The potential of developing the fishing industry in Tonga

Abstract

The development of the fishing industry in the Kingdom of Tonga has been a very slow process. At present, only a limited amount of effort is given to Tonga's fishery with major development policies targeting other agricultural industries. This thesis attempts to identify the potential of the fishing industry and some possible economic results of its development. It will be argued in this study that Tonga's fishing industry has the potential to generate income, create employment opportunities, and earn a substantial amount of foreign exchange for the economy.

The analysis begins with a review of the literature in chapter one followed by an analysis of different options to increase the size of the fishing fleet in chapter two. Chapter three attempts to estimate the potential employment opportunities created as a result of developing the fishing industry and chapter four identifies the inter-sectoral linkages of the industry. The empirical component of this study is presented in chapter five. This is a cost benefit analysis of developing the fishing industry. This will be followed by the final chapter which presents the results, recommendations and future research.