Trends in Reef Fish Population and Associated Fishery after Three Millennia of Resource Utilization and a Century of Socio-Economic Changes in American Samoa

Abstract

A series of social and economic changes in American Samoa brought about by westernization from United States occupation has resulted in an interesting interaction between the fishery and coral reef fish populations. Analysis of data from an extensive database and review of technical reports rarely accessed by the public yield a unique temporal pattern showing a significant decline in shoreline fishing effort and a non-significant decrease in boat-based effort, resulting in constant catch landings and catch-per-unit effort. Concurrent with the decline in fishing effort and constant catch landing was an increase in fish abundance and biomass for the targeted families. This fishing pressure release and recovery of the fish stock occurs in a period of rapid population growth, indicating non-dependence of the general population on fishing, reflecting the change in the social and economic dynamics within the territory. On a historical context, Samoans had relied and utilized marine resources for thousands of years. However, analysis showed present fish community composition, and catches showed significant similarity with prehistoric catches dating from 1000–3000 years ago, indicating that the marine resources were possibly utilized in a sustainable manner, and the recent socio-economic changes allowed recovery from prehistoric utilization.