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Next to climate change, plastics arguably represent the greatest environmental threat facing the planet today. In response, Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are working to become world leaders in the management and regulation of plastics in their region.

This report discusses the status of Pacific Island reef fisheries for finfish and invertebrates, near- shore fisheries for pelagic fish (e.g. tunas), fisheries for demersal fish (e.g. deepwater snappers), and aquaculture. Effective fisheries management is needed to maximise the yields of demersal fish and invertebrates, and reduce the size of the 'food gap' between available seafood and that required to meet the needs of growing human populations in the Pacific Islands region. However, much of the additional seafood required will need to come from nearshore pelagic fish (tunas in particular) and aquaculture.

Coastal communities in the Pacific are without doubt some of the most vulnerable to climate change effects in the world. The limited land area in some countries and low profile of atolls (many only 3m above sea level at high tide) exacerbate the vulnerability of these locations, and the governments and people of these countries have limited capacities and resources to cope at all levels.

During recent years, marine spatial planning (MSP) has been the focus of considerable interest throughout the world, particularly in heavily used marine areas. MSP offers countries an operational framework to maintain the value of their marine biodiversity while at the same time allowing sustainable use of the economic potential of their oceans. Essentially, MSP is an approach that can make key components of ecosystem-based management of marine areas a reality. Numerous attempts have been made to define both the scope and nature of MSP, but relatively few have discussed how to put it into practice. This guide aims at answering your questions about how to make MSP operational in such a way that can move your initiative toward successful results.

This study brought together the experience, viewpoints and analysis of over 20 experts from the climate, biological, economic, policy and social sciences. The major focus of the study was to examine how the future might unfold for one of the most ecologically rich yet most populated regions of the planet. In doing so, this report has developed a series of policy recommendations which must be taken on board if we are to avoid a major environmental and human catastrophe. If we don’t do this, hundreds of thousands of unique species, entire communities and societies will be in jeopardy.

According to conventional wisdom, small, fast-growing fish are impossible to overfish because their populations are so large and grow so quickly. Yet we are now seeing disquieting signs that conventional wisdom is wrong. Most significantly, scientists are reporting ocean predators emaciated from lack of food, vulnerable to disease and without enough energy to reproduce. Scrawny predators—dolphins, striped bass, and even whales—have turned up along coastlines around the world. Recreational fishermen are losing both their target fish—and their bait. Fishing communities are losing their livelihoods.

The Department of the Navy (DoN) is committed to demonstrating environmental stewardship while executing its national defense mission. The United States (U.S.) Navy (Navy) is responsible for compliance with a suite of federal environmental and natural resources laws and regulations that apply to the marine environment, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act/Sustainable Fisheries Act (MSFCMA/SFA), and Executive Order (EO) 13089 on Coral Reef Protection. The Navy Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT) implemented the marine resources assessment (MRA) program to develop a comprehensive compilation of data and literature concerning the protected and managed marine resources found in its various operating areas (OPAREA). The information in this MRA is vital for planning purposes and for various types of environmental documentation such as biological and environmental assessments (EA) that must be prepared in accordance with the NEPA, MMPA, ESA, and MSFCMA/SFA.

This Pacific Remote Island Areas Fisheiy Ecosystem Plan (FEP) was developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fisheiy Management Council and represents the first step in an incremental and collaborative approach to implement ecosystem approaches to fisheiy management in the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) of Baker Island, Johnston Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Wake Island and Palmyra Atoll.

This American Samoa Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) was developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and represents the first step in an incremental and collaborative approach to implement ecosystem approaches to fishery management in American Samoa.

This Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) was developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and represents the first step in an incremental and collaborative approach to implement ecosystem approaches to fishery management for Pacific pelagic species.