NUMBER: ISSN: 0248-076X138 (May–August 2012) Editorial

Providing alternative livelihoods to fishers may have a slightly different meaning in Oceania than in other parts of the world. As Sharp and Blanc, and Adams explain in their articles about small-scale fisheries (p. 6 and p. 37), for Pacific Islanders, fishing is not “an activity of last resort ” to provide a livelihood, and in most Pacific Islands, fishers are not among “the poorest of the poor”, but are often specialists carrying certain inherited rights that give them a respected status. Therefore, in the hope of reducing fishing pressure on reef or coastal resources, one can hardly ask a fisher to become a handicraft-maker, a gardener or a hotel employee. Even aquaculture has probably been more attractive to farmers or business people than to fishers in Oceania. Speaking of aquaculture, don’t miss the articles in this issue on lobster farming in New Caledonia (p. 21) and the production of Platax in Tahiti (p. 23). Alternative livelihoods for fishers must have a link to fisheries, either in activities where fishing skills are recognised and valued — such as being a sportfishing guide for tourists — or in capture-based fishing activities targeting species that are not (yet) under pressure