Palau, Micronesia, SAM'S TOURS.

AMAZING AND FRIGHTENING all at the same time! As you may know, Palau has been waging an ongoing war against illegal shark fishing and shark finning in its’ waters by foreign fishing fleets. And now I am just recently informed of yet another equally devastating threat to our marine environment, this time in the island atoll of Kayangel, Palau's most northerly island.

Apparently, Kayangel State is engaged in a LIVE REEF FISH agreement with an offshore fishing company based in Hong Kong or Taiwan to supply fresh grouper for export. While it all sounds very innocent the highly destructive practice can wipe out targeted species in a matter of months. Nearby Indonesia is already suffering the devastating effects of this absolutely unsustainable practice which has apparently destroyed formerly healthy fish populations that for generations have sustained local populations.

Amazingly, although this practice has reportedly been going on for approximately a year or so, I only found out most recently. I guess out of sight is out of mind, and the remote and sparsely populated atoll of Kayangel is a perfect place to engage in this type of behavior.

MOTHERSHIP with SOME OF THE 40 TENDERS - KAYANGEL STATE, PALAU.

The system works like this: two large fishing boats approximately 110 feet / 33 meters long that are equipped with about 40 small fishing boats are deployed full time in a small area. A set of floating pens is set up nearby to house the captured fish. Skilled foreign fishermen operating from each of the 40+ individual boats equipped with fish finders and other technology, select a reef area in search of their target species, in this case supposedly Grouper, and fish like there’s no tomorrow. I’m sure the perpetrators would like to call it environmentally friendly “Catch & Release” however, unfortunately it is not so. Instead, any groupers that are caught are placed in the floating pens and kept alive until the Mother Ship arrives to take them to market in Asia.

LIVE REEF FISH PENS - KAYANGEL STATE, PALAU.

The other by-catch is ground up and used to feed the captive groupers before they go to market and or is used to feed the 40+ foreign fishermen. Local fishermen are deprived of both food and income.

REEF FISH CATCH - KAYANGEL STATE, PALAU.

Sources familiar with this type of destructive practice have informed me that it may only take a few months at most to forever destroy long time productive fishing grounds. The destructiveness is even more accentuated by targeting a single or a very limited number of species.

REEF FISH CATCH - KAYANGEL STATE, PALAU.

While I am only now being informed of the problem, apparently this is not a practice that’s new to Palau. I’ve heard that it was attempted in Helen Reef, close to Palau’s most southern territorial limit but abandoned after about one year when long time local residents and subsistence fishermen realized the devastation. Operations then apparently moved up to Ngaremlengui State, but ceased after promises of prosperity to local fishermen never materialized.

Now the operations are apparently moved to Kayangel hopefully out of eyesight of the majority of concerned citizens who I am sure would be outraged if properly and fully informed.

So who will outwit, outplay and outlast whom? And who will be the survivor? Surely not the fish stocks of Kayangel’s reefs or the local citizens of Kayangel? And who cares anyway? Certainly not the fishing companies for as soon as Kayangel’s reefs are stripped bare this fishing company will simply relocate operations elsewhere and begin their deceit and destruction all over again.

While foreign companies may be the ones running these fisheries it is Kayangel State officials who must answer for allowing this practice, as only they can authorize it, and therefore they are accountable for the results.