The Secretariat of the Pacific Community has urged Pacific islanders to stop over-fishing.
SPC has predicted a decline in fish population by 20 per cent by 2050.
An SPC statement said the decline in the fish population had also been attributed to the effects of climate change. The regional organisation has also predicted a 50 per cent increase in the human population in the Pacific by 2030 and this would put an additional strain on the region’s fisheries resources.
“Fish is becoming harder to catch because over-fishing has reduced their numbers,” the SPC statement said.
“A threat looming over the fishery is climate change, which bleaches and then kills the coral where parrot-fish, grouper and snappers live.”
SPC’s fisheries development officer Michael Blanc said the introduction of a fishing platform known as bagan would be suitable fishing practice for the Pacific.
The bagan was launched on Tuesday in Majuro in the Marshall Islands. The SPC said it would change fishing efforts from large reef fish to small open-sea fish like sardines and anchovies.
“The bagan is a platform with a hole in the centre, winches at each corner, a lift net hanging underneath and a string of lights,” Mr Blanc said.
“It’s a simple idea the fish are attracted to the lights and then we haul the net to catch them.”
Mr Blanc said sardines breed quickly and swim in schools which make them easier to catch.
“We need to find new sources of food, because the population of the Pacific Islands is rising rapidly and we can no longer depend entirely on reef fisheries,” he said.
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