tailieunhanh - Marine fishery resources of the Pacific Islands

The Pacific Islands region contains about 200 high islands and about 2 500 low islands and atolls. Apart from the Pitcairn group and the southern part of French Polynesia in the east of the area, all the islands of the area lie in the tropical zone. In general, the islands increase in size from east to west, with Papua New Guinea at the western-most edge of the region having most of the region’s land area. The islands mostly rise steeply from the deep ocean floor and have very little underwater shelf. Coral reefs characteristically surround the islands, either close to the shore (fringing reef) or further offshore. | FAO FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE TECHNICAL PAPER 537 ISSN 2070-7010 Marine fishery resources of the Pacific Islands Cover photograph Diving for giant clams in Tokelau courtesy of Daphne Hougard . FAO FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE TECHNICAL PAPER Marine fishery resources of the Pacific Islands 537 by Robert GILLETT Fisheries Specialist FAO Consultant Lami Fiji FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome .