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World Seas: An Environmental Evaluation, Second Edition, Volume Two: The Indian Ocean to the Pacific provides a comprehensive review of the environmental condition of the seas from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.

Until now, there has been only one source of data on global fishery catches: information reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations by member countries. An extensive, ten-year study conducted by The Sea Around Us Project of the University of British Columbia shows that this catch data is fundamentally misleading. Many countries underreport the amount of fish caught (some by as much as 500%), while others such as China significantly overreport their catches. The Global Atlas of Marine Fisheries is the first and only book to provide accurate, country-by-country fishery data. This groundbreaking information has been gathered from independent sources by the world’s foremost fisheries experts, and edited by Daniel Pauly and Dirk Zeller of the Sea Around Us Project. The Atlas includes one-page reports on 273 countries and their territories, plus fourteen topical global chapters. National reports describe the state of the country's fishery, by sector; the policies, politics, and social factors affecting it; and potential solutions. The global chapters address cross-cutting issues, from the economics of fisheries to the impacts of mariculture. Extensive maps and graphics offer attractive and accessible visual representations. While it has long been clear that the world’s oceans are in trouble, the lack of reliable data on fishery catches has obscured the scale, and nuances, of the crisis. The atlas shows that, globally, catches have declined rapidly since the 1980s, signaling an even more critical situation than previously understood. The Global Atlas of Marine Fisheries provides a comprehensive picture of our current predicament and steps that can be taken to ease it. For researchers, students, fishery managers, professionals in the fishing industry, and all others concerned with the status of the world’s fisheries, the Atlas will be an indispensable resource.

Vulnerable ecosystems-• Sea?level rise • Increasing temperatures • Changes in rainfall • Ocean acidification • Coral reefs • Increased storm activity Overall in Melanesia the central mountains of New Guinea and the coral reefs and ocean life in the outer islands of Papua New Guinea most impacted. In the wider Pacific inundation is a major threat.

The nations of CARICOM16 in the Caribbean together with Pacific island countries contribute less than 1% to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (approx. 0.33%17 and 0.03%18 respectively), yet these countries are expected to be among the earliest and most impacted by climate change in the coming decades and are least able to adapt to climate change impacts. These nations’ relative isolation, small land masses, their concentrations of population and infrastructure in coastal areas, limited economic base and dependency on natural resources, combined with limited financial, technical and institutional capacity all exacerbates their vulnerability to extreme events and climate change impacts. Stabilising global GHG emissions and obtaining greater support for adaptation strategies are fundamental priorities for the Caribbean Basin and Pacific island countries. CARICOM leaders recently unveiled their collective position that global warming should be held to no more than 1.5°C19 and continue to develop a Climate Change Strategic Plan. The Pacific island countries have expressed their priorities for addressing climate change regionally through the Pacific Leaders’ Call to Action on Climate Change20 and the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change 2006-2015.21

Predicted changes to the climate in the Pacific region over the coming decades are expected to have significant implications for the livelihoods of Pacific island inhabitants. While contributing little to the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, Pacific island countries are particularly vulnerable to its impacts because of their geographical, social, institutional and economic characteristics. Key impacts include damage to coastal systems, settlements and infrastructure; undermining of recent economic progress; exacerbation of existing water and food security challenges; increasing threats to human health; and degradation of regional biodiversity. Global mitigation efforts are a priority both for Australia and for Pacific island countries. In international climate change negotiations, Australia is advocating an ambitious global effort to stabilise greenhouse gases at 450 parts per million (ppm) carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2?e) or lower.

Fish is a mainstay of food secuity for Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs), Recent household income and expenditure surveys, and socio-economic surveys, demostrate that subsistence fishing still provides the great majority of dietary animal protein in the region. Forecasts of the fish required in 2030 to meet recommended per capita fish consumption, or to maintain current consumption, indicate that even well-managed coastal fisheries will only be able to meet the demand in 6 0f 22 PICTs. Governments of many PICTs will need to increase local access to tuna, and develop small-pond aquaculture, to provide food security. Diversifying the supply of fish will also make rural households in the Pacific more resilient to natural disasters, social and political instability, and the uncertainity of climate change

This document reviews actions taken by intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), including regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and other relevant regional fishery bodies (RFBs), to address problematic sea turtle and seabird interactions in marine capture fisheries. Sea turtles and seabirds are subject to a number of natural and anthropogenic mortality sources, including fishing operations. As a result, all sea turtle species of known status are recognized as being endangered. All sea turtle species excluding the flatback are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade. Of the 61 species of seabirds affected by longline fisheries, 26 are threatened with extinction, including 19 species of albatrosses. The Convention on Migratory Species, which has a broader remit than CITES in terms of its requirements for both domestic and multilateral conservation measures, lists all sea turtles, albatrosses, giant petrels and Procellaria petrels in its Appendices. Due to concern over the status of sea turtles and certain species of seabirds and the possible negative effects of fishing on these populations, several IGOs have taken measures to address these problems. Some of these organizations have begun examining seabird or sea turtle interactions, several have adopted voluntary measures to address problematic interactions, while five RFMOs have legally binding measures requiring the employment of seabird avoidance methods in pelagic and demersal longline and trawl fisheries. There currently are no legally binding measures in place by an IGO to manage turtle-fishery interactions or seabird interactions in coastal gillnet fisheries. Several IGOs, which lack fisheries management authority, serve as advisory mechanisms and conduct cooperative research, or have a primary responsibility of regional sea turtle or seabird conservation.