas enforcement scheme

• Strengthened regional approach to transboundary issues – Better coordination mechanism between relevant subregional organisations– Involvement of key actors (e.g. South Africa, SADC)

• Discussion of fisheries issues in broader economic and regional security fora

(e.g. IORA)– E.g. fish trade; conflict resolution; transnational crime in fisheries; fishing vessel

safety and labour issues

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

For questions and comments

mpalma@uow.edu.au