Climate Change Impact and Structural Reforms in Kiribati

0 1950 1955 3. WCP Tuna Catch (1,000 tons) they move westwards, as discussed above. In addition, biological features reveal some differences between various tuna species, with skipjack most resilient and bigeye tuna most susceptible to exploitation.6 Figure 1. Kiribati: Tuna Catch 1. Tuna Catch in Kiribati EEZ (1,000 tons) 2. Value of Catch in Kiribati EEZ (USD millions) 800 Non-tuna ■Pacific bluefin tuna 600 ■Bigeye tuna ■Albacore ■Yellowfin tuna 400 ■Skipjack tuna 200 0 1,000 Skipjack 800 600 400 200 0 Yellowfin Albacore Bigeye 1960- 1965- 1970- 1975 1980- 1985 - 1990 1995- 2000 2005 2010- 2015 2020- 4,000 Albacore Bigeye Skipjack Yellowfin 3,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 0 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 4. WCP Tuna Catch (USD millions) 5,000 ■Skipjack Yellowfin Albacore ■Bigeye Sources: WCP FFA (panels 2 and 4); Sea Around Us (panel 1); WCP Fisheries Commission (panel 3); and IMF staff calculations. Notes: Tuna catch and landed value (panel 2) by national waters combine official reported data and reconstructed estimates of unreported data (including major discards), with reference to individual EEZs. Landed value is defined as the catches of marine fish landed in foreign or domestics ports. Official reported data are mainly extracted from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations FishStat database. Reported catch represent all catches deemed reported (including foreign) and allocated to the spatial entity of Kiribati. 1997 1999 2001 6 The skipjack tuna population has a rapid turnover and is fast-growing, matures early (around 1 year of age) and is relatively short-lived (few live longer than 3-4 years). Disturbances in skipjack's natural environment could impact this species relatively quickly, but it can recover quickly. However, if improperly managed, it could slip into a vulnerable state due to overfishing. Bigeye tuna, on the other hand, has a moderate turnover and is much slower-growing, mature late (around 3-4 years of age) and has a long lifespan (up to at least 12 years). Given these features, bigeye tuna is less resilient to exploitation and more at risk from overfishing, especially since juvenile bigeye tuna is increasingly caught as bycatch in skipjack tuna fisheries (World Wildlife 2022). INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND 45 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 KIRIBATI

View entire presentation