Report
Publication - Tuna Fisheries Assessment Report. No. 20
SPC Report
A report by Jim Specht of the Australian Museum, Sydney. 8 pages
Refer to dataset description for information. Please use this version for double-sided printing.
Please refer to dataset description for further information.
Strandings of Oceania Database Protocols for data users
Publication contains a fisheries-oriented discussion of macroeconomics, country information on specific topics (fisheries production, contribution to GDP, etc), a discussion of important topics across all countries, some important features of the benefits from fisheries that have emerged from this study, and recommendations on improving the measurement of fisheries benefits and assuring the continuity of those benefits.
The economic contribution of fisheries to the economies of Pacific Island nations.
Survey of echinoderm diversity in Nauru. 18 species of echinoderms, most of them new records for the island. A total of 24 species of echinoderms are now known from Nauru. Six holothuroids (sea cucumbers), five echinoids (sea urchins), five asteroids (sea stars), five ophiuroids (brittle stars) and three crinoids (feather stars)
Coral reefs in the Southwest Pacific are generally in good condition. There was extensive
coral bleaching during 2000-2002. Since then coral reefs have shown highly variable recovery
with some reefs recovering fully to pre-bleaching levels of live coral cover, whereas others
have shown virtually no recovery. Nauru experienced coral bleaching and mass fish kills in
October-December 2003, possibly due to unusually high sea surface temperatures. The greatest
threats to coral reefs of the region continue to be human activities and cyclones, with reefs
Synthesis of the state of marine resources in Nauru, specifically coral reef biodiversity, fauna and flora and the threat to these resources.
The current fishery characterisation includes updates to historical data, which show that 2019 was the
highest catch year in history, with catches of the four target tuna species just under 3 million tonnes (t).
We expect revisions to the 2019 catch estimates in next year's report, as estimates in the most recent
year are preliminary.
Six survey methods were applied to suit the different coastal habitats of Nauru. These were reef benthos
transects, reef front timed walks at night, manta tow, reef front timed swims in the daytime, lobster night
searches (reef front timed swims at night) and deep-water timed scuba searches. Where possible, information
from this assessment was compared with that collected during the PROCFish survey in 2005, to explore
changes in resource status over time.
8 page report:
Tridacna maxima used for adze blades
Government Report to UNCCD - prepared by the Dept. Economic Development and Environment. 2003
The environmental issue of greatest concern to the people of Nauru is the degradation of the mined phosphate lands. In all of the series of consultations that were carried out between the people of Nauru and the various teams of technical experts to ascertain the feasibility of rehabilitating the island, it was constantly emphasised that the total degradation of topside, including localized inland, water shortages and coastal erosions are problems that need to be addressed for sustainable development.
Map of the Nauru island landcover, with country-level summary of the different landcover classes and designation.
The map shows areas of critical importance for the biodiversity and ecosystems of Nauru's terrestrial and marine environments.