Managing fisheries for biodiversity: case studies of community approaches to fish reserves among the small island states of the Pacific

Abstract

Conventional fisheries management has not been effective. Elsewhere, ecosystem approaches involving closed areas such as fish reserves have assisted in sustaining fisheries and conserving biodiversity. In the Pacific this ecosystem approach has been combined with traditional systems. This paper describes the ra’ui system from Rarotonga, Cook Islands, a Marine Protected Area from Ono, Fiji and village reserves in Samoa.