| Summary: | Healthy oceans and seas are vital to sustainable development, for both current and future generations. The strong support for a dedicated sustainable development goal on oceans, seas and marine resources is evidence of the importance placed by the global community on the conservation and sustainable management of oceans and seas, both in areas of national jurisdiction and as a global common good. Pacific Perspectives on Fisheries and Sustainable Development has been prepared by ESCAP to contribute to the dialogue about strengthening approaches to coastal and off-shore fisheries management in the Pacific to better support sustainable development. Pacific small island developing states face significant structural challenges to economic growth and sustainable development. These combine with the impacts of global climate change and ocean acidification to threaten almost every dimension of development in the Pacific islands. In this context, fisheries remain the most important ocean resource for livelihoods, employment, nutrition and opportunities for economic growth in the Pacific subregion. Fisheries can, for example, play an important role in domestic resource mobilisation for public investment in sustainable development, through access fees for instance, that fairly compensate Pacific countries for the exploitation of their valuable resources.
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