The Pacific foodfish list: a standardized list of over 1000 species of marine fish consumed by Pacific people

N. L. Andrew; L. Aisea; N. D. H. Arachchi; N. Bailly; I. Bertram; P. Bosserelle; L. Carron; K. D. Clements; M. P. Duenas; V. Fatongiatau; S. Felise; S. González-Murcia; B. Jaugeon; L. Joy; L. P. Kaitu; U. Kaly; J.-A. Kerandel; J. Z. Koehn; J. Kinch; S. Jalam; A. Kwapena; O. Li; S. Lindfield; F. Magron; B. R. Moore; R. F. Myers; B. Ned; B. Nikiari; D. Ochavillo; J. van der Ploeg; K. Raumea; M. Roscher; M. Sabater; A. Sami; G. Shedrawi; N. Smith; D. J. Steenbergen; M. Sukulu; F. Tulafono; S. Tiitii; T. Toroca; P. Tua; L. Vaipuna; C. C. C. Wabnitz; J. Wencélius; M. White; B. Yeeting

doi:10.1071/PC24082

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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The Pacific foodfish list: a standardized list of over 1000 species of marine fish consumed by Pacific people

N. L. Andrew

^A ^* , L. Aisea ^A ^B , N. D. H. Arachchi

^A , N. Bailly ^C ^D , I. Bertram ^E , P. Bosserelle ^F , L. Carron ^G , K. D. Clements

^H , M. P. Duenas ^I , V. Fatongiatau ^B , S. Felise ^J , S. González-Murcia ^K , B. Jaugeon ^L , L. Joy ^M , L. P. Kaitu ^N , U. Kaly ^O , J.-A. Kerandel ^E , J. Z. Koehn ^P , J. Kinch ^Q , S. Jalam ^R , A. Kwapena ^S , O. Li ^A , S. Lindfield ^T , F. Magron ^E , B. R. Moore ^U , R. F. Myers ^V , B. Ned ^W , B. Nikiari ^X , D. Ochavillo ^J , J. van der Ploeg

^Y , K. Raumea ^Z , M. Roscher ^A , M. Sabater ^AA , A. Sami ^L , G. Shedrawi ^A ^E , N. Smith ^E , D. J. Steenbergen

^A , M. Sukulu ^AB , F. Tulafono ^AC , S. Tiitii ^AD , T. Toroca ^AE , P. Tua ^AF , L. Vaipuna ^B , C. C. C. Wabnitz ^P , J. Wencélius ^AG , M. White ^AH and B. Yeeting ^AI

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.

^B Ministry of Fisheries, Nukualofa, Tonga.

^C Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

^D Quantitative Aquatics (FishBase), Los Banos, Philippines.

^E Pacific Community, Noumea, New Caledonia.

^F Independent Consultant, Papeete BP 44605, Tahiti.

^G Service du parc naturel de la mer de Corail et de la pêche, Noumea, New Caledonia.

^H School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

^I Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources, Department of Agriculture, Hagåtña, Guam.

^J Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Pago Pago, American Samoa.

^K School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

^L Direction des Services de l’agriculture, de la forêt et de la pêche, Mata’utu, Wallis and Futuna.

^M Vanuatu Fisheries Department, Port Vila, Vanuatu.

^N Ministry of Fisheries and Trade, Funafuti, Tuvalu.

^O Gillett Preston and Associates, Port Vila, Vanuatu.

^P Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

^Q FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Apia, Samoa.

^R Ministry of Fisheries, Suva, Fiji.

^S National Fisheries Authority, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

^T Coral Reef Research Foundation, Koror, Palau.

^U National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Nelson, New Zealand.

^V Seaclicks/Coral Graphics, Wellington, FL, USA.

^W Department of Resources and Economic Affairs, Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia.

^X Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Tarawa, Kiribati.

^Y Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, Leeuwarden, Netherlands.

^Z Inshore and Aquaculture Division, Ministry of Marine Resources, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

^AA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Honolulu, HI, USA.

^AB WorldFish, Auki, Solomon Islands.

^AC Tokelau Fisheries Management Agency, Atafu, Tokelau.

^AD Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Apia, Samoa.

^AE Ministry of Fisheries, Nausori, Fiji.

^AF Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

^AG Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement, Moorea, French Polynesia.

^AH Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority, Majuro, Republic of Marshall Islands.

^AI Fisheries and Marine Resources Authority, Yaren, Nauru.

^* Correspondence to: nandrew@uow.edu.au

Handling Editor: Mike Calver

Pacific Conservation Biology 31, PC24082 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC24082

Submitted: 27 October 2024 Accepted: 2 March 2025 Published: 3 April 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

The sustainable supply of fish in the face of climate change and other drivers of change is a policy priority for Pacific nations. Creel and market surveys are increasingly used to document catches but this information has not been aggregated at a regional scale.

Aims

In this paper we provide a comprehensive and standardized list of Pacific marine foodfishes in 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories to enable comparative analyses and improved national surveys.

Methods

National lists of marine teleost fish caught for food were cleaned of errors and standardized to current valid names using authoritative global databases. National lists were subsequently aggregated to subregional and regional scales.

Key results

Pacific people were found to consume more than 1000 species of marine fish (presently 1031 species), with the highest diversity observed in Melanesia and the lowest in Polynesia. A total of 14% of species names have changed since surveys were completed. An estimated 3847 species of marine fish are recorded from the region, most of which are small reef species. This list of Pacific foodfish is available through the Pacific Data Hub curated by the Pacific Community.

Conclusions

The study quantifies, for the first time, the great diversity of fishes consumed by Pacific people and highlights the need for more baselines of catch, acquisition and consumption.

Implications

These findings provide a foundation across the region for analysing species’ relative importance in local economies and diets, supporting fisheries management and food security policies critical to the wellbeing of Pacific people in a changing world.

Keywords: creel surveys, English common names, fish catch, fish species diversity, foodfish, market surveys, Pacific region, pelagic fish, PICTs, reef fish.

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