A Preliminary Study For The Sustainable Development Of The South Pacific Albacore Tuna(thunnus Alalunga)

South Pacific Albacore(SPA) tuna was caught from southern stock in the Pacific Ocean since 1950 s, which has become an important economic species by tuna longline fishery so far. It is noted that this stock is jointly managed by Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission(WCPFC) and Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission(IATTC). Under the management of WCPFC, the stock is in healthy status. The total SPA catch for 2013 is 65,415 MT, accounting for almost one-third of the total global catch. Despite of good stock, the fishery economy are concerned by fishing industry. The delivered value of this fishery hit $115 million in 2013. By comparison with 2012, The value had dropped by 29%, which totally came from price’s reduction. Therefore, the research for the economic situation of SPA aims at providing effective suggestions for the sustainable development.The paper is theoretically analyzed the trends of regional fisheries development,management and international trade trends of SPA, and sustainable development theory.138 vessels operating in the South Pacific Ocean(4°S-25°S、160°E-160°W)are selected for vessel type analysis. 6 typically representative fishing vessels are applied to cost-benefit analysis which based on NPV(Net Present Value) theory. According to the results, opinions and suggestions are put forward in order to cope with the sustainable development of the fishery. The main results are listed as follows:(1)The 2013 longline catch of SPA within the WCPFC Convention area was estimated to be 68,415 mt. The top three in catch list were China, Chinese Taipei and Fiji. There were 286 Chinese flagged longline vessels, whose catch represent 35% of the total SPA annual catch in 2013 and the highest catch by flag. It is noted that more than half of the Chinese catch was fished in the high sea.(2)In 2013, the amount of Chinese net export quantity reached 5251.16 mt and net export value reached $25.64 million, which increase significantly comparing with2012. The situation has indicated that the amount of Chinese SPA export were not heavily dependent on import raw meat for processing and that the albacore catchgradually "back-flow" to domestic. It is noted that more than half of the“back-flow”catch was fished in WCPFC Convention area. Some tuna processing industry bases have gradually been established in China, such as Ningbo, Zhoushan of Zhejiang province and Rongcheng of Shandong province. However most of the productions were sold to Europe or American, only small amount of products were sold in domestic market. Comparing with Europe and other mature markets, Chinese market is still in developing stage and have great potential.(3)For longline fishery, vessel length is the most important type parameter. The vessels operating in the EEZs are obviously shorter than on the high seas. The vessel length varied between 20 to 45 m, and the dominant were between 30 to 40 m in the EEZ and between 35 to 45 m on the high seas.(4)In 2014, the economy of vessels operating in the EEZs is obviously better than on the high seas. The breakeven price of the EEZs operation vessels is below the catch price level in 2014. The middle size(30-35m) vessels in the EEZs are the most cost-effective vessel.(5)Based on the relevant resource management policies, the NPV analysis show that the 20-years NPV of all vessels are negative and the breakeven price of all the vessels are higher than the catch price level in 2014. If the catch price in 2014 increase 10.11%, the price for the vessels operating in the EEZs will reach breakeven price. However, with regard to the vessels in the high seas, it is estimated that the price increasing by 33.6% can meet requirement of breakeven price.(6)For the development of albacore tuna fishery. Firstly, some measures should be taken to reduce cost and increase revenues of the catch for the vessels, and also to optimize fleet structure for sustainable development. Secondly, we should conduct in-depth cooperation with the Pacific island country to ensure the access to EEZ and establish joint venture with the islands to improve the commercial value of the product. Thirdly, we should develop the domestic market, we will not only allow people to enjoy the high quality of deep-sea tuna food, but also can improve our competitiveness in trade of albacore tuna.