Artisanal shark fishing in the Louisiade Archipelago, Papua New Guinea: Socio-economic characteristics and management options

Artisanal shark fishing in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea: biomass estimation from genetically identified shark and ray fins

“…Despite the increase in shark products, there is limited capacity to assess the sustainability of the shark landings and species compositions in these fin products 8 , 9 , 13 . This shark fin demand, coupled with the intrinsic biological attributes of some sharks and rays (i.e., including slow growth rates, low fecundity, late maturity and long gestation leading to relative lower productivity) 5 , 14 , 15 and increasingly high prices being paid for fins 16 puts significant pressure on elasmobranch species. As a result, a number of elasmobranch species are now subject to international trade restrictions under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 17 , 18 (as at https://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php , 28 March 2018).…”

“…In developing countries, the stock assessments of elasmobranchs is further exacerbated when accurate morphological and species identifications of individuals (and shark products) are not attainable. Insufficient monitoring of landings, and fisheries (that are not well regulated) that target elasmobranch species, results in unknown or highly underestimated rates in west Pacific and Pacific countries 16 , 21 . The shark fin industry further compounds these aspects as most detached dried fins are difficult to identify to species level, they often lack diagnostic features 5 , 8 , 12 , 22 and there is generally no information kept with regards to the harvested species (even if known).…”

“…In the west Pacific country of Papua New Guinea (PNG), limited government resourcing and relatively large fishing territories, coupled with lack of species identification tools for elasmobranchs makes it challenging to quantify shark landings and fin catches more explicitly 16 . Furthermore, the combination of various shark fishing activities, including both managed larger scale fisheries (where sharks are taken as bycatch 23 , 24 ) and localised, coastal (herein referred to as artisanal) small scale fishing activities that use small vessels, are largely unmanaged and are not well understood 16 ) makes it difficult to quantify shark landings. The management of large scale shark fishing in PNG was previously governed by the National Shark Longline Management Plan, however following the WCPFC 2014 ban on the retention of silky shark, the shark fishery ceased operating 16 .…”

“…Furthermore, the combination of various shark fishing activities, including both managed larger scale fisheries (where sharks are taken as bycatch 23 , 24 ) and localised, coastal (herein referred to as artisanal) small scale fishing activities that use small vessels, are largely unmanaged and are not well understood 16 ) makes it difficult to quantify shark landings. The management of large scale shark fishing in PNG was previously governed by the National Shark Longline Management Plan, however following the WCPFC 2014 ban on the retention of silky shark, the shark fishery ceased operating 16 . In contrast, there are currently no national management arrangements in place for the artisanal fishery 16 .…”

Governability of High-Value Fisheries in Low-Income Contexts: a Case Study of the Sea Cucumber Fishery in Papua New Guinea

“…After the 2009 moratorium, coastal villagers struggled economically (Vieira et al 2017) and pushed, via politicians and the media, to reopen the fishery (Anonymous 2015).…”