History of Marine Animal Populations - Southeast Asia

In January 2006 Associate Professor Malcolm Tull was appointed principal investigator for the History of Marine Animal Populations (HMAP) activities in SE Asia and a member of HMAP’s international Steering Group. HMAP is the historical component of the Census of Marine Life (CoML), and “aims to improve our understanding of ecosystem dynamics, specifically with regard to long-term changes in stock abundance, the ecological impact of large-scale harvesting by man, and the role of marine resources in the historical development of human society.” The Asia Research Centre will serve as the collaborating partner for HMAP’s activities in the region.

Working Papers

Workshop

The History of Marine Animal Populations (HMAP) in Asia forms part of the global HMAP research initiative, an interdisciplinary program designed to enhance knowledge and understanding of how the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine life in the world’s oceans has changed over time. The HMAP Asia research initiative is directed by Associate Professor Malcolm Tull, currently Dean of the Murdoch Business School and a member of Murdoch University’s Asia Research Centre. The HMAP Asia workshop has two aims: first, to present the detailed outcomes of HMAP’s six Asian research projects and assess their contribution to regional and global understanding of long term changes in ecosystems; and second, to develop an approach for integrating and synthesising the outcomes of HMAP Asia with the overall qualitative and quantitative outputs of the HMAP Project. Participants in the workshop will be drawn from HMAP Asia’s six current research projects, and will involve presentations on the history of whaling in the Phillipines, the Taiwanese offshore tuna fishery, shark fishing in Indonesia, the pearl and chank fisheries of the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, the exploitation of turtles at Ningaloo Reef, the South-East Australian trawl fishery, and recreational fishing for snapper at Shark Bay. Expert guests in marine environmental history and the history of South-East Asian fisheries have been invited to the workshop to provide a synthesis and an overview of proceedings.

For further information please contact Dr Joseph Christensen, Tel: (08) 9360 6221; Email: J.Christensen@murdoch.edu.au

Shark Fishing in Indonesia

Malcolm Tull, Murdoch University

Overview
While catches of sharks have long been an important source of income to Indonesia's artisanal fishers, the historical development of shark fishing is largely unrecorded. The aim of this project is to collect historical data on fishing effort and shark catches since the early years of the 20th century. The research will help establish the economic and social importance of shark fishing to artisanal communities and provide baselines for the development of management plans. The research will also address the HMAP hypotheses.

Background Information
Sharks have been caught in Indonesian waters for thousands of years but have never represented a major part of the total catch: for example, from 1950 to 2003 they averaged less than two percent of the total catch. For both artisanal and industrial fishers sharks are primarily a bycatch rather than a target species. However, catches grew rapidly from the 1970s onwards and by the beginning of the 21st century Indonesia was the world's leading shark producer. This expansion is due to the growing demand for shark fins in Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China. Shark fin exports have provided a valuable source of foreign exchange earnings but exports peaked in the early 1990s and by 2003 were about US$10m or about half the peak level.

This expansion has put increasing pressure on stocks. Due to their delayed sexual maturation and low fecundity rates, sharks are especially vulnerable to overfishing. Fishers have encountered declining yields in the central and western areas of Indonesia's EEZ and have been forced to fish the eastern waters more intensively and, increasingly, venture into Australia's territorial waters. Currently, there are no effective management controls in Indonesia's shark fishery so in order to avoid a ‘tragedy of the commons' management measures need to be introduced.

Aims of this research
1. The project aims to trace the development of shark fishing in Indonesia and provide new base line data on fishing effort and shark catches.
2. This project aims to assess the historical importance of shark fishing to artisanal fishers and their families.
3. This project aims to address the HMAP hypotheses.

Methodology
A comprehensive literature search will be undertaken (including where possible from the colonial era) of archival and library sources. Interviews will be undertaken in Indonesia with key industry informants and stakeholders to help understand the development of the industry.

Expected Outcomes
The project will result in a much greater understanding of the historical development of shark fishing in Indonesia and assist policy makers involved with the development of management plans for the shark fishery. Expected outputs will include conference papers and journal articles.

Historical whaling in the Philippines: origins of ‘indigenous subsistence whaling', mapping whaling grounds and comparison with current known distribution

Jo Marie V. Acebes, University of Oxford

Overview
The history of whaling in the Philippines is largely undocumented. Some coastal communities have a hunting tradition and the origins and developments of this ‘indigenous whaling' practice are unknown. This project aims to determine the origins and development of ‘indigenous subsistence whaling' and to map the historical whaling grounds of local peoples and foreign whalers. The historical distribution of whales based on local knowledge and whaling records will be compared with present known distribution. The knowledge acquired will provide baselines for current and future conservation and management measures.

Background information
The Philippines has a rich cetacean diversity. There are 22 species of cetaceans, five of which are large whales and four of which (Sperm whale, Minke whale, Bryde's whale, and Humpback whale) have been commonly targeted for hunts by whalers. Although recently, there have been an increasing number of studies done on present distribution and abundance of these species, none has been conducted to determine the extent of their historical exploitation and distribution. Whaling has been a tradition in some coastal communities in the Philippines. Pamilacan island is of particular significance because this small island community hunted whales for at least a hundred years (Dolar, 1994). The hunters of Pamilacan used a large hook, a method unlike any other known. It is not certain where this tradition originated. With the fear of dwindling whale stocks in the Bohol Sea, the Philippines Bureau of Fisheries passed a national fishery legislation to stop this tradition. Unfortunately, without knowing its origins. There are other areas known to have a whaling practice but their origins and present status are unknown. Some evidence also shows that during the era of modern whaling, ‘Yankee' and European whalers came to the Philippines to hunt mainly sperm whales and presumably other baleen whales such as humpback whales. Townsend's logbooks indicate sperm whales caught in the Bohol and Sulu Seas while Slijper et al. notes humpback whales in Northern Luzon (Townsend 1935; Slijper et al. 1964). The extent or degree of this whaling is not known. More recently (in the 1980s), Japanese were known to hunt within Philippine waters, species and numbers not known. Although fishery laws exist to protect cetaceans in the Philippines and large areas have been designated as marine protected areas, the management and conservation of these species and habitats have little baseline data to work on.

Objectives of the project
1. This project aims to determine the origins and development of ‘indigenous subsistence whaling' in the Philippines. Particular attention will be given to Bohol and Camiguin where published information indicates whaling has been practiced for at least a century (Dolar, 1994).
2. This project also aims to determine the historical whaling grounds in the Philippines, both by indigenous peoples and foreign whalers.
3. Furthermore, the project aims to determine the historical distribution of whales based on local knowledge and whaling records and compare with present known distribution. The study will focus on the three species of whales that were hunted extensively through the 17th to 19th century (globally) and more recently (locally), namely: Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni), Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus).

Summary of methodology
Historical research will be conducted by looking into town records, museum and library archives, whaling logbooks/records and accompanying maps, and published journals. Valuable information can also be obtained from trade and customs records and newspaper articles. Key informant interviews will also be conducted with former whale hunters, community elders and leaders, indigenous coastal community residents and local government officials. The software ArcGIS version 9 will be used to map the historical whaling grounds and distribution of particular species of whales.

Justification of the proposed project
The study of whales in the Philippines has not come easy given the vast coastal and marine area. Increasingly more surveys are being conducted to determine present status and distribution of particular species. However, the necessary baseline to compare it with is non-existent. Fortunately, there are sources of extant information for several species: the historical whaling records and indigenous knowledge. This is a neglected area of study that the project aims to focus on. And despite the possibilities of bias and error in whaling records, these represent a major source of data available to scientists to derive understanding necessary for the development of wise management policies (Tillman and Donovan, 1983).
This study is also significant and timely because it aims to expose the origins and development of a highly debated form of traditional resource use by a community, ‘indigenous or aboriginal subsistence whaling.'

Expected Impacts
The results of this project will have an impact on the management of whale populations in the Philippines particularly in areas that will show evidence of declining numbers or shrinking or shifting distributions. The data gathered will be an important input to the management plans of existing marine protected areas as well as proposed areas.

Relevance of proposed project to conservation
Acquiring knowledge of historical distribution can provide appropriate baselines for current conservation (Lourie and Vincent, 2004). This will provide a better understanding of the status of the large marine vertebrates and the potential and current impacts of their absence or presence in the marine ecosystem.

Furthermore, the exposition of the origins and development of these whale hunts is needed to ensure conservation of whale populations (Reeves, 2002). By understanding how this practice of resource use evolved and progressed or shifted, managers can potentially design better management strategies.

The pearl, chank and other fisheries of the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait in both an historical and contemporary context.

Dr Kenneth McPherson, Department of Political Science, South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.

Overview
The history of pearl and shell fishing in the waters between southern India and Sri Lanka is only partially documented. Some coastal communities have fishing and pearling traditions that are at least 1,000 years old but the origins and development of these indigenous pearling and fishing practices are relatively under researched and their survival in the modern world has gone largely unrecorded. This project aims to determine the origins and development of indigenous pearling and fishing traditions, to map the historical pearling and fishing grounds of local peoples and the current state of these fisheries. The historical distribution of pearling and fishing areas based on local knowledge and historical records from the Portuguese, Dutch and British periods of domination of the region will be compared with an analysis of current pearling and fishing activities in the area based on current scientific knowledge of the fisheries and fish and shell stocks. The knowledge acquired will provide baselines for current and future conservation and management measures.

Outputs
The project will generate:
1. A conference paper (possibly for Oceans Past II 2009 or the World Congress of Environmental History 2009).
2. At least one substantial research paper suitable for publication in a refereed journal.
3. Historical data to be added to the HMAP dataset.

Historical Exploitation of Turtles and Lobsters at Ningaloo Reef

Ms B. Halkyard, Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia).

Overview
Along the Ningaloo Reef, located over 1200km north of Perth in Western Australia, historical hunting of turtles and intensive fishing for lobsters are likely to have caused a significant reduction in the populations of these animals. The aim of this project is to research the exploitation of turtles and lobsters at the Ningaloo Reef, with a view to developing management strategies and recovery targets in relation to these historical populations. Research will focussed primarily on investigating historical pulls and harvests. Resources to be accessed include the records of the Department of Fisheries, personal interviews and oral history collections. Investigations, covering both pre and post European settlement, will examine the plethora of historical evidence describing the significant historical abundances of turtles and lobsters in the Ningaloo region. Quantitative evidence may be more limited but a preliminary investigation of the records indicates that commercial exploitation of lobsters, accompanied by intense recreational exploitation, reached a peak during the 1960s and 1970s. At least 48,000 green turtles were harvested from the Ningaloo region in an eleven year period from 1961 to 1972. It is likely that these activities have had long-term damaging effects on populations of green turtles.

Outputs
The project will generate:
1. A conference paper (possibly for Oceans Past II 2009 or the World Congress of Environmental History 2009).
2. A research paper suitable for publication in a refereed journal.
3. Historical data to be added to the HMAP dataset.

The Evolution and Development of the Taiwanese offshore tuna fishery- 1913- 2006

Henry Chen, Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University

Overview
A number of maritime studies have been made on the history of Taiwan's tuna fishery; however, to date they have only focused on aspects of the life and work of the fishers and their fishing communities. None of the studies undertaken thus far have been from the angle of ecological history. The purpose of my research is to fill this gap.

Background Information
The tuna longline fishery was introduced to Taiwan in 1913 by the Japanese, and then developed along separate lines in Kaohsiung (??Takao) and northern Taiwan. The tuna longline fishery in northern Taiwan was initially very prosperous because it was located close to the main market, Japan. However, it was soon replaced as a centre for the industry by its counterpart in Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung's tuna fishery grew at a rapid pace for two reasons: firstly, the southerly location of Kaohsiung's Fishing Port meant it was in close proximity to Southeast Asia where the waters were rich in tuna resources. Secondly, the production of bait for the tuna fishery proliferated on a large scale among local fish farms. The tuna longline fishery of Taiwan further developed in postwar period. Kaohsiung then became the undisputed centre of distant water longline fishing. In the 1970s, however, Donggang (??) also emerged as another offshore longline fishing centre in Taiwan. All of these fishing ports played very important roles in the historical development of Taiwan's offshore tuna fishery.

Aims of this research
1. This research aims to trace the development of longline fishing techniques and their long-term impact on Taiwan's offshore tuna fisheries.
2. This research also aims to link impact of quantitative and qualitative changes in offshore tuna resources to changes in the character of Taiwan's fishing communities.

Methodology
1. Archival research. Both the colonial and postwar governments annually published macro-statistical material on Taiwan's fishing industry. Also, several major Japanese and Chinese fisheries journals published important data on the industry. They are now located in the Academia Sinica, National Taiwan Library and National Taiwan University. Important quantitative and qualitative data about the evolution and development of the offshore tuna fisheries can be obtained from these libraries and repositories.
2. Fieldwork. Marine scientists, fishermen and relevant people in the fishing communities will be interviewed about the nature of the industry and their life experience.

Expected Impacts
This research will improve our understanding of the relationship between natural marine resources, in this case the tuna fish of the China Sea and the development of Taiwanese offshore fishing communities. Also, it will draw vital attention to issues related to the protection of marine ecosystem and particular species of fish.

The State as entrepreneur: The case of the NSW South East Trawl Fishery 1900-1960

Project description
At the beginning of the 1900s, New South Wales Government started to investigate the prospects of developing the State's marine resources, and eventually formed the NSW State Trawling Industry in 1915; by doing so it also created a modus operandi for later pelagic fishing operations in NSW waters. After the economic failure of the State Trawling Industry in 1923, the NSW Fishery Branch continued to manage the fishing industry by regulated the market, issuing fishing licenses, and regulating the fishing efforts, in order to get the best utilization of the marine resources. To do that the Fishery Branch often used its own small research unit to give management advice based on their biological research of NSW waters.

The State's entrepreneurial behavior was largely focused on developing a large-scale trawling industry; however the ecology at the marine costal shelves along NSW coast, where most of the trawling took place, was not well suited for ongoing trawling activities. In a paper published in 2001 entitled Steam trawl catches from south-eastern Australia from 1918 to 1957, Dr Neil Klaer convincingly demonstrated that the fishing effort on the shelves in that period had a significant effect on the marine environment, which resulted in falling catch-per-unit-efforts and increasing economic hardship for the trawling companies.

The history of the State's development of pelagic fishing in NSW is framed by the ecology of NSW coastal shelves, which were subject to statist developmentalism (a term used by environmental scholar Ken Walker. The ecosystems of the coastal shelves were largely unknown and unexploited, and the apparent lure of seemingly unlimited resources of vast commercial value, ready to be developed by the NSW State for the greater good of the public was strong. In my project I will describe and analyse the problems that operators and managers faced when it became apparent that the resources was not unlimited, nor inexhaustible.

Objectives of the project
The proposed project offers to address some of the questions put forward in HMAP hypotheses no. 5:
“ Fish mortality and environmental change impact significantly on the energy flows across the strophic structure, and influence the economic, social, political and cultural development of human societies.” (No. 5, HMAP Hypotheses, Revised at HMAP Workshop 4, September 2004)

The objective of the project is to examine what happens when the New South Wales Government changes from being the operator of a resource-extractive fishing industry to the manager of an ecosystem.

Timeframe and output
The project is done as a PhD study under School of Geography and Environment, University of Tasmania, in cooperation with Malcolm Tull, University of Murdoch.
Project timeframe is September 2005 – December 2008