
COMMERCIALLY FOCUSED COASTAL FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT
FCL will create a commercial focus to Coastal Fisheries development and identify opportunities for sustainable maximising of revenue.
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Alongside the commercial support for industry development, FCL will assist with feasibility assessments and research into key species and products suitable for commercial development.
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OVERVIEW OF EXISITING COASTAL FISHERIES INDUSTRY
TROPICAL ROCK
LOBSTER
The PNG tropical rock lobster fishery is mainly concentrated in the South Fly District of Western Province and extends further into the Torres Strait Protected Zone (TSPZ). The fishery in Western Province is the only one that has its own Management Plan, the plan is only specific for this fishery. Elements of Management also extends to the Gulf of Papua and Yule Island. This is mainly because of the migratory nature of the stock that spawn in Yule Island, drift along the Great Barrier Reef and to the East coast of Australia. From there the stock further migrated to the far north into Torres Strait and into Western Province. From the South fly District of ,Western Province the same stock migrates along the Gulf of Papua back to Yule Island for spawning. The Tropical Rock Lobster (TRL) Fishery is mainly based on the same species, (Panulirus ornatus, variously known as the ornate spiny lobster and the tropical ornate lobster), and are predominantly dive-based, hand-collection fisheries. Divers use surface supplied air (hookah) or free-dive, and predominantly work from small dinghies. Some lobsters are also collected at night on shallow reef flats by fishers using a light and handheld spear or scoop net. Operators can use motherships (primary vessels; large catch-storage vessels) in conjunction with smaller fishing vessels (dinghies) or operate fishing vessels individually. Within the PNG fishery larger licensed vessels are a maximum of 20m in length. Each licensed vessel acts as a mothership for the fishing activity which includes divers accessing reefs from dinghies and hand harvesting lobster using hookah dive gear or by free diving. Historically, catches of TRL in PNG waters were also taken by trawlers but this method of fishing for TRL has been prohibited since 1984.

PRAWN FISHERY
PNG's prawn fishery is divided into three areas for licensing and management purposes: the Gulf of Papua (Gulf), the Western/Torres Strait (Western Province into Torres Strait region), and the Orangerie Bay (Milne Bay Province). The former area is the most important area in the fishery and accounts for about 99% percent of the country's catch each year with a total annual catch from all species of prawns is on average about 380 metric tons (all species total weight) per annum, with an estimated value of over USD 4.3 million (over K13 million) per annum. The Gulf of Papua is currently exploited by larger class vessels while Orangerie Bay and the Western Province/Torres Strait ar􀀋 suitably fished by smaller class vessels as per their management plans. Although more than 40 species of penaeid prawns are found in Papua New Guinea waters, four species are overwhelmingly dominant in commercial landings. The percentage composition of these four species in the overall total catch is relatively consistent from year to year. The main species taken are banana prawns (Penaeus merguiensis, P. indicus), black tiger prawns, (P. monodon), Brown tiger prawns (P. semisulcatus), and endeavour prawns (Metapenaeus ensis, M. demani, M. eboracensis). The fishery remains closed to foreign involvement. Prawns are processed and packed on board and mainly exported to Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia Solomon Islands, and Australia or are sold domestically within PNG. Jai:,an being the highest buyer of prawns' worth about USD 3.9 million per year, and about 90% of damaged prawns are subject to domestic markets in the country. Each fishery is managed under its own prawn fishery management plans. During the prawn operations by trawlers, lobsters and fish by-catch are caught, but most of it is discarded at sea after selective sorting. However, an estimated 350 tons of by-catch are landed in Port Moresby by the trawlers each year. This fish sells for an average of K10-K15 per kg, and it is important in helping meet the protein requirements of the city's lower-income population. In order to successfully improve the prawn fishery in the Gulf of Papua, there are many available methods and best practices that can be researched, adapted, and implemented and these suggested methods are the review of the GOP Fishery Management Plan to incorporate MSC certification qualities e.g., bycatch mitigation and management, species risk assessment, and having the harvest control rule that will enable the fishery to improve economically in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Also, new opportunities in terms of a wider access to good markets, quality exports and high revenue generation can be attained. Finally, a Value Chain Study can be conducted to trace the products from processing and storing to labelling and selling so that it enables us to understand what we can improve, change, or amend to maximise profitability in a sustainable manner.

sea cucumber
(beche-de-mer)
Today the BDM fishery is the most valuable coastal fishery in PNG and is the second biggest export earner for PNG after tuna, contributing over 100 million kinas in export revenue. About 40 million kina goes directly into pockets of our coastal and island communities annually. In fact the BDM fishery is the single most important coastal Fishery that supports Coastal and Island Communities' livelihood through revenue generation. PNG developed the first management plan for the fishery in 1992, following the commercial inception in 1990. Since then, the fishery has undergone numerous transitions in management regimes to remain relevant to the increasing economic value, licensing requirements and the compliance aspects in the fishery over time. Despite the efforts put in developing the various iterations of the previous management plan, the fishery still operated under a management framework that lacked robustness in monitoring leading to extensive overfishing and localised depletion with the fishery not meeting the objectives set out in the management plan. The fishery was closed in late 2009, to allow the sea cucumber spawning population to recover. During the closure period, NFA initially conducted annual sea cucumber stock assessment in eight provinces and gradually expanded the survey to cover other areas to monitor the sea cucumber population recovery. The monitoring results indicated poor recovery patterns with a low density and localised depletion of sea cucumber population stocks that led to the extension of the fishery. In 2017, the fishery was opened with a new management plan gazetted in 2016. Despite good management strategies in the BDM fishery Management plan, the fishers and relevant stakeholders' lack of awareness and adapÂtion of revised management resulted in implementation of the plan not so effective. Once more, a revised plan was developed and gazetted in 2018 as G369 and is currently enforced. However, this will be further reviewed to accommodate the issues of the 2020 season. In recognizing the importance of the fishery and further considering the localised depletion of stocks occurring from within the coastal waters of PNG over the years, a three-year fishery closure was imposed for 2021 and 2024. The two-year closure period of the fishery was requested to allow sufficient time for recovery after stocks were depleted and also give ample time for work to be undertaken to strengthen the management framework for the sea cucumber fishery. A number of key program areas have been identified for work to be progressed. Programmes: Stock Assessment Surveys Harvest Strategy Development BDM Management Plan Review Fishery Monitoring Mobile Application Shrinkage Study Development of NDF for the CITES listed sea cucumber species
