The coastal component of PROCFish is designed to enhance management of reef fisheries in the Pacific Islands by providing Pacific Island governments and communities with accurate, unbiased scientific information about the status and prospects of reef fisheries.
The project is being implemented by SPC Reef Fisheries Observatory by means of an interdisciplinary analysis of reef fisheries in the participating countries and territories (including biological, ecological and socio-economic aspects). An important element is the identification of specific indicators that can be used for long-term monitoring of the status of reef fisheries.
Existing information: What is known already?
PROCFish is collecting and compiling existing information at the national or territorial level, securing and formating data for use by the project and in-country fisheries managers.
Research: in the Water...
on the Reef...
...and among Communities
- The project is conducting four or five community-level case studies
in each country or territory. Each site represents a fishery system
comprising a village or clan and its fishing grounds. Field research
involves:
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Site selection |
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Field work, including invertebrate resource and fisheries surveys, finfish resource surveys, and socio-economic surveys |
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Analysis of research findings The data gathered through the community case studies |
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The relative importance of local factors (markets and habitats) and regional factors (including biogeography and island type) |
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Sustainability indicators for reef fisheries |
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Simple monitoring methods that can be locally implemented, enabling communities to detect changes or trends in reef fisheries |
Information sharing
An important aspect of PROCFish is the sharing of results and information with governments, communities and the broader public. This is being done by various means, including via databases, manuals, research papers, community meetings and films.