I was honored to contribute an article to the recent Security in Context volume on Rethinking Insecurity In The Blue Pacific Region edited by Van Jackson. My article builds on my 2023 article on fishing and the tragedy of the commons in the South China Sea to examine how fishing is closely intertwined with human security considerations in the Pacific Islands region in terms of food security, economic security, personal security, community security, and environmental security. Key areas of vulnerability stem from the heavy reliance of these communities on the oceans and the nature of fish stocks as “common-pool resources,” which creates challenges of monitoring and sustainability. As many of the world’s waters increasingly suffer from overfishing and as climate change endangers ocean ecosystems worldwide, these dynamics are gradually impacting the people of the Pacific Islands. Moreover, intensifying threats in neighboring waters from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and fisheries crimes such as human trafficking also pose risks to the human security of the region.
The edited volume also features articles by Edward Hunt, William Waqavakatoga, Joanne Wallis, Marco de Jong, and Kenneth Kuper.