Country profile
Coastal fisheries snapshot
demersal fish (including emperors and snappers), invertebrates for export (e.g. lobster and crabs) and gleaned from intertidal habitats, and nearshore pelagic fish (including tuna) using a range of fishing methods.
Top 5 training topics
Gender participation
Male participations: 526 (88%) · Female participations: 70 (12%)
Yearly participations (2016–2025)
Projected changes in atmospheric & ocean climate (by 2050)
Relative to 1995-2014 baseline. Regional CMIP6 projections applied to Federated States of Micronesia's climate zone (Northwest Pacific Convergence).
Coastal fisheries (current vs 2050)
demersal fish (including emperors and snappers), invertebrates for export (e.g. lobster and crabs) and gleaned from intertidal habitats, and nearshore pelagic fish (including tuna) using a range of fishing methods.
Oceanic fisheries (current vs 2050)
Tuna fisheries — skipjack, yellowfin, bigeye and albacore. Habitat areas projected to shift with ocean temperature, stratification and oxygen content changes.
Freshwater & estuarine fisheries (current vs 2050)
Inland fisheries are expected to be affected by changes in rainfall patterns, river flow, and habitat accessibility by 2050.
Aquaculture (current vs 2050)
Mariculture impacted by sea surface temperature, ocean acidification and intense storms. Freshwater aquaculture may benefit from increased freshwater habitat but face disease and temperature pressure.
sponges, sea cucumbers, pearl oysters and giant clams (ranching for wild restocking)
Livelihoods & economies (current vs 2050)
Fisheries and aquaculture provide household income, jobs and government revenue. Climate-driven changes will affect employment and economic contribution.
Aquatic food security (current vs 2050)
Aquatic (blue) foods provide an important source of nutrition. Population growth combined with climate impacts may create deficits in fish supply.
Blue food production systems (current vs 2050)
Blue foods contribute to nutrition security, economies, livelihoods and jobs. Climate impacts on coastal, oceanic, freshwater fisheries and aquaculture together determine the system's resilience.
make very high contributions to nutrition security and health, economies, and livelihoods and jobs. Compared to other Pacific islands, projected climate impacts to blue food production by 2050 are medium to high.
Recommended adaptation: Food & nutrition security
- Implement sustainable ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management Food and Nutrition 2
- Diversify blue food production systems Food and Nutrition 5
- Improve post-harvest preservation methods for fish and invertebrates to prepare for sudden shocks
- Promote education and awareness on the importance of protecting aquatic habitats, species and the foods they supply
Recommended adaptation: Sustainable livelihoods
- Diversify aquaculture commodities and develop new farmed climate-resilient species, strains and varieties
- Apply innovative technologies and climate-smart tools for pond aquaculture and mariculture Livelihoods 3
- Develop sustainable marine and coastal tourism
Recommended adaptation: Economies & government revenue
- Implement climate-informed fisheries management Economic Revenue 2
- Implement energy efficiency programs for fisheries and aquaculture Economic Revenue 4
- Maintain the contribution of fisheries and aquaculture to government revenue and economies
- Climate-proof infrastructure 97
Community-based Fisheries Management — Federated States of Micronesia
Source: Govan & Lalavanua 2022 (SPC), updated from FAO & SPC Outlook 2026. See the regional CBFM Report for full analysis.
Coastal fisheries in Federated States of Micronesia
demersal fish (including emperors and snappers), invertebrates for export (e.g. lobster and crabs) and gleaned from intertidal habitats, and nearshore pelagic fish (including tuna) using a range of fishing methods.
Tuna fisheries in Federated States of Micronesia
The Pacific is home to the world's largest tuna fishery, with member countries' EEZs producing over half of the global tuna catch. Federated States of Micronesia's EEZ covers 2,996,420 km², providing significant access to tuna and other oceanic resources.
Fisheries Contributions to Federated States of Micronesia's Economy
Harvest by sector (1999 → 2021)
Volume and economic value of fisheries production by sector, from successive Benefish studies. Use the toggle to switch between volume (tonnes) and value (US$).
Key findings from Benefish Study 4
7.2 Contribution of fishing to GDP
Current official contribution The latest year for which an FSM GDP estimation is available is financial year (FY) 2018. Table 7-7 shows the FSM GDP and the fisheries contribution. FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 Fisheries contribution to GDP 12.5 19.0 24.9 17.6 GDP at purchaser's prices 152.6 164.3 189.9 227.7 Fisheries as a % of GDP 8.2% 11.6% 13.1% 7.
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
7.3 Exports of fishery production
The latest available data on fishery exports are given in Table 7-9. Purse seine fish kg 22,971,488 27,594,755 11,436,527 16,079,647 16,068,277 US$ 24,757,526 32,716,518 31,215,357 32,178,860 24,587,809 Reef fish kg 90,038 73,486 85,121 97,766 84,979 US$ 342,874 314,940 334,581 384,283 366,356 Crab/lobsters kg 3,577 2,594 65,083 4,564 6,419 US$ 15,068 15,721 401,074 33,942 42,000 Trochus shell kg 0 0 2 0 0 US$ 0 0 6 0 0 Live clams kg 1,988 8,017 6,665 4,971 6,898 US$ 65,111 324,581 293,280 205,722 303,520 Other marine products kg 1,977 1,590 20,844 26,285 21,761 US$ 20,819 56,453 243,775 367,811 976,678 Total marine products kg 23,069,067 27,680,443 11,614,243 16,213,232 16,188,334 US$ 25,201,397 33,428,213 32,488,073 33,170,618 26,276,363 Total exports of FSM kg 23,861,605 28,627,664 12,225,868 16,814,114 16,925,694 US$ 32,832,196 41,119,901 39,151,730 38,956,141 30,002,551 Fisheries exports as a % of total exports kg 96.7% 96.7% 95.0% 96.4% 95.6% US$ 76.8% 81.3% 83.0% 85.1% 87.6% It is likely that some of the export categories in the table are underestimated. Some fishers and citizens export quantities of fish to Guam, Majuro, Hawaii and occasionally to the U.S. mainland as personal baggage on passenger aircraft (IAS 2018). Careful monitoring of reef fish exports by a University of Guam researcher for over a decade showed that Chuuk exported to Guam an annual average of about 150 t of reef fish (Cuetos-Bueno et al. 2018).
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
7.4 Government revenue from fisheries
Access fees for offshore fishing The latest readily available data on access fees received by FSM are for 2020. Federated States of Micronesia 63 An IMF report (IMF 2021a) indicates that "fishing license fees" remained steady at US$72.3 million for FY 2018 (actual), 2019 (estimated) and 2020 (estimated). The total government revenue (tax, grants and non-tax revenue) for those years was $320.4 million, $320.7 million and $282.5 million, respectively.
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
7.5 Fisheries-related employment
The report of the FSM Agriculture Census 2016 (Anon. 2019) has information on participation in fisheries: • In 2016, 8,508 households (55% of households in FSM) stated that they had fished in the past 12 months. Fishing was most reported in Chuuk, where 68% of households had fished. Yap reported 61% of households fished, Kosrae reported 46%, and Pohnpei reported the lowest proportion of households at 41%.
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
7.6 Fish consumption
The historical attempts to estimate per capita fish consumption in FSM have been: • Preston (2000) used 1995 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) production, import and export data to estimate the annual per capita fish consumption in FSM to be 72.0 kg. • Gillett and Lightfoot (2001) state that the annual per capita consumption of fishery products (both imported and local) in FSM is about 114.0 kg. Any fish leakage from tuna transshipment operations must be added to this figure.
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
Federated States of Micronesia — country resources
Direct access to country-specific chapters, regional report cards and economic studies.