Fish, fishing, and sea boundaries: Tuna stocks and fishing policies in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific

Abstract

The distribution of various tuna species in the Pacific Ocean is bounded by the 20°C isotherm while their migrations are influenced by the major current systems and other oceanographic parameters which are here described. Tuna fisheries are important for the island nations of the tropical Pacific with Japan, the USA, Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines prominently engaged in them. The fishery relies on longline, bait-dependent pole and line and purse seining techniques. The various tuna species are among the highest priced fishery commodities vigorously entering international trade in the frozen state or canned. However, with 200 nautical mile extended economic zones now being customary international law, new patterns of resource ownership and management needs have arisen that call for enhanced international cooperation in fisheries research and in surveillance and enforcement; a discussion of possible patterns for such cooperation terminates this article.