Not just a passing FAD: Insights from the use of artisanal fish aggregating devices for food security in Kiribati

Fish are the most important renewable resource in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) for food protein, livelihoods, and economic growth (Bell et al., 2009 and Gillett and Cartwright, 2010). Considering food protein benefits alone, subsistence and small-scale commercial (i.e., artisanal) catches of fish account for over half of the total animal protein consumed annually in most PICTs (Bell et al., 2009; Gillett, 2009). The sustainable use and development of coastal Pacific fisheries resources plays an accordingly key role in strategic policy developments around the region (see e.g., Vava'u Declaration, 2007; Apia Policy 2008; Cairns Compact, 2009 and FSPWG., 2010). These same policies often emphasise the protection of domestic food security among their core goals and objectives. While these policies seldom define ‘food security’ outright, here it is understood to mean the physical, social, and economic access to sufficient and safe food fish for all people, at all times, so that they can lead healthy and active lives (FAO, 1996).