The diversity of reef ecosystems, the multiplicity of
reef resource uses and the breadth of the range of the island socio-cultural
contexts concerned make coral reef fisheries (CRF) management in the South
Pacific a complex task. The health and state of the targeted resources
depend both on ecosystem characteristics (as determined by ecological and
biological factors) and on fishing pressure, whose effects are only partly
known. Increasing harvests from commercial and recreational fishing
increasingly overlap with traditional subsistence activity, creating an
important CRF management challenge. This paper presents a new approach to
CRF assessment and monitoring by providing a set of multidisciplinary
indicators. The fisheries system is assessed from three different
viewpoints: ecology of targeted populations, exploitation and the broader
socio-economic fishery context. The use of complementary indicators chosen
from each of these fields could balance the chronic lack of human and
financial resources for the management of these fisheries. We suggest the
use of these indicators through an assessment grid or an indicator dashboard
specifically adapted to given situations and management objectives
determined through a participatory approach. The operational efficiency of
this dashboard depends on i) dialogue between users, ii) the objectivity of
the proposed monitoring, iii) the visual transcription of
divergent/convergent interests amongst stakeholders, and iv) stakeholder
involvement in the decision-making process. The use and constraints of such
a tool are described with reference to Ouvea atoll (New-Caledonia, South
Pacific) for which an analysis of available indicators for assessing
fisheries status is presented.