Country profile
Coastal fisheries snapshot
demersal fish (including rabbitfish and snappers), invertebrates gleaned from intertidal habitats, and nearshore pelagic fish (including tuna) using a range of fishing methods. Coastal fisheries are critically important for food, local livelihoods and jobs, and government revenue (further details in Chapter 3).
Top 5 training topics
Gender participation
Male participations: 193 (64%) · Female participations: 109 (36%)
Yearly participations (2016–2025)
Projected changes in atmospheric & ocean climate (by 2050)
Relative to 1995-2014 baseline. Regional CMIP6 projections applied to Palau's climate zone (Northwest Tropical Pacific).
Coastal fisheries (current vs 2050)
demersal fish (including rabbitfish and snappers), invertebrates gleaned from intertidal habitats, and nearshore pelagic fish (including tuna) using a range of fishing methods. Coastal fisheries are critically important for food, local livelihoods and jobs, and government revenue (further details in Chapter 3).
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.
marine shrimp, sea cucumbers, giant clams, rabbitfish and aquarium species
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.
are very important for nutrition security and health. 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 7
Recommended adaptation: Sustainable livelihoods
- Diversify aquaculture commodities and develop new farmed climate-resilient species, strains and varieties
Recommended adaptation: Economies & government revenue
- Implement energy efficiency programs for fisheries and aquaculture Economic Revenue 4
- Climate-proof infrastructure
Community-based Fisheries Management — Palau
Source: Govan & Lalavanua 2022 (SPC), updated from FAO & SPC Outlook 2026. See the regional CBFM Report for full analysis.
Coastal fisheries in Palau
demersal fish (including rabbitfish and snappers), invertebrates gleaned from intertidal habitats, and nearshore pelagic fish (including tuna) using a range of fishing methods. Coastal fisheries are critically important for food, local livelihoods and jobs, and government revenue (further details in Chapter 3).
Tuna fisheries in Palau
The Pacific is home to the world's largest tuna fishery, with member countries' EEZs producing over half of the global tuna catch. Palau's EEZ covers 603,978 km², providing significant access to tuna and other oceanic resources.
Fisheries Contributions to Palau'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
13.2 Contribution of fishing to GDP
Current official contribution The official contribution of fisheries to nominal GDP is given in Table 13-7. FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 7 FY 2021 8 Fishing contribution to GDP 5.3 5.1 4.4 4.3 Palau GDP (purchaser price) 284.9 278.9 251.9 217.8 % fishing of Palau GPD 1.9% 1.8% 1.7% 2.0% Method used to calculate the official fishing contribution to GDP The Graduate School USA, Pacific Islands Training Initiative (Graduate School) has for many years supplied much of the technical assistance to Palau and other Micronesian countries on national accounts and GDP estimations. An individual at the Graduate School kindly provided explanations on the methodology used to calculate GDP (G. McKinlay, per. com. September 2015 and November 2023): • The basic methodology used by the Graduate School for estimating GDP has not changed between the previous Benefish study (focusing on 2014) and the current Benefish study (focusing on 2021). • For the GDP estimation, the fishing sector is divided into (1) fishing coastal fish, (2) aquaculture and (3) fishing support services. In this methodology, value added from the foreign-owned locally based fishing vessels is excluded from the Palau GDP (i.e. not included as part of the Palauan economy), but the shore-based services of the companies providing support to the vessels is included in the Palau GDP. Provisional figure
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
13.3 Exports of fishery production
Recently, there have been two types of bans on the export of fishery products from Palau: • The Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act called for all catches to be landed in Palau and effectively prohibited exports of pelagic fish, with the exception of those catches by free school purse seine vessels. Amendments to the Act passed in June 2019 expanded the export ban exemption to include longline vessels (Dacks et al. 2020).
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
13.4 Government revenue from fisheries
Access fees for offshore fishing In the recent past, Palau has received money for fishing in its waters under various arrangements. These include fees from the locally based foreign longline vessels, the Japanese agreement covering three types of tuna fishing by vessels based in Japan (longline, pole-and-line and purse seine), the U.S.
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
13.5 Fisheries-related employment
The 2020 census contains some information on employment in fisheries (OPS 2021). Unfortunately, much of the employment-relevant data are aggregated with jobs from other sectors. For example, in 2020 there were 337 "Skilled Agricultural, Forestry & Fishery Workers". Information in the census that is specific to fisheries-related employment includes the following: • Of the 5,056 households in Palau, 1941 (38%) participate in fishing. • Of the 5,056 households in Palau, 46 (0.
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
13.6 Fish consumption
The historical estimates of fishery resource consumption include: • Preston (2000) used 1995 FAO production, import and export data to estimate an annual per capita fish consumption in Palau of 85 kg. • PCS estimated: (1) local coastal production of 2,115 t, (2) fishery product imports of 610 t, (3) fishery product exports of 400 t, (4) a mean resident population in Palau in the 1990s of 16,600, and (5) visitors to Palau (full-time resident equivalents) of 500.
Full chapter section in Benefish Study 4 →
Palau — country resources
Direct access to country-specific chapters, regional report cards and economic studies.