Yimeng Zou studies the motivations and consequences of different operational strategies in Fiji’s albacore fishery

There are significant concerns within the Fijian tuna fishing industry over falling catch volumes and declines in average fish size (Read, 2006). The overfishing and fisheries management failures lead to declined catch per unit of effort for tuna fish since 2000s by Fiji’s domestic vessels (Barclay and Cartwright, 2007). Fijian government is more concerned with maximizing the current value of its tuna resource than the long-term sustainability (Read, 2006). In the meantime, many foreign tuna fishing vessels operating in Fijian waters appear only to have little or no interest in the long-term sustainability of the fish stock as well (Read, 2006). For instance, Fiji’s domestic longline fishery felt that the increased numbers of Chinese vessels had damaged the fishery and would cause more damage in the future(Barclay and Cartwright, 2007). In the current tuna fishery industry, companies are investing different operational strategies for albacore tuna fishing due to the influences of various incentives. In Fiji, some fishery companies are governed by market-based approaches that help in deciding their business pattern.

Decline in overall biomass of the stock will influence abundance and catch rates, impact on fishing such as smaller fish weight and less capture per hooks already occurring in Fijian waters. Although current levels from the South Pacific albacore stock appear to be sustainable (Harley et al., 2011), any significant increase in effort would reduce catch per unit effort (CPUE) to low levels with only few increases in yields (WWF, 2012). The conflicts between Fijian and Chinese fishery companies are catching many people’s eyes in Fiji. The Chinese culture and behavior pattern are different and unknown to most business people outside China (Lindkvist et al., 2008).

In this thesis, how two different approaches (market-based & state-based approach) influenced Fijian and Chinese fishery companies’ business behavior will be analyzed, and discussion about whether these two approaches contributed to helping marine resource conservation or not.