The Pacific, fishing, and regional security

Last month, regional experts, leaders, and the heads of Pacific states met in the Solomon Islands for the four day Summit on SDG 14.4, Achieving Sustainable Fisheries (the ‘2025 Honiara Summit’).

It cannot be understated how important fishing is to the Pacific.

There is the obvious economic factor. Fishing in the Pacific Ocean accounts for over 50 percent of the global tuna market and is worth US$5 billion. About 25,000 jobs in the region are in commercial tuna fisheries. Nauru, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia all derive about 50 percent of their government revenue from fishing. Tokelau’s government derives 98 percent of its revenue from fishing.

Fish is also a key pillar of human security in the Pacific with most Pacific Islanders consuming two to four times more fish than other people. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are engaged with subsistence fishing in the region, employing 10-25 times as many people as commercial fishing.

But what is also key is the social and cultural significance of fishing for the Pacific. For some communities, fishing has been a part of their history for generations and cultural fishing practices are intertwined with cultural and social values. Fishing in the oceans of the Pacific is also a key connecting factor between the Pacific Islands for whom ‘regionalism’ is key to their international relations.

So when Pacific Islands heads of state meet to talk about fisheries, this is very significant and should be seen as the discussion of a key issue in the foreign and trade policy of these ‘Big Ocean States’.

Sustainable Fisheries

The issue of sustainable fisheries is multifaceted. First, overfishing and illegal fishing are depleting fish stocks faster than they can be replenished in some parts of the Pacific. Much of this illegal fishing occurs when fisheries exceed their quotas or fish outside the zones they have been permitted to. It is estimated that between 2017 and 2019, almost 200,000 tonnes of fish valued at $333.5 million was illegally fished.

Secondly, the warming effects climate change is having on the oceans are causing fish to migrate in new patterns, coral bleaching and thus loss of habitat for fish, and also increasing wild weather which is dangerous for fishing activities. A 2021 study found that tuna stocks in the EEZs of ten Pacific Island countries would decrease by an average of 20 percent by 2050 under a high-emissions scenario. This was estimated to cost the ten countries a total of $90 million every year in lost license revenue.

This Honiara Summit was organized by the Solomon Islands government and the Pacific Island Forum (PIF)’s Fisheries Agency (FFA) which is headquartered in Honiara. The highlights from the Summit reflect how severe of a security issue sustainable fisheries is.

For example, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Baron Waqa, called for unity to solve this crisis. Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, James Marape, called for “urgent global action” to stop illegal fishing. Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo emphasized that curbing climate change to protect fisheries is a matter of survival, proposing that compensation for vulnerable nations like Tuvalu should be considered.

Just before the summit, as reported by the Pacific Islands News Association, the “Fisheries Ministers from Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia sign off on a world-leading tripartite commitment aimed at growing sustainable tuna markets”. The MOU outlines a new ‘100×100’ framework which sets targets of “100 percent e-monitoring on all licensed fishing vessels, and 100 percent dockside offloading of tuna catches from those vessels”. The ministers have also expressed that they welcome other nations to join the agreement.

It was also announced that Conservation International and the Pacific Community (SPC) have secured US$156 million from the Green Climate Fund to better manage tuna stocks. This is one of the largest grants ever provided to the Pacific by the fund.

Whilst Australia was absent from much of the headlines from the Summit, Pat Conroy, Australia’s minister for the International Development and the Pacific (and Defence Industries) did attend the summit. However, there is not much in the way of published details about Conroy’s engagement during the Summit.

Australia has in the past committed itself to combating illegal fishing in the Pacific. For example, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) works with Pacific partners closely having AFMA officers working in the FFA Honiara centre, FFA patrol platforms and working on remote monitoring and surveillance. The AFMA also conducts ‘Operation Nasse’, an annual monitoring activity done in collaboration with France, New Zealand, and the United States of America.

Within Australia’s Department of Defence, targeting illegal fishing also remains an important part of the Pacific Maritime Security Program (PMSP) – ‘a 30-year commitment to maritime security in the Pacific’. The FFA’s Regional Aerial Surveillance Program (RASP), which commenced in 2017, and is funded by the Pacific Maritime Security Program. At the 2025 Summit, FFA’s Director General Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen expressed his specific ‘gratitude’ for the PMSP.

Chinese Fishing Fleets

Much like many of the other security issues in the Pacific, fisheries are not immune to geopolitics with much Western commentary being produced about Chinese fishing activities in the Pacific. For one, Chinese fleets have been known to be illegally overfishing in some parts of the Pacific. China has been ranked as the worst global offender in the IUU Fishing Risk Index.

One article claims in its headline that Chinese fishing boats have ‘devastated’ livelihoods in the Pacific, whilst mentioning that there are also legal Chinese fishing operations in places like Fiji. Another article claims that “Chinese fishing fleet a security issue for Australia” arguing that China’s highly subsidized, 2,500 vessel strong ‘fleet’ may come to dominate fishing in “Australia’s region”.

Despite China’s impact on the overfishing of the region, China has also been committing to supporting greater fishing security measures for the region. China has set up a ‘China-Pacific Island Countries Forum on Fishery Cooperation and Development’ and the Chinese Coast Guard has also provided 26 vessels for patrols in the North Pacific. In bilateral agreements with Pacific Islands, China has also included mentions of fishery management.

Like climate change, fishing remains core to Pacific security. Yet, much like climate change, its importance is often overlooked or has become subject to geopolitical tensions. If Australia wants to continue its good security relations with the Pacific, it must take the sustainability of fishing seriously.