Search the SPREP Catalogue

In the first half of the 1990s, in response to increasing concern about many of the world's fisheries, and following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), a number of international fisheries instruments provided an impetus for countries to strengthen their fisheries management. A key step in supporting such efforts is the development of more-detailed, systematic and comparable information on fisheries management trends. In 2004, FAO developed the State of World Marine Capture Fisheries Management Questionnaire in response to this need, in 2007, FAO used this questionnaire to conduct a study of the trends in marine capture fisheries management in 29 Pacific Ocean countries.

The pearl oysicr industry is a growing multibillion dollar sector of mollusc aquaculture. Pearl farming occurs throughout Australasia, the Middle East and South America. Few species of molluscs possess the ability to produce pearls of gem quality. The South Sea pearl oyster is one of them. Pearl production in the wild is an unpredictable and uncontrolled event which human intervention, through pearl culture, has progressively overcome by improving culture practices. Farming mother-of-pearls shares commonalties with edible mollusc aquaculture. However, the endproduct, pearl production, is unique to this sector. In aquatic production, health issues are of utmost importance; pearl production is based entirely upon health. The pearl itself is a product of the oyster's immune defences as a response to soli-tissui irritation. Exploited stocks receive frequent handling stresses which often predispose farmed animals to inlection and diseases. Therefore, the importance o! health management for pearl oysters is paramount. Today, most disease problems are caused by opportunistic pathogens taking advantage of oysters weakened by the stress of handling, including pearl surgery and sub-optimal growing conditions. Except for the mass mortalities experienced in Japan, the pearl oyster industry have not yet laced the types ot epizootics which has impacted mollusc culture elsewhere in the world. Development of the industry will, inevitably, lead to increased risk of disease introduction, spread or emergence. Against such an unwanted future, health management is the critical defence line.

The Main Species Of holothurian exploited in the Sputh Pacific are Holothuria scabra, H. Fuscogilva And H. nobilis, which have high commercial value , Actinopyga echinites, A. Miliaries And Thelenota ananas Of medium commercial value, And Holothuria atra, H. fuscopunctata and H. mauritiana, whose commercial value is low.