To many, Kiribati is a land of ancient tales linking people to stars and the seas, while to others, it is one of the world's tiniest countries, a paradise becoming plagued with amongst other things one of the world's the highest population densities.

Rich in a culture of undocumented traditional knowledge in navigation and fishing, the people of the country, I-Kiribati, are naturally shy but very hospitable.

Surrounded by and reliant on the sea, I-Kiribati are always ready to tell fishy tales of old times. This informal dialogue mostly takes place among groups of men over a night of drinking traditional fermented toddy (kaokioki). The men tell tales of fishing when there was plenty on the reef and no need to go far away from the coastline. They tell of how they can easily identify the many fish and invertebrates they catch using their specialised traditional fishing gears. For instance, the te u (a fishing trap made from small branches of the te ngea tree woven with dried coconut fibres) is used to catch moray eel; the traditional lures from chicken feathers twined into a finely decorated portion of mother of pearl are used to catch tunas; and they tell of many other traditional fishing gears, some of which are just tales to the young generations who have, indeed, lost touch with the hands-on knowledge of making them. And so the tales continue well into the night as the strength of kaokioki takes over...much to everyone's enjoyment!

The big questions, though, according to Fisheries Officer Mr Erua, who has been in fishing for more than 50 years and is now based in Kiritimati, are: "What do these fishy tales have to do with managing the sea resources today? And to what extent can traditional knowledge of navigation, fishing and gear-making help address the Kiribati problem of declining sea resources?"

Better understanding of the sea resources and the way people use them is certainly needed to meet the Kiribati crisis of declining resources against the backdrop of a fast growing population. To this end, scientists from the Reef Fisheries Observatory of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) are working to gather basic information about how people use the resources of the reefs to identify the critical problems, and to help the I-Kiribati develop plans for appropriate new management practices for their coastal fisheries. The Kiribati studies are part of a wider Pacific Islands research programme PROCFish (Pacific Regional Oceanic and Coastal Fisheries project), a project funded by the European Union.

Among the fascinating experiences the scientists have been enjoying while surveying in the study sites of Kuria, Abemama, Abaiang and Kiritimati is the openness and frank consultations and exchange of fishy tale telling amongst the people. The sense of communal structure is still largely intact, and this makes management of resources everyone's responsibility. The national government of Kiribati supports fully these communal structures and provides financial and other support to initiatives for development managed within these structures. Wise management of the reef resource is but one aspect of securing future food security. Another is provision of alternative means of earning income. For example, the government's subsidy of copra production has eased pressure on reef resources. Some of the fishermen are now spending more of their time in copra production than in semi-commercial fishing on the reef.

The researchers have seen a noticeable difference between the Gilbert Group and the Line Group (Kiritimati). These two island groups differ in their level of development and in terms of available local resources and their connection to the outside world. In the Line Group, the famous bonefish fly-fishing in Kiritimati (Christmas Island) attracts tourists from USA and around the world. The Norwegian cruise liner makes regular visits to the Line Group, no surprise given the beauty and untouched paradise of the undersea world in those atolls. However, the story in the Gilbert group is somewhat different. These islands are disadvantaged by their remoteness and geographical location, and at the same time are suffering from the pressures of high population.

What remains true in all cases is that resources from the sea continue to play a pivotal role in all parts of Kiribati. Effective management of reef fisheries has never been more critical to sustain the resources against population increase and future coastal developments. When added to traditional knowledge and understanding of their reef environment, scientific data about the resources that they own will give the Kiribati communities the data they need to formulate plans for effective and sustainable management of their sea resources.