Sum. (En, Fr)

The skipjac tuna fishery is the most valuable fishery in the central and western Pacific and the most important fishery of its type in the world. For the small, isolated and largely copra-dependent states in the region, its expansion represents a potential means of diversifying their economies, providing employment and much-needed foreing exchange. This paper addresses some of the trade and development constraints associated with the fishery's orderly and national expansion, outlines the economic importance to the island states in the region, describes the fishery, and analyzes issues relating to increasing national participation, marketing and management, including the role of Forum Fisheries I am generally pessimistic about the benefits, that the majority of states en the region will gain from the fishies's development because of their inability to present a united from in selling their valuable and sought-after fish