October 2013: The Coral Triangle Initiative has released a study, titled ‘The Economics of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Coral Triangle,’ which was commissioned to estimate the cost to protect and conserve Coral Triangle Ecosystems. The report estimates that reef fish are worth US$3 billion, and that coral reef ecosystems support employment of about 15 million small-scale fishers.

According to the study, “The value of coral reefs to capture fisheries production in the CT was estimated by identifying reef-associated fish catches in the dataset of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), determining the percentage composition of reef-associated fishes in the total capture fisheries production for each country, and multiplying the reported total value of capture fisheries by these percentages using a conversion factor for the relative value of reef-associated fishes to pelagic fishes. Reef-associated fishes in the CT6 are valued at $3.0 billion, or 30% of the total capture fisheries value in the region.”

The study was commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and co-financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), using datasets from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO).

The study estimates that over 2,500 species of reef fish are found in the Coral Triangle. The ecoregion includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands.

[Coral Triangle Initiative Press Release] [Publication: Technical Assistance for Regional Cooperation on Knowledge Management, Policy and Institutional Support to Coral Triangle Initiative] [Publication: Fisheries in the Economies of Pacific Island Countries and Territories]