Well-known tuna scientist, Tony “Dr Fish” Lewis in action...

SPC Activities Page 2

News from in and around the regionPage 40

Special traits and promises of thegiant clam (Tridacna maxima) inFrench PolynesiaAntoine Gilbert, George Remoissenet,Laurent Yan & Serge Andréfouët

Page 44

Baited underwater video for assessingreef fish populations in marinereservesTim Langlois, Pascale Chabanet,Dominique Pelletier & Euan Harvey

page 53

Aquaculture updates in the NorthernPacific: Hawaii, Federated States ofMicronesia, Palau, and SaipanBen Ponia Page 58

Phase 1 of the new Regional Tuna Tagging Project began inAugust 2006. The chartered pole-and-line vessel F/V Soltai 6spent two months in the Bismark Sea, Papua New Guinea,tagging nearly 12,000 tuna, mainly skipjack (~ 60% of theoverall catch). A detailed report of the first results is present-ed in page 36. An interesting feature article by Ben Ponia ispublished on page 58. Ben describes the new aquaculturedevelopments taking place in the northern Pacific, and iden-tifies a number of institutional partners for future collabora-tion with SPC.

Jean-Paul GaudechouxFisheries Information Adviser ([email protected])

Number 118 (July – September 2006)

Well-known tuna scientist, Tony “Dr Fish” Lewisin action. Tony obviously has not lost his taggingskills over the years !

REEF FISHERIES OBSERVATORY

2 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #118 – July/September 2006

SPC ACTIVITIES

Staff changes

During the third quarter of theEU-funded Pacific RegionalOceanic and Coastal FisheriesDevelopment Programme (coastalcomponent – PROCFish/C) andthe Coastal Fisheries Develop-ment Programme (CoFish), twostaff resigned and one new staffmember was appointed. MrSamasoni Sauni, Senior ReefFisheries Scientist (finfish) leftafter four years with the pro-gramme to take up the positionof Fisheries Management Officerwith the Forum FisheriesAgency. Mr Laurent Vigliola,Senior Reef Fisheries Scientist(finfish) left after four years totake up the position of ResearchScientist with the Institut deRecherche pour le Develop-

pement (IRD) based in France.The PROCFish/C team wishboth Sam and Laurent well intheir new positions.

The PROCFish/C and CoFishteams welcome a new SeniorReef Fisheries Scientist (finfish),Dr Silvia Pinca, who took up theposition in late September. Silviareceived her PhD in MarineEnvironmental Science from theUniversity of Genoa, Italy in1994. She worked for four yearsas the Marine Science ProjectCoordinator with the College ofthe Marshall Islands, coordinat-ing and conducting naturalresource assessment surveys onseven atolls around the MarshallIslands. While there, Silvia also

co-founded a locally based nongovernmental organisation, whichspecialises in capacity-buildingand marine underwater assess-ments to support the MarshallIslands Marine ResourcesAuthority. Silvia has also workedat the Scripps Institution ofOceanography (California) as abiological oceanography researchassistant, and at the Departmentof Ecology and Evolution at theUniversity of Chicago. Silvia hasalso worked in the Philippines asa conservation researcher, carry-ing out surveys, and conductingawareness raising and trainingsessions, and she has been a uni-versity lecturer in Italy andIndonesia.

Figure 1: Laurent Vigliola (top left)and Samasoni Sauni (bottom left)

Figure 2: Silvia Pinca

3SPC Fisheries Newsletter #118 – July/September 2006

SPC ACTIVITIES

Survey work in the Solomon Islands

Survey work was undertaken infour locations around theSolomon Islands (Fig. 3) fromJune to September: Marau andNggela on the first visit, andRarumana and Chubikopi/Cheaon the second visit. ThePROCFish/C survey teams con-sisted of Aliti Vunisea (socioeco-nomics), Samasoni Sauni andRibanataake Awira (finfish), andFerral Lasi and Emmanuel Tardy(invertebrates). The teamsacknowledge and thank the fol-lowing people who assisted orworked with them at one ormore locations: Sylvester Diake,Under Secretary of Fisheries;Eddie Oreihaka, Director ofFisheries; Rosalie Masu, attach-ment to the programme; FrancisKera, Peter Lausa, WesleyGarofe, John Laqata, and FrancisTofuakalo, Solomon IslandsFisheries Officers; PeterRamohia, Extension Officer, TheNature Conservancy; and thechiefs, elders, and communitymembers and people from thefour sites surveyed.

MARAU

Marau, located off the mainisland of Guadalcanal, comprisesseveral small islands and vil-lages. Marau is one of the mainfish supply areas for Honiara.Almost 90 per cent of Marau’spopulation was found to beactively engaged in fishing. Men,women, and children all partici-pate in finfishing or invertebratecollection, or both. Men target allhabitats, but especially the outerreef areas. Women, on the otherhand, prefer the more protectedfishing grounds that are also lessdistant from the shore (i.e. shel-tered coastal reefs, lagoons andmangrove habitats). The mainfishing methods are spearfishing,gillnetting, handlining and inver-tebrate collection by hand.Marketing of fishing produce isvia middlemen who regularlyvisit the various villages, usuallyonce or twice a week.

Surprisingly, fishing is not thefirst source of income, but is thesecond most important, fol-

lowed by agricultural produc-tion. In addition, some small-scale tourist operations providesupplementary income for anumber of families on Marau’sislands. Seafood is also animportant component of theMarau people’s diet. Finfish iseaten more often than inverte-brates (i.e. three and two timesper week, respectively).

Fisheries management takesplace and certain areas arebanned for fishing (total ban for alonger time period, usually > 5years, for invertebrate and finfishharvesting). Nevertheless therewas a consensus among respon-dents that reef resources aredeclining. This perception maybe due to the fact that althoughthe banned areas are respectedby most people, they are small insize compared with the areas thatare fished regularly.

Finfish resource surveysrevealed significant differencesin the distribution of speciesacross the different habitats that

Figure 3: Survey sites in the Solomon Islands


SPC ACTIVITIES

are considered to be mainly tar-geted for commercial purposes.The number of groupers,emperors and snappers wasestimated to be low to medium,probably as a result of wide-spread handline fishing forthese prime species. Largernumbers of parrotfish, surgeon-fish and wrasses were observed,indicating lighter fishing pres-sure (spearfishing) on thesespecies. The diversity of fishspecies was considered high,and this might be attributed tothe fact that the SolomonIslands is closer to the centre ofbiodiversity. The state of thecoral reef in this area was rela-tively unhealthy with only anestimated 20 per cent of livecoral coverage (Fig. 4).

Invertebrate surveys revealed ahigh diversity of resources inMarau, including Trochus niloti-cus, 11 sea cucumber species,gastropod snails (Turbo spp.),anemones (Stichodactyla spp.),black and gold-lip oysters(Pinctada spp.), 6 giant clamspecies, lobsters, and edibleurchins and gastropods (e.g.Thais and Vasum spp). The den-sity or abundance of mostresources was low despiteexcellent habitat. Suitable habi-tat for Trochus niloticus wasmainly found on the outer reefsand was not extensive. Stockdensities were fairly low. Thegreen snail Turbo marmoratus,which was present in previousyears (according to fisheriesstaff), was not found. It isapparent that high fishing pres-sure has led to severe depletionof invertebrate stocks in Marau.

NGGELA

Survey work in Nggela coveredvillages in the Sandfly Islands.Fishing and marketing of seafoodproduce was found to be similarto other sites in the Solomons.Here also, fishing is only the sec-ond most important source ofincome, while agriculture comesfirst. Nevertheless, fishing is done

by men, women and children andon an almost daily basis. As withMarau, Nggela women prefer themore protected fishing grounds— dominating the gleaning activ-ities in reef and mangrove areas— while men are more inclined tofish the outer reef or pelagicwaters. In the Nggela surveysites, commercial live coral har-vesting for the internationalaquarium trade was reported.Also, trochus was reported as acommercial fishery. Because thecapital city, Honiara, is only ahalf-hour boat ride away, seafoodmarketing occurs more intensive-ly and more frequently than atthe other sites surveyed. A com-munity-based fisheries manage-ment system is in place, and cer-tain areas are banned for seafoodcollection. In Nggela, compliancywith taboo fishing areas is high.

Like Marau, Nggela’s finfishresources showed low numbersof groupers, emperors and snap-pers, probably as a result of han-dline fishing for these species.Parrotfish, surgeonfish andwrasses were observed in largernumbers, indicating lighter fish-ing pressure (spearfishing) onthese fish species. Fish diversitywas also considered high, andthe coral reef in this area was rel-atively unhealthy and compara-ble to conditions found atMarau. Several local counterpartdivers (Fig. 5) were trained indata collection, survey technolo-gy, and species identificationduring the finfish survey work.

Important invertebrate resourcesrecorded in Nggela includeTrochus niloticus, eight seacucumber species, five giantclam species, black-lip pearl

Figure 4 (top): Coral cover in the Marau area

Figure 5 (bottom): Local counterpart divers, Peter Ramohiafrom The Nature Conservancy and Peter Lausu from the

Fisheries Department


SPC ACTIVITIES

oyster (Pinctada spp.), anemones(Stichodactylas spp.), lobsters,and edible gastropods (Vasumspp, Turbo spp, Thais spp, andStrombus luhuanus). As in Marau,stocks of various invertebrateresources were low. Most of thecoastal reefs are narrow withsteep drop offs. Nggela hasmoderate areas of suitable habi-tat (high relief and complexity)for trochus, but the stock densi-ty was very low. It has becomeapparent that high fishing pres-sure has reduced stock levels. Asignificant number of black-lippearl oysters were found on theshallow inner areas of the reefflats. Dives for high valued seacucumbers revealed the pres-ence of white teatfish, althoughstocks were low. Giant clamresources were dominated byTridacna crocea and T. maxima,which were found on almost allreef flats surveyed, althoughdensities were moderate to low.Few specimens of T. squamosa, T.derasa and Hippopus hippopuswere found.

RARUMANA

The Rarumana site, located inthe Western Province, includesseveral small villages and settle-ments on one island. People areinvolved in both finfishing andinvertebrate collection, althoughfinfishing seemed to be moretargeted, especially by men.Women were the driving forces

for most invertebrate collection.Fishing is a regular, almost day-to-day activity and mostly doneusing locally built paddlecanoes. In fact, Rarumana wasfound to be the site with thehighest boat ownership rate: 90paddle canoes and 12 outboardengine powered boats wererecorded in the 50 householdsof the main village surveyed.Fishing methods include gill-netting, spearfishing, and han-dlining. No fisheries manage-ment system was reported orestablished. The reef and lagoonareas are owned by the greaterRarumana community and peo-ple belonging to this communi-ty have free access to any reefresource around the island.

Seafood marketing opportuni-ties are limited due to the lack ofaccess to major markets, storesor agents, and therefore, market-ing mainly targets the local com-munity. Fresh or cooked seafoodis sold door-to-door to individ-ual community members or toone of the logging companies.Finfish consumption is high. Fishis eaten, on average, about fivetimes per week. Invertebrates areless frequently consumed, onaverage twice a week.

The outer reef exhibited anabundance and density of finfishdominated by surgeonfish andparrotfish, with a lower densityof wrasses, rabbitfish and butter-

flyfish. Finfishresources on shel-tered inshore reefs,coastal, intermedi-ate and back reefswere much lowerand showed signsof intense fishingpressure. The coralreef was unhealthyin many places,with higher livecoral cover in theback and inter-mediate reef areas.

I n v e r t e b r a t eresources found

in Rarumana include Pinctadamargaritifera, Trochus niloticus,Turbo spp., urchins, edible gas-tropods (Thais spp, Vasum spp,Strombus and Lambis spp,Anadara spp.), giant clams, seacucumbers, and abundant organcorals (Fig. 6). There are only afew species of sea cucumbers(eight) and giant clams (four)present. Density of most of thesevarious invertebrate resourceswas low. Rarumana has themost extensive areas of idealhabitat (high relief and com-plexity, with high percentage ofcoralline algae) for trochusfound at any of the SolomonIslands study sites. However, thestock was low, indicating severedepletion. Giant clam resourcesin Rarumana are dominated byTridacna crocea followed by T.maxima, which are found inmoderate quantities on almostall reef flats surveyed. Deeperreefs in the lagoon containedexceptionally high densities ofT. crocea, which act as a "reser-voir" due to the difficulty inaccessing it. Very few specimensof T. squamosa and Hippopus hip-popus were found. Only a fewspecimens of white teatfishwere found, implying a lowstock level. Moderate numbersof Bohadschia vitiensis were seenduring night dives.

CHUBIKOPI/CHEA

The fourth study site includes thevillages of Chubikopi and Chea,which are located in the MarovoLagoon area. Chea is predomi-nantly a Seventh Day Adventistcommunity and the prevailingreligion imposes a taboo on theconsumption or harvesting ofinvertebrates. Chubikopi is amainly Methodist community,and does not impose any foodtaboos.

Almost every household in bothvillages reported having at leastone fisher. Understandably,people from Chea, due to theirreligious beliefs, do not engagein invertebrate collection, but

Figure 6: Pineapplefish sea cucumber,Thelenota ananas


SPC ACTIVITIES

instead focus on finfishing. InChubikopi, however, men,women and children pursueboth finfishing and invertebratecollection. People from both vil-lages go frequently to the sea tocatch finfish. Frequencies werereported to range between fourand five days a week. As withthe other study sites, womenfocus more on the shelteredlagoons and mangrove areas,while men target the outer reefand pelagic areas. Comparedwith the other study sites, thereported catches from Chea andChubikopi were large, and wasthe average size of finfishcaught. However, marketing ofseafood produce is limited tomiddleman transactions, whichare regular, but occur only oncea week at both villages.

No sound fisheries manage-ment system was reported,although some initiatives wereobserved, such as the recentlyestablished International WatersProgramme conservation siteon one of the small islands inthe lagoon.

The finfish surveys for this areawere postponed until later in2006, due to staff changes atPROCFish. It is expected that

these surveys will be conductedin December.

Invertebrate resources recordedin Chubikopi include Trochusniloticus, 19 species of seacucumbers (including twounknown species), Turbo spp,Pictada margaritifera, 4 giant clamspecies, lobsters, Tripneustesgratilla and several gastropods.The number of low- to medium-value sea cucumber species waslow. The number of nocturnalspecies (Stichopus horrens andBohadschia spp.) was an excep-tion in that moderate to high

numbers were seen during nightdives. White teatfish stocks arerated as low and concentratedmostly in the deep channels thatlinked the lagoon to the ocean. Afair number of the giant clam T.crocea and T. maxima were seenthroughout the surveyed areas(Fig. 7), their densities — T. croceain particular — are higher thanthe other sites surveyed in theSolomons. Densities of other giantclam species were low. Trochusniloticus stock density was verylow or severely depleted. Therewere no extensive trochus habi-tats seen in the sites surveyed.

Figure 7: Manta-tow surveyin the Marovo Lagoon area

Survey work in Papua New Guinea

The first two sites in Papua NewGuinea — Andra on ManusIsland and Tsoilaunung (Tsoi) inthe New Ireland Province (Fig.8) — were surveyed from Juneto September 2006 (split sched-ules for different disciplines).The PROCFish/C survey teamconsisted of Mecki Kronen (socio-economics), Kim Friedman andKalo Pakoa (invertebrates), andPierre Boblin and RibanataakeAwira (finfish). The PROCFish/Cteam acknowledges and thanksthe following people who assist-ed or worked with the team atone or more location: AugustineMobiha, Executive Manager

Fisheries Management, NationalFisheries Authority (NFA); LebanGisawa, Fisheries Manager –Inshore, NFA; Philip Polon, Fish-eries Manager – Sedentary, NFA;Ian Liviko, NFA/PROCFish/Cattachment officer to the pro-gramme; Hon. Hubert Molean,Chairman, Provincial Education(Manua Provincial Assembly);Paul Lokani and Tapas Potuku,The Nature Conservancy; JohnAini, Ailan Awareness; GarryPreston and Hugh Walton,Gillett, Preston and Associates;and the elders, communitymembers and people from thetwo survey sites.

About 30 households, and over20 finfishers and invertebratefishers were interviewed (Fig. 9)in each of the two islands. Whilethe people on Andra island arehighly dependent on fisheries(i.e. fisheries provide 50 per centof all households with a pri-mary source of income, and theother 50 per cent with secondsource (this half gets their majorincome from coral lime produc-tion for betel nut chewing), peo-ple living on Tsoi have otheralternatives. About 45 per centof all households interviewedon Tsoi quoted fisheries as firstand another 24 per cent as a sec-


SPC ACTIVITIES

ond source of income. Aconsiderable number ofhouseholds are involved inlime production and handi-craft selling (28%), salariedjobs (22%), and agriculture(mainly copra, 6%) as a pri-mary source of income.

Both communities are char-acterized by high seafoodconsumption (36–40 kg off in f i sh/person/year ) ,when taking into accountthat people on both islandshave either agricultural pro-duction or access to agricul-tural produce. Living costsare low, but Andra wastwice as high as Tsoi. Thismay be explained by thefact that people from Andramust purchase everythingbut seafood, while Tsoi’spopulation has agriculturalpotential.

The high dependency on har-vesting marine resources and thelack or limited potential of alter-native sources of income genera-tion in either community wasseen in the engagement of fish-ers in commercial fisheries, par-ticularly beche-de-mer, trochusand crustacean (lobster and mudcrabs). For both communities,government-controlled harvest-ing seasons and quotas apply.However, in the case of Andra,where strong traditional socialnetworking and organisationapply, the community furthernarrows down harvesting peri-ods and limits exploitation levelsof beche-de-mer and trochus.

Finfish surveys were conductedover 42 transects between thetwo sites. The absence of sharksin both locations (none sightedat all at Tsoi) was noted, andthis could have been attributedto the recent high level of sharkfining by foreign operators inthese areas. There was also anobvious lack of some importantspecies, including groupers andemperors, as these were highlysought after and targeted by

Figure 9: Conducting a socioeconomicsurvey with invertebrate fishers

Figure 8: The two survey locations in Papua New Guinea

handline fishers. Good stocks ofsurgeonfish, wrasses, parrotfishand snappers were observed atTsoi. Surveys on the outer reef areaat Andra recorded mass schools ofsome surgeonfish (Acanthurusblochii), wrasse (Bolbometoponmuricatum) and parrotfish (Scarusquoyi). Gillnets were used in shal-low reef and lagoon areas (Fig.10) to harvest inshore species. Inboth locations, the state of thecoral reef was healthy, exceptfor Acropora coral, which hadbeen extensively harvested for

making lime, and now had avery low coverage.

The reef and lagoon environ-ment of Andra was excellent,rich in nutrients and with highwater flow across the lagoonand barrier reefs. Invertebratespecies recorded during the sur-vey show rich diversity; mostcommercial species of seacucumber were represented andfive species of giant clams wererecorded. Gold-lip pearl oysters(Pinctada fucata) and black-lip


SPC ACTIVITIES

pearl oysters (P. margaritifera)were observed; gold-lips werefound predominantly in thedeeper waters on the lagoonside. Only the commercial greensnail (Turbo marmoratus) wasabsent, although low densitiesare anecdotally reported. Despitethe presence of a great diversityof species, distribution of mostwas patchy and densities weregenerally very low.

White teatfish (Holothuriafuscogilva) was still present inmoderate numbers in deeperwaters, although most areaswere accessible to divers, andwe noted that fishers tended tofish-out aggregations when theywere found. The presence ofaggregations in some areas, andthe records of juveniles of thisvaluable species, suggests thatstocks can recover if effectivemanagement of fishing is prac-ticed. Stocks of shallow waterspecies, including the lollies(Holothuria atra), and greenfish(Stichopus chloronotus) wereexceptionally low, possiblysome of the lowest recorded inthe region. Sea cucumber pro-cessing was done locally (Fig.11). Giant clam stocks are alsoexceptionally low, with clam"gardens" observed in the shal-lows close to houses, where theonly recorded Tridacna gigasclam was found. T. squamosa andHippopus hippopus were rarelyfound in shallow reef areas.

The Tsoi islands were adjacent toa large and rich shallow lagoon.Water flow in and out of thelagoon and large sandy shallowwater areas provided excellenthabitat for high-value sand fish(Holothuria scabra) and otherassociated species. The peoplefrom both Andra and Tsoi areheavily dependent on the sea fortheir livelihood. Sea cucumbers,in particular sandfish, aroundTsoi are recognised as a decliningstock by local fishers. Althoughmost adults have already beenfished, there were a good num-ber of juveniles, which presents a

Figure 10: Finfishcatch from

gillnetting inshallow lagoon

areas

Figure 11: Locallyprocessed sea

cucumbers

Figure 12: Trochuscatch

positive sign that some spawn-ing still occurs. Strong manage-ment is critically needed to pro-tect this valuable resource.

Trochus resources likewisereturned a very poor result, withfewer than 15 shells recordedduring surveys. Despite the lowstock, fishing pressure was stillheavy (Fig. 12). No green snail(Turbo marmoratus) was record-ed, but a single freshly killedshell was found near the village,

indicating the species is stillpresent. Giant clam stocks (T.derasa, T. maxima, T. squamosa, T.crocea and H. hippopus) werevery low. A few large Tridacnagigas, held in a shallow waterclam garden, were the only largespecimens recorded, and theseclams were in a stressed condi-tion. Manage-ment of these andmost invertebrate species isurgently needed.

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT SECTION


SPC ACTIVITIES

Improvements to the PROCFish/C web portal

In the last issue of the SPC FisheriesNewsletter (#117), the outcomes ofthe PROCFish/C SteeringCommittee meeting (held in April2006) were presented. One of themain concerns raised was thatinformation was not getting backto countries in a timely mannerfollowing fieldwork activities,and this needed to change. Inresponse to this, the PROCFish/Cportal (http://www.spc.int/coastfish/Sections/reef/PROCFish_Web/default.aspx) has beenupdated so that there will be twotypes of data available on the

website in future: those that arein the public domain, and thosethat are restricted to nominatedfisheries staff for each country orterritory.

The public domain informationincludes reports, GIS and satel-lite imagery. The portal willcontinue to be updated withadditional information as it islocated.

Only those people specified bythe fisheries department in eachcountry or territory will have

access to the restricted data, andthis will be controlled by indi-vidual passwords. This hasbeen done to provide eachcountry or territory with theirdata and draft reports, by site orby discipline, as soon as theseare produced, rather than wait-ing until a full report has beencompiled. Countries and territo-ries will be informed regularlyabout additional informationplaced on their country page onthe PROCFish/C web portal.

Tuvalu’s Coastal Fisheries Management Programme

FISHERIES LEGISLATION REVIEW

In February 2006, Tuvalu’scoastal fisheries legislation wasreviewed through a joint effortby the Commonwealth Secre-tariat and the CFM Section. Thereview was conducted by Prof.Martin Tsamenyi fromWollongong University, whowas assisted by CFM OfficerEtuati Ropeti. The review waspart of an effort by the FisheriesDepartment to properly addressthe importance of the coastalfisheries sector and the issuesthat affect it. Communityinvolvement in fisheries man-agement decisions was acknowl-edged. The review involved con-sultations with senior policymakers, community representa-tives, members of the variousisland Fale Kaupules, and stake-holders, to ascertain the keylegal and management issuesthat require consideration.

As a result of the review, a DraftIsland Community Fisheries

Management Regulations 2006is now in Parliament for furtherdeliberations.

AN ISLAND FISHERIESMANAGEMENT PLAN

A First for Tuvalu

In March 2006, SPC’s CFMOfficer assisted the TuvaluFisheries Department with theimplementation of its CoastalFisheries Management Pro-gramme. The island communityof Nukulaelae was selected bythe Fisheries Department to bethe first island to have itscoastal fisheries managementplan in place.

Nukulaelae is one of nine atollsthat form the Tuvalu group, andis situated south of the capital ofFunafuti (about eight hours byboat). It has 19 islets and a widelagoon with an estimated popu-lation of 350. The island has tworeligions, the Tuvaluan Congre-gational Church and the Bahai

Faith. It has a health clinic thatserves basic medical needs,while serious cases are trans-ferred to Funafuti. Nukulaelaealso has a primary school whereeducation is compulsory for allchildren.

The people of Nukulaelae havetraditional knowledge of theircoastal marine resources, andhave their own customs and cul-tures to manage them. Despitethese management cultures, thesudden change in lifestyle onNukulaelae is believed to have aserious impact on the atoll's fish-eries resources. Sometimes theseare difficult to regulate given theintroduction of modern fishingtechniques.

The FisheriesManagement Process

The work in Nukulaelae beganwith a meeting with theKaupule (elected island council)to seek their blessing with theintended work. This was fol-

The Tuvaluan Fisheries Department requested SPC's Coastal Fisheries Management (CFM) Section to assist in thedevelopment of a framework for the management of its coastal fisheries. Initial consultations and meetings with var-ious government and community stakeholders were carried out by CFM Section staff in 2004, followed by a work-shop for community facilitators in which a model for community-based fisheries management was developed in 2005.


SPC ACTIVITIES

lowed with a meeting with theFalekaupule (community eld-ers) where the fisheries staffwas given the task of explainingthe need for a community-basedfisheries management pro-gramme, and how such a pro-gramme helps minimise exist-ing problems with coastal fish-eries. Discussion also coveredthe importance of island com-munities as resource users,working together with the fish-eries department in instigatingprecautionary measures for thesustainable utilisation and man-agement of the marine environ-ment and its resources.

On the second day, three sepa-rate community consultationsand workshops were conductedin accordance to the established

groups within the island com-munity:the Falekaupule, thewomen’s committee, and theyouth group. The issues dis-cussed were mainly on assessingthe degree of change in fishing,seafood catches, and the marineenvironment during recentyears, and analysing the presentcondition of their marine envi-ronment and fish stocks, identi-fying the various causes of theproblems, and considering themost practicable and possiblesolutions. Consultations tookthree days, and the informationcollected was combined for theselected committee to draft theIsland Community FisheriesManagement Plan.

The meetings were facilitatedby the fisheries staff who partic-

ipated in the CFM workshop on"Training Community Facilita-tors”, held in 2004 as one of theCFM Section’s inputs toTuvalu’s request.

The NukulaelaeFisheries Committee

At the end of the group consul-tations, three representativeswere nominated from eachgroup to work with the fisheriesstaff in drafting the IslandFisheries Management Plan.The committee further consid-ered the problems and solutionsidentified by each group anddecided how the solutionscould be implemented with thetype of support that will berequired. The committee wasalso given the responsibility of

Top left: Meeting with the Falekaupule (community elders)Top right: Meeting with the womens’ groupBottom left: Meeting with the youth group

Bottom right: The Fisheries Committee drafting the Fisheries Management Plan


SPC ACTIVITIES

liaising with the FisheriesDepartment to ensure that boththe community and the depart-ment performs their functionsas stipulated in the Manage-ment Plan.

Below is a brief outline ofNukulaelae’s Fisheries Manage-ment Plan

Vision

“A proper conservation andmanagement of Nukulaelae’smarine environment and itsinshore fisheries resources withsustainable harvest of its fishstocks by its generations”.

Undertakings

During the meetings with thevarious community groups,three key problems were identi-fied:

• decreasing numbers of fishand shellfish in coastal areas,

• too much rubbish on theisland, and

• increased numbers of deadcorals.

In order to minimize the causeof the major problems identifiedby the Nukulaelae community,the plan now compelled its peo-ple to carry out the followingundertakings, and the FisheriesDepartment is obligated to pro-vide supporting services.

Decreasing number of fish andshellfish in the coastal areas

The major causes identified bythe community during the groupconsultations were overfishing,due to the increased populationon the island in the last 5–10years; lack of land-based activi-ties resulting in people tendingto fish as a hobby rather than forconsumption; communal gather-ings and functions where turtles,octopus, other fish species andshellfish are harvested as theyare of cultural importance; theoverharvesting of fish for sale at

the Fisheries Department operat-ed Community Fish Centres;fishing activities by visiting pas-senger liners and Naficot boats;and lack of awareness of fish-eries problems.

In viewing the above causes, thecommunity has decided to putinto place the following restric-tions, with the assistance of theFisheries Department, in orderto manage their coastal fisheriesresources and possibly min-imise the concerns raised.

• Declare part of the lagoonarea as a Fish Reserve Area.

• Declare closed seasons basedon scientific advice fromfisheries experts.

• Introduce appropriate com-munity rules for fishingactivities in Nukulaelaecoastal waters.

• Introduce size limits forcommonly fished species.

• Reduce fishing pressure byapplying traditional man-agement practices.

• Monitor fishing (with thepossibility of introducinglicense systems) for visitingferries and fishing boats.

• With assistance from theFisheries Department, con-duct awareness programmesfor all sectors.

Too much rubbish

Due to the lack of available landand the increasing dependenceon imported goods, the disposalof rubbish is a great concern forthe citizens of Nukulaelae. Solidwastes, especially plastics andempty cans, were identified asthe major sources of rubbish onthe island, causing troubles tomarine life. In that regard, thecommunity agreed to the fol-lowing undertakings to solvethe problem.

• Conduct community work-shops on waste management.

• Implement a communityprogramme on the properdisposal of solid wastes.

• Community to participate ina clean-up day for the wholeisland.

• Ban the dumping of rubbishonto coastal areas.

• Impose traditional penalties.

The Fisheries Departmentworks jointly with other nation-al and non-national authoritieswith the implementation ofwaste management projects forthe island community ofNukulaelae.

Increased numbersof dead corals

Changes to the marine environ-ment, especially the loss ofmajor coral colonies, has beenobserved by some fishers andhas become a major concern forthe island community. TheNukulaelae people are con-scious of climate change and sealevel rise issues that are consid-ered to be the main cause ofcoral stress that leads to highmortality of reef colonies.However, anchor damage fromboats, and pollution (fuel/oilfrom boats) in the lagoon areasare deemed to be the majorcauses of coral damage. Theutilisation of sand and beachmaterials for construction proj-ects has led to erosion, and hasalso been highlighted as anissue to be addressed. Coastalerosion is seen in many parts ofNukulaelae, especially wherethe seawater cuts into the shore-line during high tides.

In mitigating these causes, theNukulaelae community under-takes the following activities.

• Works in partnership withthe Environment Department,Fisheries and other relevantauthorities in conductingenvironmental impact assess-ments for any developmentprojects on the island.

• Plants trees along beachesand most affected areas forcoastline protection.


SPC ACTIVITIES

• Conducts community work-shops to raise awarenessabout coastal zone manage-ment.

• Sources government supportfor the construction of moor-ing facilities.

Future activities

The Fisheries Department willbe responsible for:

• coordinating activities stipu-lated in the NukulaelaeIsland Fisheries Manage-ment Plan,

• liaising with other govern-ment departments for theirinputs in implementing thenecessary actions pertainingto the management ofNukulaelae’s coastal fisheryresources,

• sourcing external assistancefor community projects, and

• extending the managementprogramme to cover otherisland communities inTuvalu.

Programme review

The programme should bereviewed every six months.

Community–based Fisheries Management Programme in Nauru

In April 2006, a preliminaryassessment was carried out forNauru. The assessment was inresponse to a request from theNauru Fisheries and MarineResources Authority (NFMRA)for the CFM Section’s assistancewith the development of itsCommunity–based FisheriesManagement Programme.

The assessment highlighted aseries of recommendations.

• NFMRA should review theorganisational structure of theCoastal Fisheries Divisionand consider moving currentextension staff to the Com-munity Fisheries Section.

• NFMRA should arrange forits programme staff toundertake training in facili-tating community work-shops and in applying otherspecialised tools used inCommunity-based FisheriesManagement Programmes.

• NFMRA should develop andimplement extensive nation-al awareness programmes toincrease the knowledge oflocal communities about themarine environment andensure long term support forthe coastal fisheries manage-ment programme.

• NFMRA should review itsexisting legislation to caterfor the needs of coastal fish-eries management pro-grammes and consider howlocal community rules canbe legally recognised. Thereview should consider thedelegation of managementresponsibilities to local com-munities and the obligationof the national authority toassist with the preparation ofDistrict Fisheries Manage-ment Plans.

• NFMRA should develop a co-management approach to fish-eries management through

maximum community partici-pation that results in the own-ership of the district fisheriesmanagement plans as well asproviding alternatives forlocal communities.

• The Community FisheriesSection should be equippedwith the basic equipmentand materials if CBFMP is tobe implemented.

• NFMRA should seek outsideassistance to implement thisprogramme given the finan-cial difficulties the govern-ment is currently facing.

These recommendations arenow been implemented byNFMRA and the CoastalFisheries Management Section,and it will be reported in detailin the next issue of the SPCFisheries Newsletter.

AQUACULTURE SECTION


SPC ACTIVITIES

Cook Islands National Pearl Economics Workshop and Industry Seminar

The Cook Islands pearl industryis ailing. Exports in 2000 wereNZD 18 million, accounting for90 percent of the total nationalvalue. Since then, there has beena dramatic decline in produc-tion, mostly due to a pearl oysterdisease in Manihki Lagoon, thecentre of production. Current-lypearl exports are worth aboutNZD 2 million (Fig. 1). The grossrevenue from lost production inthe past five years is somewhereon the order of NZD120 million.

However, despite the decline inexports there appears to be anincrease in the number of smallpearl retail outlets servicing thedomestic demand. Approxi-mately 80,000 tourists visit thecountry per annum. Theincrease in domestic sales mayhave offset some of the reducedexports, although there are nostatistics to prove this trend.

Pearl farming is an intensiveinvestment, requiring goodbusiness acumen. One of theunderlying issues that theindustry must deal with is thatit continues to be fraught withsmall-scale “hobby” farmerswho, a decade ago, perceived

quick lucrative gains whenblack pearls were still an expen-sive novel jewellery item.Under the current competitiveeconomic climate, these farmsare operating below the mini-mum scale of investment, whichoften leads to low quality pearlsbeing dumped on the marketand poor farming practices,which add more strain on thelagoon environment.

PEARL ECONOMICS WORKSHOP,24–26 AUGUST

The objective of the workshopwas to design an economicmodel relevant to the CookIslands' situation. This modelcan then be used on individualfarms to assess key factorsaffecting profitability, and toplan for different managementscenarios. The basic pearl modelwas developed by Mr BillJohnston, an economist with theQueensland, Australian govern-ment and the AquacultureAdviser during an economicsworkshop held in Fiji in 2003.

Key organisers of the workshop— SPC, the Cook IslandsMinistry of Marine Resources

(MMR), the Cook Islands PearlAuthority (CIPA), and the NewZealand Agency for InternationalDevelopment — funded a marineinstitutional strengthening proj-ect (CIMRIS). MMR Secretary, IanBertram and CIPA CEO, GeorgeEllis, were heavily involved. BillJohnston was engaged as the con-sultant trainer.

The opening session was car-ried out by the Minister ofMarine Resources, Dr WilkieRasmussen, and the Chairmanof the Pearl Authority Board,Tina Browne. Other CookIslands participants includedpearl farmers from Manihikiand Penrhyn atolls, pearl retail-ers, development bank officials,economists from the Ministry ofFinance, representatives fromthe Small Business EnterpriseCentre, and development offi-cers from the Ministry of OuterIslands Affairs. There were alsoparticipants from Fiji, MarshallIslands and Micronesia.

As a result of the workshop,some modifications to the CookIslands model were made. Theseincluded, several differentoptions for the payment of pearl

seeding technicians, amore elaborate pearlmarketing pricing struc-ture, a more detailedfarm layout table, moreinformative graphs, andgreater flexibility in set-ting parameters such asdiscount price.

From past experience itwas noted that users ofthe model have strug-gled with the riskassessment component.An extra effort wasmade to explain riskassessment theory andsome exercises were car-ried out to quantify risk

Figure 1: Major export commodities from the Cook Islands, including pearls


SPC ACTIVITIES

factors such as risk of produc-tion and risk of market price.

The model will be finalised andfield tested before the end of theyear 2006 under a work pro-gram funded by CIMRIS. Thiswill also help the Cook Islandsgovernment to benchmark keyeconomic parameters of theindustry so that future trendscan be plotted from an econom-ic perspective (Fig. 2).

NATIONAL PEARL INDUSTRYSEMINAR, 28 AUGUST

There has been a somewhat lackof strategic direction for theCook Islands pearl industry. Thissituation makes it difficult toestablish industry standards anddraw upon resources collective-ly. With industry representativesand regional resource personspresent for the economic work-shop, the seminar was a publicopportunity to broadly identifysome key priority areas, futuredirections, and responsibilities.

In spite of drawbacks, MMR hasundertaken some proactivemeasures to ensure the continu-ity of the industry. Examples ofthese include drafting a lagoonmanagement plan and code ofconduct, developing digitalfarm maps and a census data-base for management purposes,installing an advanced remotewater quality monitoring sta-tion, and regular monitoring ofpathogens and marine bacteria.

As a sign of its commitment torejuvenate the pearl sector, thegovernment has re-establishedthe Cook Islands PearlAuthority, which was disband-ed a decade ago. The presenceof the CIPA will greatly improvethe institutional capacity of theCook Islands to develop indus-try strategies and improve themarketing of its pearls. CIPACEO George Ellis, provided astatus report on the CookIslands situation. An interestingcomparison was made betweenthe Cook Islands and FrenchPolynesia, in terms of produc-tion and price per gram (Fig. 3).While production in FrenchPolynesia has declined, theprice per gram has increased.Evidently, French Polynesia hasbeen able to influence marketprices through controls on pro-duction and quality.

SPC's Aquaculture Adviser pre-sented a regional overview ofthe pearl farming situation, not-ing that while pearl farming con-tinues to expand across thePacific, there are still opportuni-ties in terms of technology anddiversification of the productrange. Justin Hunter (HunterPearls Ltd) and Simon Ellis (MidPacific Consultants) outlinedtheir experiences in Fiji andMicronesia, respectively. Justinpresented how his company hadapplied good business planningskills, coupled with the neces-sary financial investment, in allstages from production to mar-keting. The farm has been able toquickly return dividends and

Figure 2 (top): Pearl modelFigure 3 (bottom): Comparison between

Cook Islands and French Polynesia


SPC ACTIVITIES

production at their Savu Savufarm is larger then most farms inthe Cook Islands. In contrast, theBank of Cook Islands pointedout that the pearl loans portfoliois considered a high risk venture.Simon’s presentation demon-strated how a small pearl farm inNukuoro Island had developed

a working model for commer-cialisation without any financialinputs from government.

Geoff Mavromatis from theCIMRIS secretariat providedexcellent facilitation servicesduring the seminar, and assistedparticipants in drafting a short

list of priorities for furtherdevelopment. The workshopand seminar ended on a posi-tive note, emphasizing thatthere is a way forward for therejuvenation for the CookIslands pearl industry (Fig. 4).

Figure 4: Pearl farming practices

FAO sub-committee meeting on aquacultureNew Delhi, September 2006

The Aquaculture Adviser repre-sented SPC at the third sessionof the FAO Committee onFisheries (COFI) on aquacultureheld in New Delhi from 4–8September. This inter-govern-mental body reviews the FAOaquaculture programme andadvises the COFI governingbody on priority issues. FAO is auseful forum to gauge the globaltrends and political issues aris-ing. Unfortunately, the Pacific isoften poorly represented. At thethird session, the only delegatefrom the region, among 50+countries present, was Palau.

Key agenda items for the sub-committee included:

• further progress regardingthe implementation of theCode of Conduct for Respon-sible Fisheries,

• the status and trends forglobal aquaculture develop-ment,

• the challenge of increasingsocioeconomic impacts,

• how to incorporate aquacul-ture in planning and policydevelopment,

• how to encourage bettermanagement practices, and

• prospective analysis and therole of aquaculture sub-com-mittee.

A constant theme underlyingthe debate at the sub-committeewas the contrasting strategiesbehind development for com-mercial or food security purpos-es. African countries are laggingbehind the most in terms ofaquaculture development. Itwas felt that aquaculture couldhelp alleviate the poverty inAfrican countries, and therewas pressure for donors andinternational organisations toprioritise efforts in that region.

One issue raised was how toimprove the quality of statisticalinformation and reporting sys-tems. SPC was invited to aworking committee to assist theaquaculture statistics database.One anomaly already pointed


SPC ACTIVITIES

out is that pearl statistics arelodged with capture fishery sta-tistics. Another important areawhere FAO assistance will be ofbenefit to the Pacific region is inthe area of bio-security, and in

2007 it is anticipated that SPCwill collaborate more closelywith FAO in this area. At themeeting, a draft copy of the"State of World Aquaculture:2006" report was released. This

document incorporates theinformation gathered from theregional reviews and globaltrends expert workshop inChina in 2006, which SPC wasinvolved in.

Indigenous Aquaculture Session, Australasian Aquaculture Conference: 2006Adelaide

The indigenous aquaculturetheme seeks to explore opportu-nities for indigenous people tobe involved in aquaculture, par-ticularly at the small-scale leveland in remote and rural loca-tions. At the first indigenous ses-sion, held at the inauguralAustralasian Aquaculture Con-ference in Sydney 2004, it wasdecided to maintain the themein future Australasian Aquacul-ture conferences.

The Adelaide conference wasorganised by the state govern-ment and the National Aqua-culture Council (NAC) underthe umbrella of the World Aqua-culture Society (WAS). SPC alsoplayed a minor role because theAquaculture Adviser is a cur-rent board member of the WASAsia-Pacific Chapter, whichhosted the conference.

The opening address by FederalMinster for the Department of

Agriculture, Forestry and Fish-eries, emphasised the indige-nous aquaculture theme, notingthe relevant experiences of thePacific Islands to communitiesin Australia.

At the Indigenous AquacultureSession, the SPC AquacultureAdviser gave an opening pres-entation of indigenous aquacul-ture in the Pacific region. Therewere several other presenta-tions from the Pacific. FigaBoga, from Papua New Oki TediMine, described the mine’s rolein developing the remoteWestern Papua Province andFly River system. Masahiro Itopresented pearl developmentwork being carried out in vil-lage communities in Micronesia.A roundtable discussion wasconvened by Dennish Ah-Keefrom the Department of Fish-eries and Forestry (DAFF)indigenous aquaculture unit.The small-scale of aquaculture

development within indigenouscommunities has proven to be achallenge in terms of govern-ment bureaucracy and financialsourcing. This is unlike the situ-ation that the Pacific faces, andthere are many lessons that canbe shared.

At the conference, a WAS annu-al general board meeting wasconvened. One of the activitieson the calendar for 2007 is anaquaculture conference inVietnam. Vietnam may be ofinterest to the Pacific because itpossesses one of the mostdynamic aquaculture sectors,and may provide an opportuni-ty for a Pacific Islands studytour for commodities of highinterest to the region, such asrock lobster.

Country visit to French Polynesia and update on aquaculture activitiesJune 2006

1ST PACIFIC YOUTH FESTIVAL,TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA,17–22 JULY 2006

More than 1000 young peoplefrom 25 islands around thePacific gathered in Tahiti for theinaugural youth festival. TheAquaculture Adviser coordinat-ed a one-day marine seminar,

involving speakers from theMinistry of Fisheries (Service dela Pêche), the CRIOBE laborato-ry in Moorea, University of theSouth Pacific, and SPC staff.Two presentations on aquacul-ture were provided, one by theAquaculture Adviser and theother by aquaculture staff fromthe Ministry of Fisheries.

AQUACULTURE MEETINGS

The Aquaculture Adviser wasable to meet with key persons,particularly within government,involved in the aquacultureindustry. The purpose of thesemeetings was to introduce theactivities and roles of SPC,assess national priorities, and

In June, SPC's Aquaculture Adviser visited French Polynesia to coordinate a marine seminar at the 1st PacificYouth Festival, and to take the opportunity to meet with aquaculture staff and make site visits. The aquaculturescene in French Polynesia is relatively advanced. New programmes in marine finfish mariculture are being devel-oped while the pearl industry still remains a significant economic sector.


SPC ACTIVITIES

explore possibilities for regionalcollaboration.

The first call was to the Ministryof Fisheries. This service is head-ed by Terii Vallaux and is thenational agency responsible foraquaculture. Georges Remoissenetheads the small, but active, aqua-culture unit; several of his staff(Rarahu David, Vaiana Joufoquesand Moana Maamaatuaiahutapu)provided updates on their workactivities. We were later joinedby Arnaud Lerebours, Presidentof the Aquaculture Syndicateand a businessman involved inthe marine ornamental trade.

The Aquaculture Adviser andSPC Director-General, Dr JimmieRodgers, later paid a courtesycall on the Ministers of Fisheriesoffice. The Minister, HonourableKeitapu Maamaatuaiahutapuand Advisers Sandra Langly(research), Mainui Tanetoa (fish-eries and aquaculture), andCabinet Secretary (Vanina Tsoi)were present. Noting that marinefish mariculture was quiteadvanced in French Polynesia,one concept that was raised wasthe possibility of Tahiti hosting aregional centre of excellence formariculture. This would supportSPC’s strategy to decentralise itsservices.

A visit to the Ministry of PearlCulture was made to meet withthe Director Anne-Sandrine,Cabinet Secretary Henri Luducand Adviser Fabienne Domby.The pearl industry is a signifi-cant economic sector to FrenchPolynesia. Housed within theministry is the national pearlquality control laboratory,which screens all pearls individ-ually to ensure they meet exportstandards. Between 30,000 and80,000 pearls are processeddaily.

SITE VISITS

Tahiti-iti, Tahiti Island

AquaPac Ltd is the largestprawn farm in Tahiti and raisesLitopenaeus stylirostris prawns.According to the manager, TevaSui, the farm produces about 30tonnes per annum. The compa-ny has a fish hatchery and race-ways. A barramundi hatcherysupplies fingerlings to privatefarmers who grow them outwith a cumulative annual har-vest of around seven tonnes.Hybrid tilapia also reared at thefarm. Other marine finfish such

as groupers, trevallies and mul-lets are also kept on site forresearch trials (Fig.1).

The IFREMER station at Vairaomostly targets pearl culture.There are around 30 staffinvolved in this programme,divided into three mainstreams: 1) reproduction: larvalsettlement cues, producingtriploid oysters; 2) pathology:viral diseases; and 3) pearl qual-ity: genetics, grafting operation.The pearl programme is wellresourced in terms of laborato-ry, pearl oyster hatchery, andgrow-out facilities (Fig. 2).

Figure 1 (top): Aquapac farm

Figure 2 (bottom):IFREMER station


SPC ACTIVITIES

The Ministry of Fisheries hasestablished their fish maricul-ture facilities at the same com-plex as IFREMER. The batfish(Platax orbicularis) and moi (P.sexfilis) are the main speciesunder research and develop-

ment. The batfish is a prizedlocal delicacy and because ofheavy fishing pressure it is diffi-cult to source broodstock. Thereis a strict quarantine protocol forbroodstock brought in from theoutlying islands after a Noda-virus positive sample wasdetected in earlier work. Sincethe quarantine was put in place,the facility is now free of thevirus. So far, the fish haveshown good growth characteris-tics and staff are examining dif-ferent cage culture designs. Aprawn hatchery — with a capac-ity of 10 million post-larvae pro-duction — is being established.Recent trials in Bora Bora

lagoon, involving prawn cageculture for hotel markets nearby,have shown promising results(Fig. 3).

The government is about toundertake a large project initia-tive that aims to transferresearch and development tech-nology to the commercial sector.The programme will be knownas Centre de la Mer. It may, forexample, bulk purchase feedingredients for fish farmers. Thecentre will take over some of theexisting government facilities ona contract basis and will run ini-tially for several years (Fig. 4).

Rangiroa Atoll

Mereani Bellais, manager ofpearl hatchery run by theMinistry of Pearls was ourcounterpart in Rangiroa Atoll.This atoll has one of the world'slargest lagoons, stretching 78kilometers across.

Gauguin Pearl Farm Ltd, is oneof the pearl farms operating onRangiroa. The farm has two mil-lion pearl oysters on its farmand produces about 300,000pearls per year (Fig. 5).

Rangiroa also has a pearl farmerand seeding technician trainingschool. This facility is designedto equip Tahitians with thebroad range of skills needed forpearl farming. Consultant seed-ers also teach students the art ofgrafting pearl oysters, althoughJapanese technicians are stillconsidered among the best inthe trade (Fig. 6).

The government pearl hatcheryis currently undergoing somerefurbishment to a larger com-

Figure 3 (top): Batfish,Platax orbicularis

Figure 4 (middle):Centre de la mer

Figure 5 (bottom):Gauguin Pearl Farm Ltd.


SPC ACTIVITIES

mercial scale as the previouslysmaller research tanks were dif-ficult to manage.

Tropical Fish Tahiti Ltd is thelargest commercial operatorusing the post-larval capturetechnique and has set crest netson the reefs around Rangiroalagoon. About 160 species of

marine fauna are handled. Thecompany has occasionallytrapped and raised edible marinefin fish. For example, there is anabundance of larvae of the cam-ouflage grouper E. polyphekadion(hapuku) during its annualspawning migration. Severalthousand of these fish wereraised to plate size for eating. The

company is also conducting trialswith black-banded mantashrimp. According to chief biolo-gist Emmanuanuel Malpot, staffhave accumulated a high level ofspecialised knowledge in fish lar-vae identification and larval set-tlement cues.

Figure 6: Pearl seeding school

Figure 7: Crest nets

Figure 8: Tropical Fish Ltd.


SPC ACTIVITIES

Eradication of Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), restocking ofNile tilapia (O. niloticus), and improved aquaculture pond management in Nauru

Following the implementationof this project (see SPC FisheriesNewsletter #117), the last activitieswere carried out by SPC'sAquaculture Officer in September,and the final report is being pre-pared. This research wasdesigned to utilise the existingNile tilapia resource to stockgrow-out ponds after eradicat-ing unwanted fish. The researchforms an integral part of a larg-er aquaculture initiative withinthe region, which seeks toaddress the problems of degra-dation caused by Mozambiquetilapia and food security.

The specific objectives of theproject are to:

• develop and trial protocolsfor eradication of unwantedfishes, primarily O. mossam-bicus, in two derelict fresh-water ponds;

• evaluate growth and pro-duction of stocked O. niloti-cus; and

• improve capacity of farmersand government aquaculturestaffs in pond restoration,restocking, feed productionand fish husbandry skills

ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT

Harvesting

The fish harvest in pond 1 wascarried out on 14 September.During the harvest, the water inthe pond was pumped out untilit dropped to a depth of 5 cm.The majority of fish were seinedby a drag net made of shadescreens. Thereafter, all waterwas pumped out and the fishcollected. All fish were washed,counted and transferred to

holding tanks fitted with aera-tion tubes, and placed into sev-eral hapas installed in an adja-cent pond. Fingerlings and frywere also harvested and stockedinto separate hapas. Length andweight of 250 individual fishwere measured.

All fish were kept in holdingfacilities with aeration for purg-ing overnight before sales. Themajority of fish were missing onthe following day, except forfish — which were to be used asfuture broodstock — held incontainers that were transferredto cement tanks at the NauruFisheries and Marine ResourcesAuthority (NFMRA) office.

Harvesting of fish at pond 2 wascarried out on 15 September.The water was pumped out,and all fish were harvested witha push net, then washed andsampled for body weight andlength.

Training

Nauru Fisheries staff, pondowners, and members of thelocal aquaculture associationattended a workshop that pro-vided hands-on training in sein-ing tilapia fingerlings, holdingfish in containers, transporting,counting, acclimatization and

stocking, pond rehabilitation,and management techniques.Simple feed preparation tech-niques were demonstratedincluding hapa, tank and pondhatchery methods. Additionaldemonstrations were given inspawning and juvenile rearing,broodstock management, sim-ple feed production and feedingstrategies, manual sexing, andfish pond management.

RESULTS

The temperature in pond 1ranged from 27–32°C. Salinitywas below 5 ppt, pH rangedfrom 7.85–8.04, and dissolvedoxygen (DO) levels ranged from1.7–5.3 mg/l (see Fig. 1). Theaverage water temperature inpond 2 was 29.4°C, pH was 7.6,and DO was 4.4 mg/l.

The average weight of fish inpond 1 was 41.43 g, and was 71.5gin pond 2 (see Fig. 2). The totalfish yield in pond 1 was 54 kg,and 18.3 kg in pond 2. Survival inpond 1 was close to 100%. Inpond 2, more fish were harvestedthan the number stocked, indicat-ing someone had added morefish. Fish counts were about24/kg in pond 1, and 13/kg inpond 2. The gross feed conversionratio was not calculated as therewere no records of feed kept.

Figure 1: Temperature,salinity, pH and dissolved

oxygen level in pond 1 overthe trial period


SPC ACTIVITIES

Most of the female fish harvest-ed had spawned. About 20,000fry and fingerlings were collect-ed from pond 1, and about 1000fingerlings from pond 2.

Results indicate that a hectare ofpond will yield, on average, 650kg; and 7176 kg in tanks with astocking density of 1 fish/m2

and 6–10 fish/m2, respectively.

There were no O. mossambicus orany other fish observed or har-vested in the ponds, indicatingthe successful eradication ofunwanted fish.

During harvest, the fish —including fry and fingerlings —were seined (Fig. 3), washed andtransferred to holding hapas(Fig. 4) and tanks with almost100% survival. Marketing of theharvested fish was not carriedout as most of the fish were miss-ing from the holding facilities.

The ponds were prepared again(i.e. cleaned and tea seed cakesolution applied, then refilledand restocked with fingerlingsharvested from the ponds).

DISCUSSION

Results show that tea seed cake(and pond de-silting) success-

fully eradicate unwanted fish,especially O. mossambicus andGambusia spp. in ponds. This isimportant as fishpond manage-ment requires the elimination offish competitors or unwantedfish in ponds as part of pondpreparation for stocking withdesired fish. In Nauru, import-ed tea seed cake successfullyeradicated unwanted fish with-out affecting the main crop. Teaseed cake is expensive. Accordingto NFMRA staff, however, thereis a native source of fish toxicantin Nauru that is equally effec-tive as tea seed cake for pondmanagement. A proper scientif-ic assessment of this toxicantshould be carried out, and datasupporting the approval of thistoxicant should be similar tothat for tea seed cake orrotenone. At present, no infor-mation is available on the extentof its use or on its effect onhumans as well as fish. Caution,therefore, should be applied.

Tilapia growth rate was0.35g/day in pond 1, and0.6g/day in pond 2, indicatingthe significant effects of differentstocking densities (pond 1.5fish/m2, and 6.27 fish/m2 in pond2, and a harvest of 10 fish/m2).Growth rates may also have beenaffected by management proto-

cols, fingerling quality, and pro-tein levels in diets. The watertemperature, pH, salinity and DOlevels were within acceptable lev-els for tilapia pond culture.

The feed used in this experi-ment was prepared from avail-able commercial stock feed inNauru, with a crude proteinlevel of 16.5%. It should benoted that supplemental feedswith 25–32% protein are general-ly used, and usually results inaverage weights of approximate-ly 180–250g, and a total produc-tion of 10 t/ha for a stocking rateof 50,000/ha. Expected survivalis 98%. Efforts to develop a bet-ter feed should be continued sothat Nauruan fish farmers canproduce tilapia competitivelyand profitability.

It should be noted that fish sizeobtained at harvest did not dis-courage or dampen the efforts ofNFMFAstaff, as the fish were sim-ilar or bigger in size than some ofthe fish species currently caughtby spear fishing on the reefs.Production of over 7 t/ha frompond 2 is a good result, despitethe poor quality of feed used.

In the experiment, a mixed-sexpopulation of fingerlings (col-lected from a swamp) were cul-tured together and should havebeen harvested before, or soonafter, they reached sexual matu-rity, thereby eliminating or min-imizing recruitment or over-crowding in the pond. A restrict-ed culture period limits the sizeof fish that can be harvested. Inaddition, in mixed-sex culture,tilapia are usually stocked atlow rates to reduce competitionfor food and to promote rapidgrowth. In practice, one to two-month-old, 3–5 g fingerlings arestocked at 20,000–50,000/ha ingrow-out ponds for four to fivemonths. Newly raised fingerlingshould be used because older,stunted fish, such as those usedin this experiment, reach sexualmaturity at a smaller size. If thepresent source of fingerlings is

Figure 2: Average weight of fish from pond 1 and pond 2


SPC ACTIVITIES

used, then manual sexing shouldbe carried out. Manual sexingconsists of separating malesfrom females by visual inspec-tion of the external urogenitalpores. Secondary sex character-stics may also be used to helpdistinguish sex. Reliability ofsexing depends on the skill ofthe workers and fish size.

The technology necessary tobring about significant improve-ments in tilapia yields fromexisting pond structures hasalready been acquired byNFMRA staff. This technologyincludes the use of tea seed cakein eliminating unwanted fish,the use of pumps and excavatorsfor pond improvement, finger-ling collection and transporta-

tion, pond preparation and man-agement, sampling and harvest-ing, and feed preparation andfeeding. Other practices, such asbreeding tilapia in hapas, tanksand ponds, and broodstockmanagement, requires moreresources.

Demonstration farms should beconstructed at districts wherethe Nauru government desirestilapia culture to become estab-lished. Pond 1 should beretained as a demonstrationunit. NRMRA staff should betrained to obtain post-graduatequalifications in freshwateraquaculture, and assigned to thedemonstration unit. Attemptsshould also be made to look intopossibilities of aquaponics.

The government should begin aprogramme of research to deter-mine the types of aquaculturethat will work in Nauru.

The SPC Aquaculture Sectionsincerely appreciates all thosewho contributed to the comple-tion of this project, especially theAustralian Centre for Inter-national Research and SPC forfunding, and to NMFRA and theDepartment of Primary Industriesin Queensland, Australia. TheSection also appreciates theopportunity to participate in thisproject and thanks the pondowners and others who helpedout with this project.

Figure 4: Fingerlingsstocked in hapas

Figure 3: Transferring fishafter seining – Lucky, Ricky,Joe and Satya


SPC ACTIVITIES

Progress report on experimental stocking and community management of tilapiain Lake Satoalepai, Samoa

BACKGROUND

Fishing has always been a majorsource of food, income, recre-ational activity, employment,and various other economicbenefits to the people of Samoa.It is also becoming a very impor-tant developing sector of thefood industry, and the Samoangovernment has made strides totake advantage of this newopportunity by investing ininfrastructure, such as hatch-eries for seed production, inresponse to the growingdemand for fish and fisheryproducts. However, in recentyears, with increased popula-tion and urbanisation, the needto properly manage fisheries hasbeen realized. SPC's Aquacul-ture Officers, while on a pro-gramme visit to Samoa in 2003,were informed by SamoaFisheries Department (SFD) staffthat the inshore fishery is heavi-ly exploited and may not sustaincontinued increases in exploita-tion. They noted that newapproaches to fisheries manage-ment were urgently needed. As aresult, SPC has developed a jointproject between SFD, SPC, theAustralian Centre for Inter-national Agricultural Research(ACIAR), and local communitiesof Matautu District on SavaiiIsland. The goal is to increase fishproduction through by restock-ing Oreochromis niloticus finger-lings in Lake Satoalepai, and bymanaging these stocks throughcommunity co-management.

Fresh fish in Matautu District isan expensive commodity andoften in short supply, and near-by lagoon reef resources aresubject to high fishing pressure.Consequently, inland fisheriesoffer an alternative source offish protein. Fish stocking inLake Satoalepai were carriedout in 1994 and 2003 as part ofthe SFD aquaculture extensionprogramme. Mozambique tilapia

(O. mossambicus) and Nile tilapia(O. niloticus) were introducedinto the lake to enhance fish bio-mass and to increase catches forcommunities. Subsequently,tilapia has become the most sig-nificant component of the lake’sfish population and these intro-duced species have become amajor protein source and incomeearner for local people. O. niloti-cus was imported from Fiji in1996 for aquacultural purposes.SFD officers trialed tilapia grow-out in ponds at Chanel Collegeon Upolu Island, and in pondsand cages in the lake.

The results of the trials are notavailable, although the speciesis now used for stocking pondsand has proven popular amongcommunities in Samoa. In thelake, tilapia are regularly caughtusing gillnets. At present, thereare no controls or regulations oncatching tilapia, and there arealready signs of over exploita-tion. Fishermen are spendinglonger hours to catch tilapia,and the size of those caught issmall (50–100g).

Constraints to the developmentof tilapia culture in the lakeinclude:

• lack of general knowledgeon historical catch records ofmanagement options for thetilapia fishery;

• no controls, regulations orquotas (which has lead toover exploitation); and

• an inconsistent supply oftilapia fingerlings for LakeSafai.

Collaborative work, involvingthe aquaculture sections at SFDand SPC, began as part of a smallgrant to purchase tilapia hatch-ery equipment in December2003. This collaboration hasgrown steadily and SFD now hasthe capacity to produce finger-lings required for stocking thelake. In the past, restockingtilapia was not monitored, andthere were no management con-trols or fish harvesting practicesin place by local communities.SFD staff is considering the estab-lishment of a tilapia stocking pro-gramme in the lake, which willlead to sustainable production offish in the long term.

It is hoped that this study willhelp SFD staff improve theirknowledge of tilapia restocking

Lake Satoalepai, Matautu District


SPC ACTIVITIES

and management and, if suc-cessful, it will reduce reliance onalready overfished marine fishspecies. This project will alsoenable the local community tounderstand tilapia stocking andbecome strong decision makersfor future management and theappropriate and equitable use ofthe lake. The proposed researchforms a part of aquaculture ini-tiatives and activities in theregion, where stocking tilapiafingerlings is a means toincrease fish production, thusleading to food security.

Specific objectives are to:

• evaluate growth performanceand survival of stocked O.niloticus in Lake Satoalepai;

• conduct village consulta-tions to develop a co-man-agement regime for the gov-ernment tilapia restockingprogramme; and

• increase the capacity of SFDstaff in skills for tilapiarestocking, including hatcheryoperation, fingerling grow-out, and fingerling transport.

PROGRESS SO FAR

In late July, SPC's AquacultureOfficer and SPC's CommunityFisheries Officer carried outfield activities with SFD staff.The main activities includedworking with SFD staff to pre-pare fingerlings and facilities,conducting consultations withlake owners (Safai andSatoalepai villagers), and stock-ing tagged tilapia.

Project site

The lake is divided into twoportions by a feeder road pass-ing across the centre of the lake.The lower side is owned bySafai village and the upper sideby Satoalepai village. The lowerside has culverts opening to thesea. The upper side has threeculverts of approximately one-

meter in diameter, allowingwater exchange between tidesand during heavy rainfallbetween the two portions. Thisupper side is the project site,which is about four hectares inarea. The average depth at midlow tide is 40 cm. The bottomhalf of the lake contains rocksand boulders, and the upperhalf is thick with mud and cov-ered with coral pinnacles.

The lake currently has tilapia,mullets, trevallies, prawns andmud crabs, with tilapia being themost abundant species. Fish andcrustaceans are caught mainly bygillnets, spears, and fishing lines.

Lake survey

Visual observations indicatethat O. mossambicus is the mostabundant species. A team com-prising residents from 20 vil-lages, SFD staff and SPC staff,seined portions of the lake usingan old seine net. Several medi-um-sized mullets, trevallies,half-beaks and some O. niloticuswere caught. At the upper endof the lake, members of the teambeat the water, which forced fishinto a waiting gill net. A consid-erable number of O. niloticusand some O. mossambicus werecaught. One reason for fewer

numbers of O. mossambicuscould be because they are small-er in size — about 30% of thesize of O. niloticus — and so mayhave escaped the gillnet, whichhad a mesh size of three inches.

Anight survey of the lake indicat-ed a considerable number offreshwater prawns, Macrobrachiumlar, and an abundance of (possi-bly) Palaemon species. The vil-lagers were unaware of thisresource and requested informa-tion on catching them.

Village consultation

Members of both Safai andSatoalepai villages attendedmeetings organised by the teamand participated in discussions.Villagers informed us that fish-ing in the lake forms an impor-tant source of food and income,and that it had been had beenclosed for the last five months toallow for the recovery of stocks(i.e. the sizes of fishes especiallytilapia caught were small andthus fishing activities werestopped to allow stocks torecover). Key outcomes of dis-cussions are given below:

• Given the importance of thelake in providing food forthe villages, the members

Checking catch from the lake with Satoalepai villagers


SPC ACTIVITIES

acknowledged they werehappy that consultationswere taking place betweenvarious parties in a formalmanner.

• Villagers agreed to partici-pate fully in the project.They have implemented aban to stop all forms of fish-ing for the duration of theproject.

• Villagers would provide(free of charge) support formonitoring, security, sam-pling activities and anyother activities related to theproject.

• Some individuals would likesome form of regulation tomanage the fishery in thelake such as licensing, con-trol of net mesh size, settingclosed seasons, introductionof O. niloticus on a regularbasis, and cage culture.

Fingerling preparationand transport to Lake

Preparations (at Apia) andtransportation (from Apia toLake Satoelepai) of fingerlingswere carried out successfullywith virtually no mortality.

Tagging and releasingof the fingerlings

Tagging (clipping of right pelvicfin) was carried on the banks ofLake Satoalepai with the assis-tance of villagers. Village eldersreleased the first set of taggedfingerlings into the lake. A totalof 9000 fingerlings were taggedand released.

Top: Catch from the lake,small O. mossambicus

and big O. niloticus

Middle: Demonstration oftagging – fin clipping with

aid of a pair of scissors

Bottom: Releasingtagged fingerlings


SPC ACTIVITIES

Sampling

Procedures for carrying outmonthly sampling and relatedactivities will be carried out bySFD staff. The final samplingwill be carried out at the end ofOctober or early to mid-November (after 100–130 days),depending on the maturation offemale fish based on the month-ly sampling data and visualobservations.

Stocking into cages

A sample of tagged fish and asimilar number of O. mossambicuscollected from the lake have beenstocked in two separate cages toprovide comparative results atthe end of the experiments.

Tissue sample collection

Tissues samples from 30 indi-viduals of O. niloticus and O.

mossambicus have been pre-served in 70% ethanol, andthese will be sent to AssociateProf. Peter Mather of theQueensland University of Tech-nology to carry out geneticstudies (i.e. to determinewhether there has been anyintrogression of O. mossambicusgenes with O. niloticus, or viceversa).

Regional women’s training workshop in aquaculture at CETC

BACKGROUND

Women around the PacificIslands region, especially in Fiji,Papua New Guinea, SolomonIslands and Vanuatu, areinvolved in several types ofaquaculture activities. It is gener-ally women who feed the fishand manage the ponds. Yet,aquaculture is almost universal-ly considered men’s work, andwomen’s role has gone largelyunrecognized. Women havealmost no direct access to train-ing or to extension agents, whichwould enable them to acquirethe necessary knowledge toincrease productivity. Very fewparticipants in training coursesaround the region are women,and the number of female exten-sion agents is even lower. Paststudies do not mention (or revealvery little) about women’sinvolvement in aquaculture, andvery few development projectreports make specific referencesto women’s participation.

The Community EducationTraining Centre (CETC) atNarere, Fiji was established inthe 1960s. It contributes to SPC'sSocial Resources Division's mis-sion to “maximize the develop-ment potential of Pacific Islandpeople in health, culture andinformation, and enhances theempowerment of women andyoung people". CETC conductsvarious trainings for women,and at present, a seven-month,

live-in training programme for35 female community workersfrom the region is underway.The programme will focus onvarious skills and knowledge incommunity development, usingnon-formal, practical, participa-tory methods of learning.

According to Dr Lia Maka, theHead of CETC, women haveproven to be competent inadopting new technologies, buttheir role tends to be veryrestricted, and often ignored inPacific Island countries. One ofthe major reasons is the locationof their homes, villages andfarms, and several socioculturaltaboos against women whostrive to earn for their family’ssubsistence in rural and peri-urban areas. To ensure thatwomen utilise their full potentialin profitable activities, it is neces-sary to provide capacity build-ing support to women, whichwill eventually lead to theirempowerment. One such activi-ty — backyard fish farming —offers immense scope forimproving the livelihood of ruralwomen. In response, CETC hasestablished a demonstration fishculture facility with the intentionthat it will give some practicaltips for the dissemination of fishfarming technology, particularlyfor rural women. SPC'sAquaculture Section helpedestablish this project in mid-2006, and as a follow-up, theAquaculture Officer conducted a

week-long training course inOctober in basic aquaculture.Thirty-one regional participantsattended this workshop.

The overall objectives of theworkshop were to:

• provide participants with anoverview of aquaculture inPacific Island countries;

• outline basic tilapia biology,including environmentalrequirements, seed produc-tion, and simple broodstockmanagement methods; and

• describe and demonstratetilapia hatchery and pondgrow-out technology, fishhandling, including pondsite selection and construc-tion, and simple farm busi-ness plans.

Lectures were conducted in themornings followed by practicalsessions in the. Lecture topicsincluded:

• Aquaculture in Pacific Islandcountries and territories(past and present).

• Basic biology and environ-mental requirements oftilapia.

• Tilapia seed production tech-nology, larval rearing, andgrowth.


SPC ACTIVITIES

• Pond site selection (soil,water and topography, andpond construction)

• Pond preparation.

• Feed, feeding and fertiliza-tion, pond management,sampling and harvesting.

• Tilapia diseases and quaran-tine protocols/requirementsfor introductions.

• Simple farm business plans.

Practical sessions included fish han-dling, sex identification, checkingthe maturity condition of femalefish, measuring length and weightof fish, pond preparation, installinghapas and fed trays, feeding meth-ods, counting and packing finger-lings, developing pond models,and preparing simple feeds.

Exercises and assignmentsincluded determining stockingdensities, feeding ratios andamounts, and calculating capitaland operating costs, includingprofits. Participants were divid-ed into groups to make presenta-tions. At the end, a course evalu-ation was carried out wherebyparticipants commented onwhat they liked and dislikedabout the workshop, includingany other comments they had.

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The status of tilapia aquaculturedevelopment varies from coun-try to country, and in somecountries it is non-existent.Overall, participants recognizethat tilapia aquaculture is anemerging technology that is try-ing to establish its foundation inPacific Island countries.

In Fiji and Papua New Guinea,where tilapia culture has beenestablished, women havebecome involved at some levels,but the degree of recognitionand opportunities for training islimited, even though womencommonly perform the routineactivities of pond management.

Participants recognize that theinformation and knowledgegained from the workshop isstill far from complete. Theywould like to see the women thedevelopment of simple tilapiapond pilot projects in theirrespective countries.

Training and education isrequired at all levels in order toincrease the opportunities forwomen's participation in theeconomic sector with particularattention given to training inbasic activities and extension inlocations where women areactive producers.

Information prepared and dis-tributed for aquaculture proj-ects, including in-countryopportunities for attendingtrainings, should reflect the par-ticipation of women at all levels.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

SPC's Aquaculture Sectionthanks CETC's previous and cur-rent management for establish-ing an aquaculture demonstra-tion facility for women and oth-ers in the region. Specials thanksare also due to Aminiasi Driu,Aliti Sema (CETC staff), and oth-ers for their support and assis-tance during the demonstrationproject and the workshop.

Top: Examination of maturitycondition in female tilapia – ademonstration

Bottom: “ready to spawn” –female maturity condition dis-played by Aunofo Mohetufrom Tonga, reconfirmedafter dissection

NEARSHORE FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING SECTION


SPC ACTIVITIES

Tuna loining workshop and training needs assessment in New Caledonia

Adding value to tuna caught bydomestic fishing vessels isincreasingly popular in thePacific. One way of doing this isto prepare chilled or frozenquarter-loins for export to theEuropean Union or USA mar-kets. Last September, NewCaledonia called upon the serv-ices of the SPC Nearshore Fish-eries Development and TrainingSection to address some train-ing needs in that area that wererecently identified followingconsultations with local tunaprocessors and exporters. Atraining strategy was developedby Section staff in collaborationwith relevant institutions inNoumea (e.g. Le bureau desPêches de la Direction duDéveloppement Rural de laprovince Sud, and the NewCaledonia Foreign InvestmentsOffice – ADECAL). The strategyincluded the development of apartnership with seafood pro-cessing specialists from the Fare

Tautai, a fisheries training insti-tution in Tahiti. Claude Davio,director of Fare Tautai andPatrick Gaboriaud, an experi-enced fish processor and trainerfrom a private Tahitian seafoodcompany, came to Noumea inSeptember to assist the localtuna processing industry.

During the first three days oftheir mission, Claude andPatrick conducted a workshopat the processing plant of thecompany PESCANA. Trainingtargeted local fish cutters andfocused on loining methods foralbacore tuna, and was aimed atimproving the efficiency andsafety of local fish cutters. (Thefirst SPC tuna loining workshopwas held in Fiji Islands in July1999 and a comprehensivedescription of the Tahitian methodfor quarter-loining albacore tunacan be found in FisheriesNewsletter #90). The fish cutters,quality and process supervisor,

and the company manager wereall pleased with the high-quali-ty training delivered by theTahitian tutors at the workshop.It is expected that as an outcomeof the workshop, fish cutterswill obtain greater yields, there-by increasing the profitability ofthis tuna processing operation.

After the workshop, Claude andPatrick used the last three days oftheir trip to carry out a rapidassessment of the training needsof the Noumea-based tuna pro-cessing industry. Various visits tolocal fish exporters, seafoodprocessors and retailers, as wellas meetings with fisheries admin-istrations and training institu-tions were organised. Among thepriority needs identified duringthis survey was training in tunahandling for vessel crew and thedevelopment of a fish cuttingcourse for new entrants into theindustry.

Onboard training of Soltai pole-and-line crew for the PNG tuna tagging project

SAFETY SURVEY

A tuna tagging project in PapuaNew Guinea required upgrad-ing the fishing vessel Soltai 6 inNoro, Solomon Islands. Improve-ments included a full makeoverof the wheelhouse, galley,accommodation area, a topoverhaul of engine roommachinery, and an upgrade ofthe wheelhouse electronics. Anoffice unit was built and placedon the aft bridge deck to providea working space for scientists tocarry out tuna tagging datacompilation and processing; aflat platform was also built tohouse the vessel’s aluminiumwork dinghy. SPC’s Fisheries

Development Officer wasrequested to provide advice tothe vessel’s officers regardingappropriate actions to be takenin order to have proper equip-

ment and safety measures inplace for a ship safety survey.

Safety and comfort were fore-most considerations throughout

Figure 1: Soltai 6 at Noroduring upgrading work


SPC ACTIVITIES

the renovation, but proved to bea challenge to implement on a28-m vessel that is required toaccommodate 29 personnel andfive scientists. The SOLTAICompany, however, has a shore-based operation (including aJapanese supervisor) that is setup to undertake such tasks, andhas tradesmen that are quiteproficient in carrying out therenovations. The main difficultyturned out to be the time framein which to complete all tasks.

Safety and sea survival upgradeswere also made at the same timebecause of the institutionalisedregulations that govern equip-ment and requirements for safe-ty standards of a vessel the sizeof the Soltai 6 on internationalvoyages.

These safety regulations focus on:

• the manning structure of thevessel to ensure that appro-priately qualified personnelare in place to carry out safewatch keeping and ship han-dling requirements;

• the safety equipment surveyto ensure that the vessel isappropriately equipped withfire fighting equipment andsea survival gear to counterdisasters such as fires, flood-ing, and sinking;

• sea survival compliance toensure that appropriate lifesaving equipment isonboard in case the crewneeds to abandon ship;

• navigation and bridgeequipment conducive to thevessel's operations as well asto provide the best possiblemeans of ensuring safe navi-gation and fishing opera-tions;

Figure 2 a, b, & c: All systemsworking during first baitingand fishing operations

a

b

c


SPC ACTIVITIES

• medical supplies consistentwith the manning structureand class of vessel;

• engine room condition withspecial attention to the opera-tional conditions of the mainengine, gear box, auxiliaries,generators, bilge pumps,bilge valves, bilge alarms,valves in the fire main sys-tems, and piping arrange-ments; and

• the condition of the ship’shull, casings, superstructure,hatch coaming, companion-ways and bulwarks.

All tasks were addressed simul-taneously, but systematically.The primary aim was to lay outa plan of action so that workcould progress without havingto repeat jobs or get in the wayof other work being carried out.Fortunately, the Japanese super-visor had good onsite manage-ment skills and was able todirect operations effectively.

The main concern for SPC'sFisheries Development Officerwas ensuring that the appropri-ate equipment listed in theSolomon Islands marine surveyform was in place onboardbefore the marine survey actual-ly took place. Attention wasgiven to making certain that theappropriate fire extinguisherswere installed in the correct com-partments (i.e. CO2 fire extin-guishers were installed inenclosed compartments, drypowder extinguishers near elec-trical areas, and foam extin-guishers in the engine room).The bridge electronics equip-ment was tested, including com-piling the necessary Mercatorcharts to cover all the areas thatwould be frequented by the ves-sel during the tuna tagging proj-ect. Special attention was givento acquiring the large-scalecharts to cover the baiting

grounds as well as the small-scale regional charts for transito-ry travel. The vessel had to beequipped with a country of reg-istry flag (flown on the aft mastof the vessel), the flag of thecountry(s) to be visited (flownon the port wing of the topmast), as well as all alphabet andsignalling flags (flown on thestarboard wing of the top mast)listed under the internationalcode of signals. The vessel’sname and port of registry had tobe stencilled onto liferings andliferafts, and two liferafts —capable of holding 25 personseach — were installed to providefor the full ship’s complement.

Three days before the end of therenovations, two marine sur-veyors from the SolomonIslands marine departmentbegan carrying out the finalexaminations. The engine roomsurvey concluded satisfactorilyafter the first survey day, withonly minor infringements thatwere easily rectified. The decksurvey, however, had to be con-ducted progressively with otherwork being undertakenonboard. But this was success-fully completed on the daybefore departure and the sur-veyors endorsed the vessel’ssafety certificate as "fit for inter-national trade".

PORT CLEARANCE AND FOREIGNVESSEL MOVEMENT PROTOCOL

Although the deck officers,engineers and crew of Soltai 6were fully competent to "man"the vessels in the fleet, andcapable of expediently carryingout successful pole-and-linefishing operations within theSolomon Islands, they lackedexperience in conducting fish-ing operations in foreign watersand were not familiar with for-eign vessel movement protocol.This protocol basically involvesvessel clearance at port of entry,vessel responsibilities while inforeign waters, and vessel clear-ance at secondary ports. SPC'sFisheries Development Officerwas given the task of briefingthe officers on the standard pro-tocol measures to be carried outat each port of entry and eachport of call.

The Soltai 6’s first port of entryin Papua New Guinea wasRabaul. At least 24 hours priorto arrival, the captain of Soltai 6was coached in how to informthe Rabaul Harbour Master ofthe vessel's estimated time ofarrival (ETA) at the pilot station.The ship's agent was also con-tacted to arrange for all portclearance formalities, whichincludes clearance for immigra-

Figure 3: Approaching Rabaulharbour for clearance


SPC ACTIVITIES

tion, customs, health, and quar-antine and agriculture, as wellas port dues.

Normally a shipping agent atthe destination port is engagedwell before the vessel arrives.The agent arranges for the ves-sel’s arrival and liaises with thevessel’s skipper and owner (orcharterer) on the arrangementsbeing carried out. On arrival ata port of entry, the skipper pro-ceeds directly to the pilot sta-tion and informs the port mas-ter’s office of the vessel's ETA atthe pilot station. All foreign ves-sels are obliged by law toengage a harbour pilot to guideand berth the vessel safely tothe arrival port unless specialexemption is issued by the portmaster’s office; however, a pilotfee is charged whether there is apilot on board or not.

On arrival at the pilot station,the ship's officers must ensurethat the vessel is flying the flagof the vessel's country of reg-istry on the aft flagstaff, a flag ofthe country of destination onthe port arm of the mainflagstaff, a "Q" code yellow flagdenoting "my vessel is healthy Irequest free pratique" on theoutside of the starboard arm ofthe main flagstaff; and a "G"code flag denoting "I require a

pilot" on the inside of the star-board arm of the main flagstaff.The G flag is lowered andreplaced by an "H" code flagonce the pilot has boarded thevessel. The H code flag signals"I have a pilot on board".

At the quarantine clearance sta-tion the vessel is boarded byrepresentatives of immigration,customs, port health, and thequarantine section of the agri-culture department. Here theskipper goes through thetedious role of filling out formsand signing declarations. He isalso briefed on special areas ofconcern and additional clear-ance measures that are part ofthe country's statutory laws. InPapua New Guinea, the lawsrequire that the vessel gothrough all clearance proce-dures at its first port of entry inthe country; after that, at eachport of call within the country,the vessel’s skipper must notifythe port's local authorities oftheir arrival and departure.

The SPC Fisheries DevelopmentOfficer informed the skipperand officers of the Soltai 6 that itwould be prudent to know allthe necessary details of portclearance before travelling tothe country of destination. Thiswould enable the skipper to

request the ship's agents at thedestination port to forward allthe necessary clearance paperswell before hand and to have allforms filled out before arrivingat the port of entry. The experi-ence at Rabaul served the ship'sofficers well and contributed totheir development as ship's offi-cers.

SPECIALISED NAVIGATIONALSKILLS TO TRANSIT BAITINGGROUNDS AT ANY TIME

The skipper and officers ofSoltai 6 were familiar with thebaiting grounds in the SolomonIslands because most of themhave spent their entire workinglife in the pole-and-line indus-try there. However, when dis-cussing baiting grounds inPapua New Guinea, the skipperand chief officer said theywould need time to familiarisethemselves with the passages tomost of these baiting grounds,and so they would prefer thebaiting grounds to be visitedduring daylight hours and toreturn before dusk. Most of thebest baiting grounds areunmarked with navigationalaids, beacons or lights.

Being a successful pole-and-lineskipper requires good naviga-tional skills that will enable himto transit passages and baitinggrounds at any time of the dayor night, whether the passagesare marked or unmarked. Thisgives the skipper the advantageof being at the fishing ground atthe break of dawn and gives himmore fishing time throughoutthe day if the morning operationisn’t successful. Modern tech-nology has given skippers anadvantage to achieve this withrelevant ease if they know howto use the equipment well. Theglobal positioning satellite sys-tem (GPS) and differential GPSare cherished modern equip-

Figure 4: Transiting AlbatrossChannel in New IrelandProvince, Papua New Guinea


SPC ACTIVITIES

ment that enable the skipper toachieve this but in some cases,the negotiation of passages andcourse ways to and from thebaiting ground requires moreprecision. A relatively new tech-nology will be a boon to all pole-and-line skippers once itbecomes readily available to theindustry. This is the electronicchart display and informationsystem (ECDIS), which is a realtime navigational system thatworks off an electronic chart. Itprovides significant benefits interms of navigational safety andimproved operational efficiency.ECDIS is one of two basic typesof electronic chart systems but isthe only one that complies withthe International MaritimeOrganization's requirements forSafety at Life at Sea (SOLAS)class vessels. However, to givethe Soltai 6's skipper the bestoptions with the equipment hehas on board, SPC’s FisheriesDevelopment Officer intro-duced him and his chief officer

to precision navigation usingthe ship's radar system andmatching this with echosounder and GPS plots.

Before approaching a baitingground or when navigatingthrough passages with unmarkednavigation hazards, the skippermust peruse his chart thoroughlyand lay off preset courses andpre-marked curves from clearlyidentifiable radar targets, such asland points and islands. If thereis a target that can give a goodcurve entry for a passageentrance then this makes it easierto transit, otherwise the skippermust constantly mark his way inand out of the passage using pre-set position lines or using radartransit targets, if available, inconjunction with a GPS plottingsystem. In most cases, the pas-sages have good targets thatenable a curved entry and depar-ture. This is more precise andsafer than following GPS tracksin and out of the passage.

Following GPS in and out of apassage is adequate if the pas-sage is wide enough to allow forerrors, but if narrower passagesare tackled, then following theGPS tracks can pose a problem.However, one of the preparatorystages for using the radar marksis to test the marks out duringdaylight to adjust for any errors.Once the skipper has set a saferadar mark for transiting the pas-sages, he can confidentlymanoeuvre his way to the baitinggrounds.

During the first four baitingoperations, this navigationaltechnique was passed on to theskipper and chief officer untilthey were confident enough tonegotiate new grounds on theirown. To date, the skipper of theSoltai 6 has continued to negoti-ate baiting grounds with easeand has added new baitinggrounds to his list.

Fifteen priority issues for the tuna industry in Melanesia

The DevFish meeting for tunaindustry participants from Fiji,Papua New Guinea, SolomonIslands and Vanuatu was held inLami, Fiji from 4–6 September.

The key theme resulting fromdiscussions was the need forPacific Island states to maxi-mize the economic benefitsderived from their tunaresources. A concerted strategyto achieve this goal needs to beadopted. The development ofstrategies for domestic industrydevelopment is a major objec-tive of the DevFish Project, anda regional framework is beingdeveloped by the Pacific IslandsForum Fisheries Agency as partof its current annual work plan.

Addressing the problems inmore detail, the meeting identi-fied 15 priority areas, whichwere ranked in approximate

order of importance (using ascoring system). Many of thesecould be addressed in thebroader regional strategy.

1. A coordinated approach toseafood safety and sanitaryissues

Seafood safety and sanitary con-trols were recognized as crucial tosecuring access to major overseasmarkets. The meeting stronglysupported the idea of a coordi-nated approach (by countries inthe region) to seafood safety andsanitary issues, particularly withregards to requirements forexport to the European Union.This could include harmonizedregulations and standards,regional training of inspectors,and centralized laboratory facili-ties for testing samples.

Noting that teams from the 8thEuropean Development Fund'sStrengthing Fishery Productsand Health Conditions projectwould be visiting the regionwithin the next few weeks toidentify the need for EU fundedassistance in this area, the meet-ing agreed it would be wise toawait the outcome of this visitbefore deciding what furtheraction by the regional agencieswould be necessary.

2. Sea freight and air freightservices and costs

The meeting identified the highcost and often monopolisticnature of air and sea freightservices as a major constraint tothe development of the tunaindustry. It was noted, however,that there have been recentstudies on these issues, andthere were no easy short-term


SPC ACTIVITIES

solutions. On the other hand,development of the industrywill lead to economies of scaleand high fuel costs increasinglyfavoured countries near to theresource. It was felt that itwould be useful to carry out astudy on the competitiveadvantage of the private sectortuna industry in the region anddevelop a strategy to improvecompetitiveness. DevFish willundertake this activity.

3. Fuel efficiency andalternative fuels for tunafishing vessels

High fuel costs have greatlyreduced the profitability of tunafishing in the region, and thereare both economic and environ-mental reasons for reducing con-sumption of petroleum products.Many of the vessels in the regionare old and inefficient, and werebuilt in an era of cheap fuel.Several countries in the regionalso produce large volumes ofcoconut and/or palm oil withpotential for use as bio-fuels.

The meeting noted that the fish-ing industry in Papua NewGuinea has requested a techni-cal assessment of options for thelongline fleet from the Centrefor Development of Enterprise.If and when this is carried out,DevFish will make the reportavailable to other interestedfishing companies, and will fol-low up as appropriate.

4. Strengthening the PacificIslands Tuna IndustryAssociation (PITIA)

The meeting agreed that theneed for strong representationof the tuna industry's positionon regional issues had, if any-thing, increased since the 2004meeting at which PITIA wasformed. There has been someprogress in formalizing theassociation’s status — registra-tion, a constitution, and bylaws— but there had still been nomeeting of the membership or

election of office bearers. It wasnoted that some national associ-ations also needed strengthen-ing in order to feed effectivelyinto the PITIA process.

The following course of actionwas supported:

• Use of CDE funding of 5,000to engage the chairman ofthe PITIA steering committeeto develop a strategic plan;

• The application to CDE forfunding of ¤50,000 for PITIAoperations, with comple-mentary funding of 33%from the Global Environ-ment Facility project provid-ed in kind;

• Funding of a general meet-ing of fishing industry asso-ciation heads to, inter alia,review the strategic plan andelect office bearers (to befunded by DevFish);

• Continuing support fornational associations byDevFish.

5. Specific proposals from thetuna industry for incorporationinto the Economic PartnershipAgreement and FisheryPartnership Agreementnegotiating process

It was noted that the negotiationprocess for the Economic Part-nership Agreement providedopportunities to negotiate forEU assistance that could directlybenefit the tuna industry,including funding to improvecompetitiveness, and reorgani-zation of CDE and EIB pro-grammes to make them moreresponsive to the needs of thePacific Islands. It was alsolearned that significant elementsof the Pacific Islands' position onfisheries access for EU vesselshad not been discussed with keyindustry players.

The Forum Secretariat represen-tative to the meeting noted the

views of industry participants.ForSec, working with PITIA,will increase efforts to informthe region’s tuna industry onkey issues before the Novembermeeting of Trade and FisheriesMinisters, so that they can haveinput into the positions of theirnational delegations to thisimportant meeting.

6. Development of a strongindustry position on key tradeissues, including tariffpreferences into the EU market,relaxation of the rules of origin,and new efforts to secure dutyfree access for canned tuna intothe US market

The importance of tariff prefer-ences, particularly for canningand loining operations export-ing to the EU, was stressed.Increased opportunities foronshore processing would beincreased by relaxation of therules of origin, allowing proces-sors to source raw material fromany fleet fishing in the region.Efforts to link market access tofishing access in the US tunatreaty have so far been unsuc-cessful, although the US doesprovide concessions to othercountries.

FFA will widely circulate the rel-evant results of its study ontrade and market access toinform industry and govern-ments of the key issues. As notedunder point 5, input from indus-try into the EPA process pro-vides an important opportunityto move forward on these issues.

7. The high cost of regionalregistration and VMS fordomestic vessels

Participants from Fiji raised theissue of the high charges leviedby FFA for regional registrationand participation in the regionalvessel monitoring system (VMS)scheme — more than USD2,000per year. This is a significant costfor local industry, particularlyfor smaller longliners that fish


SPC ACTIVITIES

only in Fiji waters. The high costcompares unfavourably withcharges levied on the domesticindustry in New Zealand for asimilar service (USD117 per ves-sel per year), and may affect thefleets of other Pacific Islandcountries that do not have theirown VMS for domestic vessels.

FFA officials noted the concern,but explained that the organiza-tion was committed to full costrecovery on these services. It waspointed out that the decision toinclude domestic vessels that didnot fish outside Fiji waters in thescheme was an internal matterdecided by the Fiji Governmentand not a regional requirement.If Fiji preferred to set up adomestic VMS system to coverthese vessels, registration withFFA would not be necessary.

8. Strengthened regionalefforts in monitoring,control and surveillance

The importance of regionalcooperation to increase the effec-tiveness of monitoring, controland surveillance was recog-nized. Industry representativesbelieved that illegal, unreportedand unregulated (IUU) fishingrepresents a major threat to theregion’s tuna resources andundermines stock assessmentsand management measures.

FFA staff informed participantsof a number of initiatives (e.g.sharing of VMS data, jointenforcement patrols under theNiue treaty, and training andcoordination of observer pro-grammes) that help to addressthe issue, but acknowledgedthat more needs to be done. Aproject to reduce IUU fishing isalso a priority for EU fundingproposals under EDF10.

9. Greater transparency inaccess agreements andvessel licensing

It was noted that greaterexchange of information on

access agreements would gener-ally benefit Pacific Island coun-tries in their dealings with dis-tant-water fishing interests, andthat transparency would help toeliminate corruption. Disclosureof licensing arrangements todomestic operators was alsoimportant for the detection ofillegal fishing.

Although certain countries seemto prefer secrecy in access mat-ters, the trend is towards greatertransparency; for example, allEU access agreements can befound on the Internet. FFA isalso becoming more involved inbilateral negotiations. Greatertransparency will be proposedin the strategy for responsibledevelopment of the region’sfisheries, which is being pre-pared for approval by membercountries as part of the FFAwork programme for 2006–2007.

10. Port State measures toprevent IUU fishing

The meeting observed thatsome ports in the region, suchas Suva, are used by many fish-ing vessels that fish on the highseas and in neighbouring zones.It is important that economicbenefits of port calls, or thedemand for fish for local pro-cessing plants, does not takeprecedence over national obli-gations to prevent IUU fishing.

Participants were informed thatFFA continues to provide train-ing for authorized officers in allPacific Island member countrieson dock-side boarding andprosecution of offences and isalso assisting with the reviewand updating of national legis-lation to reflect internationalobligations. The meeting sup-ported further strengthening ofnational capacity in this area.

11. Use of carbon monoxidein tuna products

The meeting discussed a propos-al that suggested the use of CO in

tuna products should be bannedacross the region. It was arguedthat this process is alreadybanned in many importing coun-tries, allows the misrepresenta-tion of stale fish as fresh, and willundermine the reputation of pro-ducers across the region. On theother hand, some participantsfelt that it is a genuine value-adding process that allows theexport of sashimi grade frozenfish without the use of ultra-lowtemperature, and should be per-mitted as long as major exportmarkets (e.g. USA and Australia)demand it. There may also be adistinction between use of indus-trial CO gas and so-called odour-less smoke processes that deliverlower concentrations of CO.

The meeting agreed that the useof CO should be closely moni-tored by the responsible authori-ties in different countries, andthat changes in the policy ofimporting countries should besimilarly monitored and com-plied with.

12. Crewing of vessels byPacific Island nationals

The meeting noted that the tunaindustry in many countriesemployed large numbers ofcrew from outside the region,and that efforts should be madeto increase the employment ofPacific Islanders to retain eco-nomic benefits in the region.

13. A coordinated approachto bycatch issues

The meeting was briefed onmoves by the Western andCentral Pacific Fisheries Com-mission to mitigate the impactof tuna fisheries on otherspecies, notably sharks and tur-tles. There is likely to be pres-sure for a ban on shark finning,and perhaps for the compulsoryuse of large circle hooks to pre-vent hooking of turtles.

The meeting was informed of astudy on the economic impact


SPC ACTIVITIES

of a shark finning ban, whichhas been commissioned by FFA.The tuna fishing industry wasasked to cooperate with the con-sultant carrying out this work.National industry associationsand PITIA will work to developa common industry position onthese issues.

14. Depredation by whales

The meeting considered theproblem of depredation bywhales, which one companyestimates to result in the loss of6–7% of catches in Fiji waters.Previous meetings have recom-mended closer monitoring ofthese losses, including modifi-cation of the standard regionallogsheet, but these have notbeen actioned. No representa-

tive from the Pacific Islands willattend the upcoming meeting inBritish Columbia on the issue.

The meeting suggested that theregional agencies should moni-tor international developmentsin quantifying and tackling theproblem. An offer fromSolander (Fiji) to assist anyresearch scientist interested instudying the issue was noted.

15. A possible multilateralagreement for longline accessbetween Pacific Islandcountries

This was rated the lowest prior-ity by meeting participants.Most industry participants fromFiji have made satisfactorybilateral access arrangements

for their vessels, and there iscurrently no demand for accessinto neighbouring zones fromother Melanesian countries.Concern was also expressedover eligibility to participate inthe agreement, which could actas a backdoor for foreign ownedand controlled vessels to gainaccess to fisheries reserved forlocals.

The meeting was informed,however, that there is a trend forcountries to close their zones toaccess arrangements, whichmay restrict domestic fleetsmore in future; also there ismore interest in such anarrangement in countries to thesoutheast of the region.

In brief

• A refresher Start Your Fish-ing Business (SYFB) trainingof trainers (TOT) course wasconducted at Santo, in July.The course, which was deliv-ered by two master trainersfrom Papua New Guinea,was attended by 2 SolomonIslands and 11 Vanuatu train-ers. By successfully complet-ing the TOT process, the par-ticipants are now officiallyrecognized as national train-ers under the InternationalLabour Organization (ILO)certification framework. Thisrefresher TOT course alsomarked the completion ofSPC's and the Common-wealth Secretariat’s assistanceto Vanuatu and the SolomonIslands in the area of smallfishing business manage-ment. The onus is now placedon local institutions and train-ers to market and deliver theSYFB training programme in-country. With funding fromthe Commonwealth Secretariat,the Training Section will becoordinating (in 2007) a sec-ond sub-regional SYFB train-ing programme that will aim

at establishing a network ofILO-accredited trainers inSamoa, Tonga, the CookIslands, Niue and Kiribati.This sub-regional project fol-lows the training needsassessment, which was con-ducted earlier this year in thesame countries. The initialTOT course is tentativelyscheduled for February 2007in Apia, Samoa.

• The third regional course onvessel operations manage-ment and electronic aids forcommercial fishing skippersran from 2–13 October at theNew Zealand School of Fish-eries. This training, whichwas attended by 10 partici-pants from 8 countries andterritories, has followed asimilar programme to that ofprevious courses, with a com-bination of classroom-basedsessions, presentations onspecific topics by relevantguest speakers from theNelson-based fishing indus-try, and field visits. The coursewas jointly sponsored by thegovernments of Australia,

France and New Zealand andthe European Union throughthe DEVFISH project. Moreon this training course in thenext issue of the FisheriesNewsletter.

• Fisheries Development OfficerSteve Beverly left Noumea on15 October to conduct an in-country project in Papua NewGuinea until the middle ofDecember. The main projectobjective will be to provideonboard training and specificadvice to improve the prof-itability of domestic tunalonglining operations. Stevewill do several trips on locallongliners in order to observecurrent fishing practices andonboard handling methods.Ways in which these could beimproved will be highlightedin a report that will be sub-mitted to the PNG NationalFisheries Authority. Thereport will also identify stepsthat domestic operators needto take in order to implementany proposed changes. A sec-ondary objective of this proj-ect will be for Steve to assist

OCEANIC FISHERIES PROGRAMME


SPC ACTIVITIES

the Port Moresby GameFishing Club and the Euro-pean Union’s Rural CoastalFisheries Development Project(RCFDP) in site surveys, rig-ging, and deployment of sixfish aggregation devices(FADs) in the Central Provincewaters. Details on the imple-mentation phase of this proj-ect will be reported in thenext issue of the FisheriesNewsletter.

• Fisheries Development OfficerWilliam Sokimi will travel toOkinawa, Japan, early inNovember to take part in aregional course organised bythe Japan InternationalCooperation Agency (JICA).The course, “Community-Based Fisheries Diversificationin Pacific Island States”, willrun from 30 October to 8

December. Using the experi-ence of fishing associations inOkinawa, the course willexplore a range of possiblealternatives to the increasingof fishing pressure on reefresources. Following arequest from JICA, SPC hasagreed to release the FisheriesDevelopment Officer for a 10-day period to provide someteaching inputs into thecourse. In addition to present-ing SPC’s past and currentFAD initiatives, William willalso coordinate a session onnational FAD programmes inthe region. During the course,participants will be exposedto some innovative FAD tech-nology, including the use ofsubmerged FADs (it is hopedthat a FAD will be rigged anddeployed as a training exer-cise). Further collaboration

between SPC and JICA isbeing discussed as theOkinawa course is the firstcomponent of a three-yeartraining programme fundedby JICA. While the exact con-tent of future courses (in 2007and 2008) has not yet beendecided, it is possible they willfocus on FAD technologiesand programmes, in whichcase the Section could play aleading role in the training.

• A video/DVD to promote at-sea tuna loining and freezingoperations was finalizedduring the reporting period.The video/DVD was pro-duced in both French andEnglish and, at the end of thereporting period, distribu-tion had begun.

Regional Tuna Tagging ProjectPhase 1: Papua New Guinea

INITIAL RESULTS

We presented this project and itsobjectives in Fisheries Newsletter#117. The initial tagging cam-paign began on 12 August andended on 12 November whenthe F/V Soltai 6 returned to itshome port of Noro, located onthe island of Munda in theSolomon Islands. Preliminaryresults after the first two monthsof catching tuna in the BismarckSea are presented below.

THE SHIP

Pole-and-line fishing, using livebait, is the only way to catchand then rapidly release a largenumber of tuna with a mini-mum amount of stress. Thisfishing technique, which wasstill widespread in Papua NewGuinea in the early 1980s, hasnow disappeared in favour ofseine net fishing, which is more

profitable and does not rely onfodder fish near the fishinggrounds. So, for this taggingcampaign in the waters ofPapua New Guinea, we char-tered the Soltai 6, a 27-metre,pole-and-line vessel, from thelast shipping company in theregion to use such vessels (i.e.Soltai F&PL, based in theSolomon Islands).

Certain indispensable renova-tions and additions were need-ed to adapt the boat to its newmission (e.g. bringing the 10-person crew accommodationsup to date so as to comfortablyhouse six scientists; renovatingthe kitchen and adding a fridge,freezer and washing machine;and installing a small prefabunit on the upper deck to serveas a data-entry station and aplace to store tagging materi-als). Next to this “office”, wetook on a four-metre aluminium

dingy. Three tagging tableswere made in the shipping com-pany’s workshops and installedon board (i.e. two at the Soltai6’s prow and one at the poop).The length of this expeditionand the ship’s distance from itshome port did, of course, meanthat the engines and navigationand safety equipment had to beoverhauled.

THE TRIP

After the normal race againsttime to get the boat ready and amoving departure ceremony, theSoltai 6 left Noro on the afternoonof 12 August and headed forRabaul, the port where entry pro-cedures for Papua New Guineawere carried out after two daysof uneventful sailing.

After another two days of gov-ernment paperwork and fillingup on fuel, water and food, we


SPC ACTIVITIES

left Rabaul to begin the real work(i.e. catching and tagging at least15,000 tuna in three months).

In order to ensure the widestdistribution of tagged tuna pos-sible, the boat went nearly theentire way around the BismarckSea in two months’ time.

FISHING

The key to this kind of fishing ishaving enough live bait such assardines, anchovies or othersmall fish, to attract schools oftuna encountered at sea andkeep them near the boat. Ifthere's no bait, then no fishingcan take place, and therefore, notagging is possible. The bait iscaught near land in shelteredbays or lagoons. Papua NewGuinea benefits from a largenumber of favourable sites forthis type of fishing. The fish areattracted at night using strongunderwater lights around theboat and then caught in “bouke-ami” nets. The fish are thenstored in holding pens. Themoon has a strong influence onthe effectiveness of the fishingmethod as its light sharplydecreases the fish’s attraction tothe underwater lights, making itimpossible to use the methodduring the full moon. So, theboat uses those unproductivetime periods to take on suppliesand give the crew a bit of rest.

When the boat gets near aschool of tuna, the bait isthrown into the water to attractthe predators (tuna) to the boat.

Water is sprayed on the surface ofthe ocean to mask the fishers fromthe tuna and the fish are caughtusing lures moved around onfishing poles.

Top: Departure from Noro

Middle: Soltai 6’s itineraryfrom 12/08/06 to 03/10/06

Bottom: Bait fishing


SPC ACTIVITIES

TAGGING

Regular tags

Regular tags are coloured plas-tic tubes stamped with a num-ber and an address. The head ofthe tag is equipped with a nylonbarb, which is inserted inbetween the bones locatedunder the tuna’s second dorsalfin using a stainless steel appli-cator. The tags, already in theirapplicators, are lined up in lotsof 100 on wooden blocks withnumbered holes.

After the fish are caught, they aretaken to a tagging table. If thefish doesn’t have any seriousinjuries, it is tagged, measuredand released in less than 10 sec-onds. The data (species, length,state of the fish) are recorded bydictaphone. Several hundred fishfrom a single school can betagged very quickly using thisprocedure.

Electronic tags

Electronic tags, which are alsocalled archival tags, have beeninserted in the abdominal cavi-ties of certain tuna. These tagsrecord and store in their memo-ries data on the length, depth,water and fish temperatures andbackground light levels. Thesedata (the tagged tuna has to becaught again) will make it possi-ble to get a better picture of tunabehaviour and movements.

Sonic tags

Sonic tags, which are inserted inthe same way as archival tags,emit a signal that can be pickedup and recorded by underwaterlistening posts within a radiusof about one kilometre. A cer-tain number of these posts havebeen set up under FADs. Study

Top: Pole-and-line fishing

Middle: Tagging fish

Bottom: Biological sampling


SPC ACTIVITIES

of these data should provideinformation about how longtuna stay around FADs andabout their movements.

BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES

Fish that have been injured toomuch during capture cannot betagged. So instead we take sam-ples of stomachs and pieces ofmuscle. These samples, whichare stored in the onboard freez-er, are taken back to Noumea incoolers for analysis each time anOFP agent goes back there.

ONBOARD DATA ENTRY

A small local network of threelaptops was set up in the“office” and an Access databasewas created especially for thisproject. The information record-ed verbally during tagging istranscribed on paper before it isentered in the computer's data-base. The ship’s position andweather information are record-ed in the database three times aday. The position and type ofassociation of each school oftuna encountered is noted evenif there is no tagging. The data-base makes it possible to auto-matically generate reports andgeo-referenced maps usingthese data.

RESULTS

As at 3 October, 11,797 tunawere tagged (see table below),including 63 that also hadarchival tags and 29 that hadsonic tags. A total of eight listen-ing posts had been set up ateight FADs. Nearly 61% of thefish tagged were skipjack,36.5 % were yellowfin, and 2.6%were bigeye. About 85% of thefish were caught near FADs andless than 6% in free swimmingschools. This is a very differentsituation from the one observedduring the last tagging cam-paign in Papua New Guinea 16years ago, when 47% of the tag-gings took place on free swim-ming schools.

Association Bigeye Yellowfin Skipjack Total Bigeye Yellowfin SkipjackSeamount - 93 802 895 - 10.4 89.6Anchored FAD 306 4126 5524 9956 3.1 41.4 55.4Log 1 49 212 262 0.4 18.7 80.9Free swimming school - 45 639 684 - 6.6 93.4Total 307 43013 7177 11797 2.6 36.5 60.8

PercentageNumber of fish

CORAL FARM PROJECT HELPS VILLAGE IN AMERICAN SAMOA START BUSINESS, LEARN ABOUT REEF MANAGEMENT


NEWS FROM IN AND AROUND THE REGION

Given the rapid loss of theworld’s coral reef habitats, themarine ornamental industry is inneed of drastic change. So far theindustry has returned very littleto the habitats from which itderives its living products.Damaging practices and overcol-lection of rare species have addedto the devastation of marineresources. Groups like the MarineAquarium Council are approach-ing conservation by creating stan-dards and certification for organ-izations involved in the collectionand care of ornamental marinelife. Yet, these broad attempts tocreate a sustainable industry, formany coral reef areas, are too lit-tle too late.

The island of Tutuila in AmericanSamoa is one such place. Thereefs near Tutuila are in poor tofair condition, and any collectionof corals or fish would furtherstrain a coastal habitat already indecline. What’s needed, then, is anew type of business — one thatis village run and that empowerscommunities to preserve coastalresources. With this view inmind, the American Samoabranch of the Coalition of ReefLovers (CORL) together with theAmerican Samoa CommunityCollege began a project that seeksto restore lost and degraded coralreef habitats and to develop com-munity-based coral farming as aviable business. The project willalso use coral farms to educatevillagers about the importance oftheir local coral reefs and whythey need to protect, preserve,and restore them.

POTENT BLEND: FARMINGAND REHABILITATION

This project focused on one vil-lage: Alofau, a medium-sized vil-lage with a population of about200 families in the EasternDistrict of Tutuila. The Coalitionof Reef Lovers (CORL) selected

Alofau as the best site for ademonstration coral farm due toits proximity to a large, shallowinner-reef area. Such a lagoon israre in American Samoa. We alsochose Alofau because theAmerican Samoa Department ofMarine and Wildlife Resourcesalready had created a marinemanagement area (MMA)through which the village restrictsfishing to help the recovery ofnearshore fish stocks.

Over the last 30 years, the coralcover has dramatically decreasedin Alofau’s lagoon and other areasaround Tutuila. Contributorsinclude pollution; destructivefishing; overfishing; coral bleach-ing; coral diseases; a devastatingoutbreak of crown-of-thorns, astarfish that preys upon corals;and hurricanes.

Propagating coral to reintroduceorganisms where populationshave declined isn’t a new endeav-or (Arvedlund et al. 2003). Still,very little has been done in thefield of community-based coralreef rehabilitation. Mainly scien-tists and private companies haveconducted coral reef restoration— at the cost of hundreds of thou-sands of dollars per acre restored(Spurgeon et al. 2000). Coastalcommunities have proven theycan operate coral farms to gener-ate products for export in themarine ornamental trade (Peletta1999). Similarly, then, communi-ties should be capable of rehabili-tating colonies of primary coralspecies that provide critical coverfor nearshore fisheries.

If a community is to take on amission to restore degradedcoastal habitats, then villagersmust be provided with the neces-sary tools, skills, and knowledge.Filling these needs, along withestablishing a coral farm, is thecrux of this project.

Rehabilitation of any marine habi-tat involves three main steps: 1)educate the public about stressors;2) initiate community action toeliminate or reduce them (Yap2003); and, 3) with stressors cor-rected, prompt the community’sactive role in repairing damagedresources. The creation of anMMA or a marine protected area(MPA), a no-touch habitat left tonatural recovery, could help withthe final step. The Alofau projectadds mariculture of corals to thisstep. Ultimately, the village willcover rehabilitation costs andother resource management needswith sales profits from the farm.

CORL has been working with thevillage of Alofau since 2003, con-ducting beach cleanups andhelping address pollution issues.This long-term commitment hasled to a high level of communityinvolvement that continues withthe coral farm project, begun thisspring with funding from theCenter for Tropical and Subtrop-ical Aquaculture.

Both of the project’s first twoworkshops, which focused onawareness and making an actionplan, were attended by 17 vil-lagers. Later, 24 people fromAlofau and five more from near-by villages took part in a beachcleanup. The village is consider-ing a no-littering rule and a recy-cling area.

The first eight of many plannedtraining workshops have alsoexperienced high participationlevels. The project goal was totrain at least four villagers in howto set up a farm and in coral prop-agation techniques, yet 14 volun-teers continue to show up to theseone-day-a-week workshops.

Establishing the Alofau coral farmrequired some initial analysis:assess the condition of existingcoral reefs, determine the primary



coral cover species, and deter-mine if the local variety includesenough desirable species to makea coral farm profitable. We select-ed a farm site with very few exist-ing coral colonies and adequatewater conditions. The site has lowlevels of nitrates and phosphates,moderate water flow throughoutthe day, no rip tides, and a waterlevel higher than four feet at lowtide.

Next, as part of the trainingworkshops, we salvaged frag-ments from broken corals andbegan to propagate them in orderto create future donor colonies.Given the large amount ofinjured corals available, wedecided not to take cuttings fromexisting corals even though it’spossible to do so without causinglong-term harm. Volunteersstarted propagating several ofthe coral species most commonto American Samoa’s coastalwaters, Acropora formosa, A.nobilis, A. porites cylindrica, andPavona frondiferas.

These species, as do many othercorals, propagate naturally byfragmentation. From donorcolonies previously planted byCORL staff in 2003 and 2004, vol-unteers collected fragments ofbetween 3 and 12 inches in diam-eter and cut them down to 1 to 2inches using common wire cut-ters. Then, they either tied orglued these cuttings to a coralplug, a cement disk with a 2-inchdiameter. They placed the plugsin trays made from 1-inch-square, PVC-coated wire mesh.Finally, they took these trays tothe 12-foot-square rebar trestlesthat they had already construct-ed and anchored at the farm site.

Coral fragments will grow out forthree to six months, then the vil-lage volunteers will relocate themto targeted rehabilitation areas orsell them to the marine ornamen-tal industry. Only 20 per cent ofcorals grown will be sold. For eachone sold, villagers will receiveUSD1.50, a solid profit for them

given production costs of less than10 cents. CORL will handle allmarketing and shipping of corals.

CONCLUSION

The extraordinary communityinvolvement in this project hasbeen welcome if overwhelming.Support from the late EasternDistrict Governor ParamountChief Faumuina S. P. Satele andcoral farm volunteers, as well asdonations from the AmericanSamoan community, have helpedcreate the Alofau CommunityEcology Center and a coral farmoffice. The center, located on landadjacent to the farm, will serve asa resource for local schools (andtourism operations) and as a loca-tion from which to monitor thevillage’s environment. Also,CORL is assisting the village inefforts to secure funding for wateranalysis that would identify nutri-ent pollution and their sources.Nearshore nutrient levels are high,causing algal blooms that areapproaching the farm’s reef area.

The coral farm has yet to make aprofit. Farm volunteers and othercommunity members, however,are realizing that the Alofau coralreef and lagoon have valuebeyond subsistence fishing. Themore value they place on thelagoon and reef, the more effortthey will put into protecting it.Plans now underway include cre-ating a snorkeling trail, rentinggear out at the new center, andusing the lagoon and center forschool trips focused on marineconservation. In the near future,we hope to add to the inside ofthe center a 180-gallon tank witha coral propagation system, so wecan give hands-on demonstra-tions to students and visitors.

Will we be able to restore theAlofau coral reef to its former con-dition? It’s doubtful. Globalwarming and rapid populationincreases in American Samoareduce chances of a full recovery.We can, however, reduce localstressors causing coral reef decline

and, thus, increase chances for apartial recovery that allows somefunctionality of the former coralreef ecosystem to survive. What’smore, the Alofau community caneventually do so on its own, givenproper training and sustainablemanagement tools.

REFERENCES

Arvedlund M., Craggs J. andPecorelli J. 2003. Coral culture— possible future trends anddirections. p. 233–248. In:Cato J.C. and Brown C. L.(eds), Marine ornamentalspecies: Collection, cultureand conservation. Ames,Iowa: Iowa State Press.

Peletta M. 1999. Coral farming.SeaScope 16:1–4.

Spurgeon J.P.G. and Lindahl U.2000. The economics of coralreef restoration. In: Cesar H.S. J. (ed). Collected essays onthe economics of coral reefs.Kalmar, Sweden: CORDIO.

Yap H.T. 2003. Coral reef“restoration” and transplan-tation. Marine PollutionBulletin 46: 529.

Yap H.T. 2003. Comparison ofcoral growth and survivalunder enclosed, semi-naturalconditions and in the field.Marine Pollution Bulletin46:858–864.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Paramount Chief Faumuina S. P.Satele, who died on Aug. 15 atthe age of 57, wished to makeAlofau a model for other villages.His hands-on support wasinstrumental in the project’s cur-rent success.

(Source: Center for Tropical andSubtropical Aquaculture, Vol. 17 No.3, September 2006,http://www.ctsa.org/)

NEW CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT GUIDE PROVIDES STRATEGIESTO CONSERVE WORLD'S CORAL REEFS



Innovative strategies to con-serve the world’s coral reefs areincluded in a new guidereleased in October by NOAA,the Australian Great BarrierReef Marine Park Authority,and the World ConservationUnion. “A Reef Manager’sGuide to Coral Bleaching” willprovide coral reef managerswith the latest scientific infor-mation on the causes of coralbleaching and new manage-ment strategies for respondingto this significant threat to coralreef ecosystems.

"Coral reef managers can play acritical role in helping reefs sur-vive coral bleaching events,"said retired Navy Vice Adm.Conrad Lautenbacher, PhD,undersecretary of commerce foroceans and atmosphere andNOAA administrator. "The reefmanager's guide lays out keyactions managers can takebefore, during and after bleach-ing events to help reduceimpacts of bleaching and pro-mote resilience of the reefecosystem to help it recoverfrom severe bleaching events."

"The Australian Government isproud to share its expertise withreef managers worldwide inthis highly anticipated publica-tion. Australia is at the forefrontof developing new strategiesand tools to respond to massbleaching events, minimizeimpacts and build long-termcoral reef resilience to climatechange," said Andrew Skeat,Great Barrier Reef Marine ParkAuthority executive director.

The reef manager’s guide,developed in partnership withthe US EnvironmentalProtection Agency, The NatureConservancy and other organi-zations, grew out of a 2002 reso-lution by the US Coral Reef TaskForce calling for development

of information and tools forcoral reef managers to addressthreats from coral bleaching.The reef manager’s guide can befound online and includes con-tributions from more than 50experts in coral bleaching andcoral reef management.

"By implementing actions sug-gested in the guide, coral reefmanagers are in a unique posi-tion to increase our understand-ing of the phenomenon of coralbleaching, to take meaningfulaction during a bleaching event,and to develop strategies tosupport the natural resilience ofreefs in the face of long-termchanges in climate," said DavidKennedy, manager of theNOAA Coral Reef ConservationProgram, which helped pro-duce the guide.

The reef manager's guidereviews management actionsthat can help restore and main-tain resilience of coral reefecosystems. This review drawson a growing body of researchon ways to support the ability ofcoral reef ecosystems to surviveand recover from bleachingevents. The reef manager'sguide includes specific guid-ance and case studies on how toprepare bleaching responseplans, assess impacts frombleaching, engage the public,manage activities that mayimpact reefs during bleachingevents, identify resilient reefareas and incorporate informa-tion regarding reef resilienceinto marine protected areadesign.

The reef manager's guide alsosupports a major goal of theU.S. Administration's ClimateChange Science Program — to"Understand the sensitivity andadaptability of different naturaland managed ecosystems andhuman systems to climate and

related global changes"—byproviding managers withoptions for sustaining andimproving ecological systemsand related goods and services,given projected global changes.

The guide identifies three keyactions reef managers can taketo help reefs survive and recov-er from mass bleaching events:1) increase observations of reefcondition before, during andafter bleaching to increase infor-mation and understanding ofimpacts and areas that may beespecially resistant to bleaching,2) reduce stressors (e.g. pollu-tion, human use) on reefs dur-ing severe bleaching events tohelp corals survive the event,and 3) design and implementreef management strategies tosupport reef recovery andresilience, including reducingland-based pollution and pro-tecting coral areas that mayresist bleaching and serve assources of coral larvae for"reseeding" reefs.

Coral bleaching is associatedwith a variety of stresses,including increased sea surfacetemperatures. This causes thecoral to expel microscopic algaeliving in their tissues — algaethat provide corals with food.Losing their algae leaves coraltissues devoid of color and thusappearing to be bleached.Prolonged coral bleaching (overa week) can lead to coral deathand the subsequent loss of coralreef habitats and the vital servic-es they provide to coastal com-munities, including food, jobsand income, as well as protec-tion from the impact of storms.

Mass coral bleaching eventshave increased in frequency andintensity since the first recordedevent in 1982, resulting in sig-nificant coral mortality andother ecological, social and eco-



nomic impacts in many reefecosystems. In 1997–1998, massbleaching is estimated to havecaused more than 90 per centcoral mortality in many reefs inthe Indian and Pacific oceans,destroying 16 per cent of theworld's coral reefs. Theseincreases in coral bleaching over

the past two decades have beenattributed to ocean warmingseen in tropical waters aroundthe world. In 2005, Caribbeancoral reefs experienced massivecoral bleaching followed bycoral disease outbreaks andhigh levels of coral mortalitythroughout the region. This was

the most widespread and severebleaching ever reported in theCaribbean Sea.

(Source: NOAA;http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/s2717.htm)


SPECIAL TRAITS AND PROMISESOF THE GIANT CLAM (TRIDACNAMAXIMA) IN FRENCH POLYNESIA

Antoine Gilbert1,George Remoissenet2,

Laurent Yan3 andSerge Andréfouët4

INTRODUCTION

Naturally drawn to the sea,Polynesians are traditionally fish-ers and lagoon or coastal seafoodconsumers. With an increasingpopulation in the Society Islands(Fig. 1) and a correspondingincrease in the demand for lagoonseafood products, certain islandshave diversified their economicactivities to meet the demand forseafood. In some French Polynesianislands, fishers are frequently seencollecting and cleaning giantclams on site before draining andfreezing them for export to Tahiti,or exchanging them when shipsarrive. In fact, many artisanal fish-eries have developed over the past30 years, targeting both fish andinvertebrates; an activity that hasbeen boosted by the arrival ofships with cold storage roomsand, more recently, by inter-islandair transport.

French Polynesia’s geographicdistribution is wide and sparse(118 islands scattered out over anEZZ of some 5 million km2), andits population spread is also veryuneven: 87% of the populationlives in the Society Islands with75% on just two islands in theWindward group: Tahiti andMoorea (Anon 2002a). Moderntransport methods, however,have made it possible to reducethe isolation of certain FrenchPolynesian islands and haveopened the door to new forms ofinter-island exchange.

Recent work by the Ministry ofMarine Affairs (MER) and the

Fisheries Department (SPE) willmake it possible to sustainablydevelop and manage the artisanalfisheries sector. Since 2001, the SPEhas funded and participated inefforts to manage, exploit andrepopulate certain echinodermand mollusc species in FrenchPolynesia's lagoons and reefs.Giant clams (Tridacnidae) are theprimary molluscs of commercialinterest. Tridacna maxima is the onlyone of the eight tridacnid species(Rosewater 1965) found in FrenchPolynesia. Because of the popular-ity of its meat, Tridacna maxima iscovered by a programme fundedentirely by the second phase of theFrance/French Polynesia develop-ment contract.

A SPECIAL CONTEXT

The lagoon invertebrate popula-tions of the eastern TuamotuIslands include large numbers ofgiant clams, a vital protein andcultural resource for these atolls.Each island has its own name forgiant clams, which are most com-monly called pahua in FrenchPolynesia as a whole, and koheain the eastern Tuamotu Islands.Giant clam meat is eaten raw,cooked or sometimes smokedand dried.

Tridacna maxima is still abundantin French Polynesia, althoughthis abundance is uneven. Itreaches outstanding levels (Tab.1)in some of the Austral Islands(Raivavae and Tubuai) and in theclosed atolls of the easternTuamotu Islands, includingFangatau, Fakahina, Tatakoto,Pukarua, Reao, Napuka, andVahitahi (Salvat 1972; Andréfouëtet al. 2005; Gilbert et al. 2005;Gilbert et al., in publication).

In contrast to the giant clam’sabundance and dominance in thelagoons of these islands, its abun-dance in other French Polynesian

1 Antoine Gilbert: Institute of Research for Development, Arue, Tahiti, French Polynesia Tel: (689)50-62-00,Fax: (689)42-95-55, Email: [email protected]

2 Georges Remoissenet: Fisheries Department, BP 20, Papeete Tahiti 98713, French Polynesia3 Laurent Yan: BP 1658 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia4 Serge Andréfouët: Institute of Research for Development, BP A5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia

Figure 1: Demographic changes by island group from 1971 to2002 (source: Institut Pacifique de Polynésie française.


lagoons is much lower (Tab. 1),and certain lagoons are currentlyexperiencing declines, sometimessignificant, in their populations.While this is in part due to naturalcauses (Addessi 2001), theincrease in fishing pressure, inresponse to the growing humanpopulation pressure, is certainly amajor cause. While in the past,large numbers of giant clamscould be found in the lagoons ofthe Society Islands, they arebecoming increasingly scarce asthey continue to be a popularspecies at the Tahiti market. Withabout 50 tonnes of meat marketedeach year on this island (Anon2002b), this "new" financialresource provides significant anddirect income to the communitieson the outer islands. Income gen-erated from the giant clam marketfor all fishers has been roughlyestimated to be between XPF 20and 25 million annually. This is afairly significant supplement totraditional resources, which areoften limited to copra harvests(eastern Tuamotus) and agricul-ture (Austral Islands). In somecases, giant clams can account forthe equivalent of nearly 40% ofcopra income.

As is notably the case on BoraBora and Rangiroa, the harvest-ing of giant clams to supply theTahiti market runs the risk ofoverexploitation, even in the rich-est islands, and in spite of regula-tions governing the minimumharvest size (a 1988 resolution setthe minimum shell length at 12cm for fishing, transport, holding,marketing and consumption).

SPE has had to respond to theconcerns of mayors and inhabi-tants of the islands involved.Against this background, severalstudies have been carried outsince 2001. One study was a localmarket survey conducted by a con-sulting firm (Pacific Consulting). Arange of other studies and sur-veys were carried out by variousresearch institutions: studies ongenetics (École Pratique desHautes Études-French NationalCentre for Scientific Research),natural stocks (Institute ofResearch for Development andthe University of FrenchPolynesia), natural stock dynam-ics, a fisheries survey (Institute ofResearch for Development andthe French National School ofAgricultural Sciences in Rennes),a survey on fishers and relatedpopulations (University of FrenchPolynesia), and a study on har-vesting techniques, aquaculture,transport and reseeding (SPE).

UNIQUE STOCKS WORLDWIDE

A 1994 synopsis of existing dataon giant clam stocks (all speciescombined) by Lucas (1994)showed that stock status variessignificantly, depending on thecountry. The general trend, how-ever, is towards a decline instocks. Because of T. maxima’s sizeand the way it attaches itself, itcontinues to be the least endan-gered species worldwide.

Quantitative and qualitativeinventories have occasionallybeen conducted in order to betterunderstand stock status and to

recommend management meas-ures, notably in Palau, Micro-nesia (Hardy and Hardy 1969),One Tree Island, Australia(McMichael 1974), Rose Atoll,American Samoa (Green andCraig 1999), Milne Bay Province,Papua New Guinea (Skewes et al.2003), and Reao, Takapoto andAnaa islands in French Polynesia(Salvat 1971, 1972, 1973; Richard1977, 1982, 1989; Laurent 2001).

In 2003, remote sensing was usedto estimate giant clam stocks inFrench Polynesia (as part of theSPE’s giant clam programme:Andréfouët et al. 2005), using arefined version of the method ini-tially proposed by Green andCraig (1999). Nowadays, a risingnumber of studies on tropicalcoastal systems (coral reefs, man-groves, sea grass beds: Green etal. 2000) include high resolutionremote sensing, particularly forinventories of commercially sen-sitive species, habitats or invasivespecies (Bour et al. 1986; Long etal. 1993; Mumby et al. 1997;Andréfouët et al. 2004). Maps andnumerical and weight estima-tions have been made for giantclam stocks from Fangatau,Tatakoto and Tubuai (Gilbert etal. submitted for publication)(Tab. 2), and similar work is cur-rently underway on Reao,Pukarua, Fakahina and Raivavae.

Recorded densities in theTuamotus were set at some 224specimens/m2 in Reao Atoll inthe eastern Tuamotus (Salvat1967). Since that time, Andréfouetet al. (2005) and Gilbert et al.

SPECIAL TRAITS AND PROMISES OF THE GIANT CLAM (TRIDACNA MAXIMA) IN FRENCH POLYNESIA

Moorea(Laurent, 2001)

Takapoto(Laurent,

2001)

Anaa(Laurent,

2001)

Reao (pers.observ.)

Pukarua(pers.

observ.)

Fangatau(Gilbert et

al.,submitted)

Tatakoto(Gilbert et

al.,submitted)

Tubuai(Gilbert et

al.,submitted)

Raivavae(pers.

observ.)

Area and/or number of samples 20 000 m2 1150m2/6 2735m2/14 3200m2/303 1305m2/173 86m2/343 70m2/281 2950m2/326 5485m2/313Sampling method PCQM*** T* T* T* T* QSM** QSM** T* T*

Mean density (ind/m2) 0.035 0.14 0.02 8.15 13.06 44.09 87.37 2.53 1.31

* Transect Sampling Method

** The samples are located in the live giant clamstrata (for more details please refer to themethodology described in Andréfouet et al., 2005)*** Point Centered Quarter Method

Table 1: Mean density (ind/m2) on Moorea (Society Islands), Tubuai, Raivavae (Austral Islands),Takapoto, Anaa (western Tuamotu Islands), Reao, Pukarua, Fangatau and Tatakoto(eastern Tuamotu Islands)


(2005) have reported maximumdensities on Fangatau andTatakoto of some 136 speci-mens/m2 and 544 specimens/m2,respectively (Fig. 2). At present,these two atolls have the highestdensities of giant clams recordedanywhere in the world. Thesedensities are linked to anaggregative spatial structure (Fig.2) specific to T. maxima in certainsemi-enclosed lagoons in theeastern Tuamotus. These agglom-erations sometimes lead to theemergence of small biodetriticislands made of shells, locallycalled mapiko (Fig. 3). In contrast,in many other areas of the world

(e.g. Papua New Guinea, Samoa,Fiji, Australia) and in mostlagoons in French Polynesia, den-sities are much lower, at most afew specimens per square meter,and frequently, the figures aregiven in hectares (Lucas 1994;Green and Craig 1999; Skewes etal. 2003; Andréfouët et al. 2005).

A survey by SPC's PROCFishproject, which covers most PacificIsland countries, is designed toobtain up-to-date information onthe status of invertebrate and fishresources. The PROCFish teamhas conducted surveys on theislands of Raivavave, Tikehau,

Tahiti and Fakarava in FrenchPolynesia (Kim Friedman, pers.comm.). Comparative surveys ofthe countries studied byPROCFish, combined with thestudies carried out by the SPE,will make it possible to determinewhere Polynesia fits, in terms ofits nearshore resources, within thegreater regional Pacific context.

FRAGILE GIANT CLAM POPULATIONS

Giant clam stock biomass andstructure in French Polynesia'satolls, as studied by the SPE, can-not be considered critical at thistime but the situation couldchange rapidly. We cannot predicthow these exceptional giant clampopulations grouped together inthe shallow parts of the lagoonwill react to sustained exploita-tion. Giant clams' shallow waterdistribution combined with theirsedentary behaviour and the factthey are easily found by fishers,render them particularly vulnera-ble to fishing efforts. To this mustbe added other specific traitslinked to their biology andmethod of reproduction. Giantclams, which are known to haveerratic recruitment, maximisetheir chances of reproduction bysynchronised spawning (Munroand Gwyther 1981; Braley 1985).It would appear that there are


Total number ofgiant clams(millions)

Total weight(tonnes)

Total weight ofsaleable meat (L >

12 cm) (tonnes

Fangatau 23.6 ± 5.3 9 194 ± 2 158 1 162 ± 272Tatakoto 88.3 ± 10.5 13 135 ± 1 573 1 485 ± 177

Tubuai 47.5 ± 5.2 19 729 ± 2 109 2 173 ± 232

Table 2: Numerical and weight estimations of giant clam stocksfrom Fangatau, Tatakoto and Tubuai

Figure 2 (top): Unusually highdensities found in the reserveset up at Tatakoto(Photo Y. Chancerelle)

Figure 3 (bottom): Emergedarea in Fangatau lagoon madeof dead giant clam shells orMapiko (Photo A. Gilbert)


chemical mediators or phero-mones in the eggs and ovarian tis-sue (Wada 1954). The zones withthe densest number of giant clamsare the areas where mass spawn-ing can be observed (Shelley andSouthgate 1988), a phenomenonwe also observed in situ. In seden-tary organisms, which spawn enmasse, the total stock’s contribu-tion to reproduction depends agreat deal on these zones of highdensity. But it is precisely in suchareas that fishing efforts are thehighest. As soon as a high aggre-gation area becomes depleted,there is, in addition to the changesin mean density, an underlyingeffect on the population’s spatialstructure, which probably affectspre-dispersion processes thatdepend on density. Fishers thenunwittingly target those speci-mens that have the best chance ofreproducing, a recurrent phenom-enon that contributes to overhar-vesting in benthic fisheries(Orensanz et al. 2004).

In general, overexploitation islinked to a combination of fac-tors, including in French Poly-nesia:

• an increase in human popula-tion and fishing pressure;

• an increase in fishing effort,which is related to the avail-ability of more effective fish-ing equipment (boats and div-ing equipment);

• the development of storage,transport and intra/inter-islandcommunication resources;

• the difficulties that regulatoryauthorities face, and even alack of response of their part,

when confronted with regula-tion violations and unsustain-able exploitation.

CITES AND INTERNATIONALMANAGEMENT TOOLS

When overexploitation has beennoted in most regions, it has ledto measures designed to ensurethe regeneration and protectionof stocks.

At the international level, since1983, all giant clam species havebeen listed in Appendix II of theConvention on the InternationalTrade in Endangered Species(CITES), and are consideredendangered species by the IUCN(World Conservation Union).Appendix II means that the listedspecies is not threatened withextinction, but could be at risk of

becoming so unless the trade isregulated. International trade ispermitted in Appendix II-listedspecies, provided strict authorisa-tion and monitoring systems arein place. For that reason, exportpermits at departure and importpermits at arrival are mandatoryfor every commercial operation.

Other regional initiatives havebeen undertaken. It is recom-mended that marine refuges orrestricted use areas be establishedin all areas where stocks are atvery low levels (Mitchell et al.2001). It may take many decadesto replenish stocks if the part ofthe reef involved is isolated orcurrents are not favourable(Braley 1994; Munro et al. 1993;Lucas 1994; Mitchell et al. 2001;Wells 1997). Reserves where fish-ing is prohibited have been set up


Figure 4 (top): Aerial photo ofthe enclosed eastern area of

Tatakoto that has been declareda reserve (Photo A. Gilbert)

Figure 5 (bottom): Buoymarking the southern

boundary of Tatakoto reserve(Photo F. Faana)


at Rose Atoll in American Samoa(Green and Craig 1999), PapuaNew Guinea (Kinch 2002), andTatakoto in the Tuamotus (Figs. 4and 5) (Gilbert et al. 2005).

Setting a minimum size that cor-responds to sexual maturity is afrequently used measure thatallows giant clams to reproduceat least once before they are har-vested. Initial maturity has beenobserved in the eastern Tuamotusat between 5 and 6 cm (pers.observ.). The minimum size forthis species varies depending onthe region: 18 cm on Guam andNiue, 16 cm in Samoa, 15.5 cm inTonga, and 12 cm in FrenchPolynesia (SPC 2005).

Another approach consists of con-centrating adult genitors so as toincrease the probability of gamete

fertilisation and increase recruit-ment within and outside the zone(Lucas 1994). Finally, while giantclam farming is highly developedin the Pacific (Bell 1999), speci-mens from hatcheries are rarelyused for ecological purposes (e.g.repopulation) and are mainly des-tined for the aquarium trade (e.g.T. maxima is highly sought afterfor its colours), or the food mar-ket, in the case of larger species.

A RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANBACKED UP BY AN INNOVATIVESPAT PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE

Stock surveys are a necessary butinadequate approach to imple-menting sustainable exploitationplans. Stock dynamics (i.e.growth, natural mortality andrecruitment) are also very impor-tant (Beverton and Holt 1957).

Stock dynamics have been stud-ied in situ during tagging/recap-ture experiments on Fangatau,Tatakoto and Tubuai (Faben 1965;Pauly 1983; Pearson and Munro1991). The initial results showedwide variability, both within a sin-gle lagoon and between islands(Gilbert 2005).

Studies have also been conductedon this fishery in order to gain anoverall view of the ecosystem.Exports were monitored onTatakoto and Fangatau and arebeing estimated on Tubuai (Fig.6). In 2004, exports reached 16.4tonnes of marketable meat onTatakoto, and 5.5 tonnes onFangatau. On Tubuai, dependingon the survey, estimates reachedbetween 8 and 30 tonnes(Lehartel 2003; Larrue 2005). Theprice depends on the distributionnetwork used and varies betweenXPF 300 and 500/kg. Monitoring offishers has shown that the catchper unit of effort (CPUE) in kg ofmarketable meat/man-hour) arebetween 2.7 kg/hour and 4.9kg/hour (Fig. 7). Collec-tion sitedepths and differences in popula-tion structures (density and size)make it possible to explain thesedifferences in CPUE betweenislands and even between sites onthe same island.

These data were used to formu-late some initial recommenda-tions. Beverton and Holt’s model(1957) made it possible to analyseyield per recruit and, throughthat, biomass per recruit as a per-centage of biomass per recruit inan untouched state. Some inter-esting preliminary diagnosticinformation is available. However,the specific characteristics ofinvertebrate biology and fisheriesmake it difficult to apply the con-


Figure 6 (top): Monitoring giantclam exports from Tatakoto byweighing before maritimeshipping (Photo A. Gilbert)

Figure 7 (bottom): Giant clamfishers-gathers in Fangataulagoon (Photo A. Gilbert)


cepts and models used for finfishfisheries management, and socare should be taken with regardsto the results from the Bevertonand Holt model. Most inverte-brate species have strong spatialstructures, with adult stages thatare only slightly, if at all, mobilebut with large-scale larval disper-sion. These characteristics con-tribute to a spatial structure ofmeta-populations, the dynamicsof which have only just begun tobe modelled. Given that, workshould continue and a precau-tionary principle should beapplied to promote a homoge-nous distribution of the fishingeffort (i.e. through a rotationstrategy, or rahui zones used inthe past by the elders), in order topreserve source subpopulations(i.e. identify refuges for reproduc-tion zones or tapu zones used in

the past by the elders) and tomonitor the integrated responseof the system (i.e. monitoring thespatial structure by means of a co-management system). This groupof measures should make it pos-sible to apply the adaptive man-agement needed for sustainableexploitation of this resource. Inthe same way as what has beendone with giant clams elsewherein the Pacific, a co-managementproject for giant clam stocks andfisheries is being conducted in thelagoons of Fangatau, Tatakotoand Tubuai.

At the same time, trials have beencarried out on giant clam collect-ing, farming, transport and onrestocking, using harvested giantclams. Low species richness andthe giant clam’s dominance inFangatau and Tatakoto lagoons

seem to indicate that Tridacnamaxima is predominant in thepelagic larvae pool and, there-fore, has an excellent capture orcollection potential (local termfrom the pearl oyster industry).With a mean density of more than400 specimens/m2 (Fig. 8) and acollection rate of more than 80%two years after the installation ofthe collectors, this method is verypromising. This is the first suc-cessful use in the world of giantclam collection techniques. Thisspat collection method has anumber of economic advantagesover other Pacific producerswhere a hatchery phase isrequired (Tisdell and Tacconi 1992).The growth rate was also encour-aging with a mean size of morethan 3 cm at the end of the first yearof farming. Using collected spatmay, then, facilitate the develop-ment of giant clam resources.

The low level of genetic differ-ences between Tridacna maximapopulations in French Polynesia(Planes et al. 2004) also makes itpossible to plan transfers with nogenetic risks. The low epibiontcolonisation of young collectedspat (7 cm or less), the existenceof the same epibionts in theisland groups where transfers areplanned (Fauchille et al. 2004),and the possibility of conductingfreshwater treatments before drytransfer, make it possible to limitthe ecological risks during inter-island transfers. Inter-islandtransport trials involving anexternal freshwater treatmenthave been carried out using theEllis method (2000), with a partic-ularly high survival rate of 95%after 10 hours of dry transport(Yan 2005).

Finally, in Tatakoto and Fangataulagoons, reseeding trials (Fig. 9)that used more than 36,300 spat


Figure 8 (top): Giant clam spatcollected (Photo L. Yan)

Figure 9 (bottom): Small islandof restocked giant clams(Photo A. Gilbert)


provided good prospects forreseeding projects. Survival ratesin these two lagoons were 31%and 71%, respectively, more than20 months after reseeding, andrespective maximum rates dur-ing trials to improve the tech-niques were 57% and 91%. Inaddition, we noted that the newspat attached themselves toreseeded giant clams at a meanrate for both lagoons of 8.3% and2.7%, and a maximum rate of55% and 15%, respectively. Thismeans that what is involved isnot merely reseeding, but anactual lagoon restocking method.However, this method must bemastered in high island lagoonsbefore the technology can betransferred.

Whether destined for ecologicalor fisheries (repopulation) proj-ects, “ecotourism” (developinglagoons in front of hotels) or theaquarium fish trade, these giantclam collection and reseedingmethods offer an alternate way toexploit and develop this resource,and offers a new economic activi-ty for isolated island groups inthe eastern Tuamotus. However,modifying local regulations andCITES permits is the final step tobe taken before this new source ofincome can be fully developed.The economic developmentpotential of the collection sector isalso a tool that supplements man-agement. Besides repopulation, itcan contribute to raising an entirecommunity's awareness of therichness and importance of thisextraordinary resource, and canlead to sustainable exploitation.

CONCLUSION

The giant clam stocks of the pop-ulated islands in the Societygroup have clearly been over-har-vested, but certain islands in theeastern Tuamotu and AustralIslands still have exceptionalgiant clam concentrations. FrenchPolynesia has recorded giant clamstocks whose abundance, cover-age and densities are the highestof any coral reefs in the world

today. This is certainly one of thereasons for the success of an inno-vative technique for spat collec-tion, an emerging sector of activi-ty. But even in the case of theseexceptional sites, the risk of over-exploitation cannot be ruled outover the medium- to long-termdue to the current rate of meatexports from the outer islands toTahiti and projected increases indemand. Stock dynamics, andfisheries and population dynam-ics studies were carried out onthree islands in French Polynesiain order to provide the initialinformation needed for sustain-able exploitation. These studiesallowed preliminary use of theBeverton and Holt model but thismodel is based on certainassumptions and does not takeinto account the importance ofstocks’ spatial structures. So,while taking a precautionaryapproach and giving due consid-eration to the giant clam’s specificbiological traits, managementmust take into account this spatialcomponent. The methods pro-posed seem to be relatively well-adapted to the local context asthey are similar to traditionalmanagement methods used in thepast (e.g. the rahui strategy (rota-tion), the tapu (total fishing prohi-bition: reproduction refuges) andtomite toohitu strategies (usingcouncils of elders to co-managecommunity property). However,the only way to ensure that futurerecommendations are followed isto have the involvement and sup-port of local communities. Scien-tific and technical efforts currentlyunderway must be backed up bymeetings with island communi-ties, listening to them, engaging indiscussions, and attempting tofind mutually acceptable solu-tions. The SPE should promote achangeover to multi-sectoral col-laboration, the only realistic wayto integrate and implement futurerecommendations with a view toinvolving all stakeholders in ajoint project to sustainably co-manage stocks and fisheries.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The programme has been fundedby the Government of FrenchPolynesia (French Government-Territory Development Contract,Phase 2). Our thanks to the manypeople and agencies who haveparticipated in this projectinclude, in particular, ClaudePayri (IRD) for her significant con-tribution to the work on stocks,Didier Gascuel (ENSAR) for hisinvolvement in the managementand population dynamics work,Yannick Chancerelle (Centre deRecherches Insulaires etObservatoire de l'Environment –CRIOBE and l'Ecole Pratique desHautes Etudes – EPHE) for hisparticipation in the field work onFangatau, Tatakoto and his pho-tography skills, and finally PierreDecoudras (UPF) for socioeco-nomic and cultural work done todate and for work to still be car-ried out. Finally, we gratefullyacknowledge the welcome andsupport from the mayor’s offices,communities, and fishers in thosetownships involved in this project.

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BAITED UNDERWATER VIDEO FORASSESSING REEF FISH POPULATIONS

IN MARINE RESERVES

Tim Langlois1,Pascale Chabanet2,

Dominique Pelletier3 andEuan Harvey4

To study how fish are affected byfishing and other disturbances,we need to collect information onthe length, density and diversityof their populations. For suchstudies, observational, non-destructive methods are pre-ferred, particularly when study-ing fish inside highly-protectedmarine reserves or in ecologicallysensitive areas. However, obser-vational techniques often intro-duce biases, and it is important tounderstand these.

The most common observationalmethod for studying shallow(< 20 m) reef fish is an underwatervisual survey (UVS) made byscuba divers. Studies have sum-marized the advantages and dis-advantages of this method (e.g.Harmelin et al. 1985; Samoilys1997; Bortone et al. 2000) and ithas been noted that certain com-monly fished species are notrecorded well by divers. This isbecause fished species tend to bebehaviourally adaptable, whichmeans they may rapidly altertheir response to divers (Kulbicki1998). Such problems can causesevere bias in studies using diversurveys. To counter the biasesintroduced by changes in fishbehaviour, remote (surface-based)observational methods such asbaited remote underwater video(BRUV) can be useful. Two maintypes of remote video techniquehave been used to describe reeffish populations; both of thesetechniques can be left free stand-ing on the seafloor without theneed of an operator. The first sys-tem generally uses one down-ward looking camera (Willis et al.

2000; Ellis and Demartini 1995)and the other uses either one(Cappo et al. 2004) or two hori-zontally facing cameras (Harveyand Shortis 1996; Watson et al.2005).

Our study investigated the suit-ability of baited remote underwa-ter video (BRUV) techniques fordescribing the distribution ofcoral reef fish in highly-protectedmarine reserves in the lagoon ofNew Caledonia. We wanted tocompare downward view baitedunderwater video (D-BRUV),horizontal view baited underwa-ter video (H-BRUV) and under-water visual surveys (UVS) madeby scuba divers. This wasachieved by sampling along asuspected gradient in fish densityand possible gradients in fishbehaviour at sites across and out-side a highly-protected marinereserve. It was expected that inthe centre of the reserve, a greaternumber of fish would beobserved compared with the out-side of the reserve.

METHODS

New Caledonia is surrounded bya barrier reef, which borders oneof the largest lagoons in the world(24 000 km2). This lagoon sup-ports diverse populations of fishassociated with a variety of habi-tats, and subject to a wide variety

of possible impacts, includingfishing and terrestrial run-off. InMay 2006, an in situ experimentwas conducted on the southwestlagoon, in the highly-protectedreserve at Ilot Signal (22º17.73’S,166º17.41’E) and fished area ofRécif Larégnère (22º19.71’S,166º17.68’E). Surveys were con-ducted at three sites inside thereserve (A, B and C) and site Doutside (Fig. 1). These sites werechosen to have comparable habi-tat of fringing coral reef with adja-cent soft-sediment areas. At eachsite, replicate samples (n = 4) werecollected using the three tech-niques to be compared. Thesewere UVS, D-BRUV and H-BRUV.

For UVS, sampling was carriedout along a 50 x 10 m belt transect(after Samoilys 1997). Commer-cial fish populations were record-ed at species level, includingabundance and size of each indi-vidual observed. For D-BRUV, weused a system that employs onecamera pointed downwardtowards a bait pot centred on thebase of a tripod (Willis et al. 2000,Fig. 2a). The base of the tripodforms a 1.6 m2 quadrat and cali-bration marks can be used tomeasure fish seen within thequadrat. This system has beenused successfully to monitor pop-ulations of commercially impor-tant fish inside and outside high-ly-protected marine reserves inwarm and cool temperate areas ofNew Zealand (Willis and Millar2005). For H-BRUV, Harvey andShortis (1996) developed a stereo-video technique using two hori-zontally mounted video cameras(Fig. 2b) that uses a three dimen-sional calibration to estimate thesize of fish. This system has beenused successfully to study reeffish populations in temperate andtropical Western Australia(Watson et al. 2005). In this study,

1 Leigh Marine Laboratory, University of Auckland, PO Box 349, Warkworth, New Zealand; [email protected] IRD (CoReUs), BP A5, 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia.3 IFREMER (EMH), BP 21105, 43311 Nantes cedex 3, France.4 CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management, School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia,

Crawley, 6009 Australia


we used only one horizontal cam-era (Fig. 2c). This system simu-lates the field of view for thestereo-video system, but was notcapable of estimating the size offish. Each of the remote videotechniques (D-BRUV and H-BRUV) was deployed for 30 min-utes from a boat along the edge ofthe fringing reef, at the same siteswhere UVS transects were con-ducted. The remote video dropsand UVS were not conducted atthe same site

Baited stations contained 500 g ofSardinops sagax (sardines) in aplastic bait container. To avoid therepeated counting and measure-ment of fish attracted to a baitedvideo, special care must be taken.Only the species present and themaximum number of individualsbelonging to each species at onetime are recorded, which gives aconservative estimate of relativedensity (MaxN, Willis et al. 2000).Only fish species considered to betargets of fisheries were recordedand their total number presentedin the results. Density and bio-mass of fish populations recordedby UVS were used to comparewith remote video techniques.Additional observations weremade using different baits andbait holders.

RESULTS

During the study, 132 speciesbelonging to 16 families wererecorded by UVS. Fourteenspecies belonging to four familieswere observed using H-BRUV.The fish belonged to Serranidaeor groupers (Plectropomus laevis, P.leopardus, Epinephelus merra, E.polyphekadion, Cephalopolis argus),Lethrinidae or emperors (Lethrinusatkinsoni, L. genivittatus, L. nebulo-sus, L. obsoletus), Carcharhinidaeor sharks (Carcharhinus leucas,Triaenodon obesus) and Acanthu-ridae or surgeonfishes (Acanthurusxanthopterus, Ctenochaetus cyano-cheilus, Naso unicornis). The firstthree families recorded includedcarnivorous fish while the lastone, the acanthurids, is mostly

BAITED UNDERWATER VIDEO FOR ASSESSING REEF FISH POPULATIONS IN MARINE RESERVES

Figure 1: Map showing the location of Ilot Signal and LarégnèreReef, New Caledonia; and the position of the four sites.

Three of these sites were inside the highly-protected marinereserve (A-B, in the centre; C, at the edge) and one outside (D).

Figure 2: Different remote baited video system: (a) D-BRUV,H-BRUV using (b) two cameras in a stereo-video system

or (c) one camera.


herbivorous. Only three specieswere recorded with the D-BRUV(Plectropomus laevis, P. leopardus,Epinephelus polyphekadion). Densityand biomass observed by UVS wasfound to be highest in the reserve(sites A, B and C) compared withthe fished area (site D) (density:0.21±0.13 vs 0.06±0.05 ind./m2, bio-

mass: 575.6±0.30 vs271.6±0.10 g/m2). Insidethe reserve, no gradientwas observed in densi-ty between sites (Fig.3a), however the bio-mass of all commercialspecies was found todecrease from sites Aand B in the centre ofthe reserve to site C atthe boundary and siteD outside (Fig. 3b). D-BRUV found no differ-ence between reserveand fished areas andobserved far fewer fishthan horizontally view-ing video. The H-BRUV system found adistribution of abun-dance of commercialfish similar to the bio-mass recorded by theUVS, despite the factthat fewer fish wererecorded by this videotechnique.

Concerning fish behav-iour, additional obser-vations suggested thatcertain species, such asthe ones belonging toLethrinidae and Ser-ranidae, would rarelyapproach the remotevideo system with thecamera positioned ver-tically above the bait(downward video sys-tem), but they wouldapproach when thecamera was positionedat the side (H-BRUV,Fig. 4a). Bait trials usingsardine, mackerel, mul-let and prawn suggest-ed that sardine andmackerel were betterbaits to attract serranids

and lethrinids. Bait holder trialssuggested that heavy mesh baitbags were preferable to bait pots.The bait bags allowed small fishto feed and the activity of thesefish appeared to attract larger tar-get fish. The presence of sharkswas also observed to increase theactivity of target fish. However,

sharks were responsible for theloss of two bait pots during thesetrials (Fig. 4b).

DISCUSSION

Our investigation found under-water visual surveys (UVS) bydivers to be the most comprehen-sive, non-destructive method todescribe fish populations at ourstudy sites. UVS recorded thegreatest abundance and diversityof fish and found a gradient intheir density and biomass frominside to outside the marinereserve. H-BRUV recorded a rep-resentative sample of the reef fishpopulations recorded by UVS, inparticular groupers and emper-ors. H-BRUV recorded less than10% of the species seen by UVS,but described a similar gradient inthe density of these species insideand outside the reserve. D-BRUVdid not perform well, which sug-gests differences in feedingbehaviour between tropical andtemperate reef fishes, particularlygiven the success of D-BRUV intemperate regions of NewZealand (Willis et al. 2000).

It is interesting to note that acrossthe sites inside and outside themarine reserve, UVS found astrong gradient in fish biomassbut not abundance, with greatestbiomass in the centre of thereserve. H-BRUV also found astrong gradient in abundance,which was greatest in the centreof the reserve. This differencebetween the two methods sug-gests that UVS was better atdetecting small fish than H-BRUV. It has been noted beforethat large fish can dominate thebait stations of BRUV systemsresulting in reduced observationof smaller fish.

Our study found that H-BRUVwas a useful method to describepopulations of commonly fishedpredatory species living close tothe benthos such as groupers(Serranidae) and emperors(Lethrinidae). This method wasnot useful for more pelagic preda-


Figure 3: Commercial target fish recordedat sites at the centre (A-B), edge (C) and

outside (D) the marine reserve at IlotSignal. (a) Mean (±SE) abundance and (b)

biomass recorded by underwater visualsurvey (UVS). Mean (±SE) abundance

observed using (c) D-BRUV and H-BRUV.Closed bars are within the reserve and the

open bar is the comparable fished area.


tors such as jacks (Carangidae),barracudas (Sphyraenidae) andtunas (Scombridae), or herbivo-rous species that are also targetedby fishers such as parrotfish(Scaridae) or rabbitfish (Siganidae).The presence of sharks can be aproblem as they can quicklyremove the bait used to attract fish.

Watson et al. (2005) comparedbaited, unbaited and diver oper-ated video methods. They recom-mended that for studies wishingto examine a particular impact(e.g. fishing) on fish assemblages,BRUV can be very useful. Theyalso suggested that multipleBRUV systems can result in a vastreduction in field time and thenumber of staff required. Thismeans that even with the costs ofvideo equipment and time associ-ated with analysing video images,use of BRUV techniques for repet-itive studies of an area can be moreefficient than methods involvingdivers such as UVS. Another bene-fit is that with remote systems sur-vey depths are not limited by diverdepth profiles.

This pilot study suggests that H-BRUV systems can be used tostudy reef fish populations in thelagoon and reef habitats of NewCaledonia. The improvement ofthis system will require stereo-

video techniques using two videocameras (Harvey and Shortis1996, Fig. 2b) and three-dimen-sional calibration software toobtain accurate length estimatesof fish (see www.gemsoft.com forinformation on the software). Thecameras of these systems areinwardly converged to allow thelength of oblique objects to be esti-mated (i.e. fish not swimmingparallel to the cameras).

For future studies of marinereserves around New Caledonia,we recommend the use of H-BRUV's with stereo-video sys-tems. We believe this will providean efficient tool for gatheringinformation on the density andbiomass of fish populations, andto study their rates recovery fromfishing. Furthermore, video sur-veys can be valuable where UVSsurveys are limited by particularconditions (such as high sedimen-tation) and during regular moni-toring for commercial speciessuch as groupers and emperors. Acombination of survey tech-niques, including remote baitedvideo and UVS, would be advis-able to include both behavioural-ly adaptable predatory speciesand fished species that do notrespond to bait.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Funding was provided by CoralReef Initiative South Pacific(CRISP) and LITEAU-MPA proj-ect for the Ministry of Ecology,France. Figure 2 was prepared byC. Mellin. This project was madepossible by the efforts of P.Laboute, G. Moutham, M. Clarque,S. Tereua and C. Geoffrey. Com-ments on a draft were providedby Kendall Clements. We alsothank L. Vigliola from the Secre-tariat of the Pacific Communityfor providing a digital underwa-ter video camera for the study.

REFERENCES

Bortone S.A, Samoilys M.A.,Francour P. 2000. Fish andmacroinvertebrate evaluation.p. 127–164. In: Seaman W. Jr.(ed). Artificial reef evaluationwith application to naturalmarine habitats. Boca Raton,London, New York, Washing-ton D.C.: CRC Press.

Cappo M., Speare, P. and De’ath G.2004. Comparison of baitedremote underwater videostaions (BRUVS) and prawn(shrimp) trawls for assessmentsof fish biodiversity in inter-reefal areas of the Great BarrierReef Marine Park. Journal ofExperimental Marine Biologyand Ecology 302:123–152.

Ellis D.M. and Demartini E.E.1995. Evaluation of a videocamera technique for indexingabundances of juvenile pinksnapper, Pristipomoides filamen-tosus, and other Hawaiianinsular shelf fishes. FisheryBulletin 93:67–77.

Harmelin-Vivien M.L., HarmelinJ.G., Chauvet C., Duval C.,Galzin R., Lejeune P., BarnabéG., Blanc F., Chevalier R.,Duclerc J. and Lasserre G.1985. Evaluation visuelle despeuplements et populationsde poissons : méthodes etproblèmes. Revue d'Ecologie:a Terre et la Vie 40: 467–539.


Figure 4: Images from the H-BRUV showing: (a) threePlectropomus leopardus, one Lethrinus nebulosus and one

Cephalopholis argus approaching the bait pot; (b) oneCarcharhinus leucas about to eat the bait pot.

a

b



Harvey E.S. and Shortis M.R.1996. A system for stereo-video measurement of subti-dal organisms. Marine Tech-nology Society Journal 29:10–22.

Samoilys M. 1997. Underwatervisual census surveys. In:Samoilys M. (ed). Manual forassessing fish stocks on Pacificcoral reefs. Department ofPrimary Industries, Townsville,Australia.

Kulbicki M. 1998. How theacquired behaviour of com-mercial reef fishes may influ-ence the results obtained fromvisual censuses? Journal ofExperimental Marine Biologyand Ecology 222:11–30.

Watson D.L., Harvey E.S.,Anderson M.J. and KendrickG.A. 2005. A comparison oftemperate reef fish assem-blages recorded by threeunderwater stereo-video tech-niques. Marine Biology148:415–425.

Willis T.J., Millar R.B. andBabcock R.C. 2000. Detectionof spatial variability in relativedensity of fishes: comparisonof visual census, angling, andbaited underwater video.Marine Ecology ProgressSeries 198:249–260.

Willis T.J. and Millar R.B. 2005.Using marine reserves to esti-mate fishing mortality.Ecology Letters 8(1):47–52.


AQUACULTURE UPDATES IN THENORTHERN PACIFIC: HAWAII,

FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA,PALAU, AND SAIPAN

Ben Ponia,Aquaculture Adviser

Secretariat of the PacificCommunity

([email protected])

As the SPC Aquaculture Adviser,I recently visited areas of thenorthern Pacific region, as part ofthe Aquaculture Section's regularprogramming mission. One ofthe objectives of the visit was toassess mariculture activities inlight of the planned recruitmentof a mariculture specialist. Thereare some exiting developmentstaking place in this part of thePacific and I identified a numberof institutional partners forfuture collaboration.

OAHU, HONOLULU

The Centre for Tropical andSubTropical Aquaculture (CTSA)is one of five regional centresestablished by US Congress topromote aquaculture and isfunded by the US Department ofAgriculture. Prof Chen-Shen Leeis the CTSA Director based at theOceanic Institute in Oahu. Thegeographical focus for CTSA isthe Sate of Hawaii and US affili-ated islands. Projects includepearl development in theMarshall Islands and Micronesia,coral farming in Micronesia anda marine prawn farm inNorthern Marianas.

The Oceanic Institute ResearchFacility at Waimanalo has aprawn research program headedby Dr Shaun Moss. The institutehas been involved in the produc-tion of disease free Penaeus van-namei prawns. These are knownin the trade as specific pathogenfree (SPF) stocks. The institute isalso at the fore in developingtechnology for intensive, highstocking density, prawn farmingsystems.

The University of Hawaii SeaGrant College Program is a part

of a national network of universi-ties established to promote betteruse of coastal resources. Accordingto Dr Mary Donohue, AssociateDirector, the bulk of funds aredirected towards aquaculture.Like CTSA, SeaGrant is mostlyfocussed on US interests, althoughthere are mutual benefits for col-laboration in joint programs at aregional level. For example, theindigenous aquaculture themehas a common link that overlapsHawaii and other parts of thePacific. The UH Sea Grant aqua-culture extension agents aremanaged by Dr Darren Okimoto,who was previously based inAmerican Samoa.

Dr Albert Tacon has been recent-ly appointed to the vice-chancel-lor's office at the University ofHawaii, Manoa. As the aquacul-ture coordinator, his role is tointerface between the UH systemand various federal programs.For example, he has identifiedabout 60 PhD students who areinvolved in projects that haveimplications for aquaculture.

Within the state, the HawaiiAquaculture Development Pro-gram is housed under the USDepartment of Agriculture. Thisunit is managed by John Corbinwho helped developed theHawaii aquaculture long-termstrategy: The Blue Revolution.According to specialists Mr DeanToda and Mr Leonard Young, thecommercial environment for

aquaculture is difficult, withoverlapping jurisdictions althoughthe expansion into offshore anddeep sea cage culture offersprospects. There are few PacificIslands with marketing outlets inHawaii, although there may besome niche opportunities in freshfinfish and Japanese culinarydishes, such as seaweed.

KONA, HAWAII

The Natural Energy Laboratoryof Hawaii Authority (NEHLA)site uses deep ocean waters richin nutrients, which are broughtto the surface enabling a uniqueenvironment for aquaculture cul-ture. The location hosts about 30aquaculture companies, whichaccount for the bulk of Hawaii’sproduction, generating aboutUSD 40 million. Highly competi-tive about their trade secrets, thelineup of companies includesCyanotech Cooperation (variousalgal such as Spirulina), OceanRider Inc (ornamental seahors-es), Taylor Shellfish-Kona (edibleoysters), and Uwajima Fisheries(fish flounder). One of the recentprojects attracting attention is theKona-Blue fish farm, which issuccessfully raising HawaiianYellow-tail (Kampachi) in off-shore cages. The company is tar-geting the lucrative Japanesesushi market. This is the brain-child of Mr Neil Sims and DrDale Sarver whose past experi-ence in the Pacific includes thepearl industries of the CookIslands and Marshall Islands.

HILO, HAWAII

Prof Kevin Hopkins (Head ofAquaculture School) along withDr Sharon Ziegler-Chong (Asso-ciate Director, Coastal Manage-ment) and Dr Maria Haws(Associate Director, Aquaculture)have established the nearly com-pleted Pacific Coastal Aquacul-ture Research Centre (PARC) atthe University of Hawaii at Hilo(UHH). This project comes afteryears of dedicated effort, spurredon by a recent grant of USD 6


AQUACULTURE UPDATES IN THE NORTHERN PACIFIC: HAWAII, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA . . .

million. The facility houses apearl/mollusc hatchery and afinfish hatchery. Raceways arealready being utilised for studentresearch projects. The PARC sitealso includes several large con-crete tanks constructed by anelectricity company. These are upto 20 meter diameter and 7meters in depth, and could beused for pelagic (tuna) researchor as holding tanks for othertypes of finfish. It is apparent thatPARC is set to become an impor-tant centre in the northern Pacificfor training and research pro-grams.

UHH still retains some of its oldaquaculture facilities, which arebeing used mostly for catfish andsturgeon fish aquaculture.Shipping containers have beenmodified into a modular designfor a quarantine facility to treatthe sturgeon fish embryosimported from Italy. There is stillinterest in rejuvenating thetilapia program, particularlyfocussing on the use of intensiveculture using fertilization feed.Next to UHH, the OceanicInstitute has a feed formulationplant under construction.

POHNPEI STATE, FEDERATEDSTATES OF MICRONESIA

Masa Hiro is the leader of the pearlproject based at the College ofMicronesia (COM) under the stew-ardship of Dr Singeru Singeo(Executive Director). In the past fewyears, the project has been quiteactive: its first commercial pearlharvest was expected in July 2006and the expansion to an additionalfour other islands is underway.Value adding opportunities arenow being explored and the col-lege is interested in a trainingworkshop on pearl shell-craft and

Top: Pacific CoastalAquaculture Research Centre

Middle: Shipping container

Bottom: Spawning at NettPoint, FSM


jewellery. The college also expressedinterest in sea cucumber aquacul-ture and restocking, although theyhave limited technical expertiseand will probably look to partnersin the region for assistance.

The COM pearl hatchery at NettPoint has about 90,000 oysters,half of which are juveniles, andseveral thousand of which areseeded oysters. During my visit,the hatchery technicians success-fully carried out the third spawn-ing operation of the year. Theywork unsupervised, and accord-ing to Hiro are competent in allphases of hatchery production.The hatchery success at COM iscritical to overcoming the lack ofpearl stocks, which is preventingthe expansion of the pearl indus-try in Micronesia.

Simon Ellis (Mid-Pacific consult-ants) and George Steven(President Nukuroa Pearls) pre-sented a sample of pearls from theNukuroa farm. The sample con-tained some good quality pearlswith the distinctive green under-tone colour, which is particular toMicronesian pearls. It appearsthat after a number of years sinceit began, the Nukuroa pearl farmhas established a model for com-mercial production. The farmmanagement system, involvingownership by the local communi-ty, could be a useful lesson forsmall, remote and rural islands.

The Assistant Secretary for Fish-eries, Mr Marion Henry, expressedhis desire for a stronger presence ofregional expert agencies, such asSPC, in the northern Pacific.During a courtesy call on the SPCoffice in Ponhpei, we looked at anddiscussed the possibility of utiliz-ing desk space or conference facili-ties. A South Korean aquacultureinstitute has expressed interest inaquaculture of a white-banded sea

perch. Micronesia could also havepotential for marine ornamentalfish as well.

Mr Yosvo Phillip, Director ofEconomic Development Assistance,is currently managing Japanesegovernment aid funds for pearlfarm development. Yosvo hasbeen communicating with theSoutheast Asian Fisheries Devel-opment Centre (SEAFDEC) in thePhilippines on the possibility of

assisting in trials for Kappahycusseaweed farming.

KOSRAE, FEDERATED STATES OFMICRONESIA

Likiak Phillip is the manager ofthe National Aquaculture Center(NAC), where tens of thousandsof juvenile giant clams (mainlyTridacna derasa, T. maxima and T.squamosa) are grown-out in con-crete raceways. NAC has also


Top: Black pearls fromNukuroa Atoll

Bottom: Coral culture atKosrae’s National

Aquaculture Center


received T. crocea clams fromPalau.

Also at NAC is Martin Selch(IMTRONA Ltd), a German busi-ness entrepreneur involved in themarine ornamental trade. Martinhas been carrying out coral frag-mentation trials for export, andhopes to establish a commercialrelationship with NAC.

Next to NAC is the KosraeFisheries Department where thehead, Robert Talung has beensetting up a state-funded mudcrab project. A Queensland,Australia company, which wonthe tender for the mud crab con-

sultancy, has almost finishedconstruction of a mud crabhatchery. Abraham Reedson,Director of Agriculture, Fisheriesand Lands, participated in theSPC mud crab tour to SEAFDECin December 2005, and is sup-portive of SPC continuing tostrengthen linkages with Asianinstitutions.

The mud crab grow-out site com-prises two large ponds earthenponds on a 10 hectare site.Retaining walls are being built toreduce escapees. Anecdotalreports indicate that the sur-rounding mangroves now havegreater numbers of mud crabs.

The crabs are fed trash tuna pro-vided by transshipment boats inport. Exports of crabs to Guamhave been taking place.

SAIPAN, NORTHERNMARIANA ISLANDS

Aquaculture is a relatively newdevelopment in Saipan and thereis yet to be established an institu-tional placement within the gov-ernment system. In the interim,the Division of Wildlife and Fish-eries is the main fisheries contactpoint, and Director, SylvanIgisomar was able to organise aninformative visit. Dr Bill De laCruz is Secretary for Lands andNatural Resources office, whichoverseas the Division of Wildlifeand Fisheries. Dr De la Cruz, pre-viously Chief Veterinarian Officer,quickly grasped the potential forSaipan for providing disease-freeprawn stocks to the Asia region,and the biosecurity issues thatSPC has been attempting toaddress.

The Saipan Aquaculture Co. Ltd,managed by Micheal Ogo,recently ( November 2005) beganoperations. The main speciesbeing farmed is Penaeus vannameiprawns and the bio-secure facili-ty comprises a prawn hatcheryand raceways setup to accommo-date an intensive farming sys-tem. During my visit, threetonnes of prawns were beingharvested for the local market,45,000 post-larval juveniles hadbeen sent to farms on Guam, anddisease-free broodstock werebeing raised for export to Asia(the flight to the Philippines isjust a three hours long). The orig-inal disease-free broodstockcame from Kona, Hawaii. Thefacility has also integrated theproduction of Chitrilada strain oftilapia, sourced from Thailand.

Congressman Martin Borja hasreceived T. crocea clams from


Top: Mud crab ponds

Bottom: Prawn farm Saipan



Palau as a show of goodwill bythe President. We discussedsome quarantine measures forfuture shipments. The Congress-man is lobbying for an Aquacul-ture Bill to establish a govern-ment development body.

The Cooperative Research andExtension Services within theNorthern Marianas College pro-vide aquaculture extension andvocational training services. RossManglona, the AgriculturalExtension agent, oversees thisprogram. Two aquaculture spe-cialists (Lee Bowen and RandyTudela) introduced me to someof the farmers and projects theyhave been involved in recently.

• Anese Guerrouzo: Farms Niletilapia and P. vannameiprawns. Is one of the mainproviders of tilapia fish local-ly, particularly to the Filipinosemployed on Saipan.

• Peter Ariola: Raises Niletilapia in a small backyardrecirculating system designedby the college.

• Jeronomo Gulleon: Has about20 x 10 tonne raceways. Usedto farm tilapia but now is sell-ing the farm.

• Matilda Feheran: Farmshybrid red tilapia. Has a wellmaintained facility. A familysized, hobby operation ofabout one dozen x 5 tonnetanks.

PALAU

Accompanied by Theo Isumaru(Director Marine Bureau) andRoman Yano (PresidentialAdviser), I visited the milkfishaquaculture project in NgatpangState. The project is located sev-eral hours drive along the north-east coast and situated on theforeshore among the mangroves.The farm layout is designed toreceive young juveniles that areraised in different ponds accord-ing to their grow-out stage so

that the stocking density andfeed can be changed. The totalarea of ponds is 14 hectares, andso far, 2 million embryos import-ed from Taiwan have beenreceived. Harvesting of 20,000fishes at five months of age and 5inches in size was being carriedout while I was there. The fishare sold as live bait to a local tunafishing company. The onsite proj-ect manager is Mr Erik Bascowho is on secondment fromSEAFDEC. Erik has also set upother trials using Crassostrea gigas

oysters, rabbitfish (Signadae)and mud crabs.

Obichang Orak, manager of thePalau Mariculture DemonstrationCenter (PMDC), estimates thatthey have about half a millionjuvenile Tridacnae clams and200,000 larger clams stocked inthe raceways. PMDC has set up27 clam farms in Palau stockedwith 1.3 million clams. The objec-tive is to restock with 5 millionclams per annum. The targetspecies are T. crocea for the orna-

Top: Tilapia farm

Bottom: Milkfish ponds



mental trade, and to a lesserextent the larger T. derasa and T.gigas species for the ornamentaland sushi markets.

I visited several giant clam farmsin the lagoon around BabeldaobIsland. According to Obichang,the general configuration is thesame for most farms. Thisinvolves a fenced 50 x 100 footenclosure with thigh-deep water.Each enclosure is normallystocked with up to 80,000 clams.

The Marine Bureau’s fish hatch-ery is under the technical guid-ance of Sumito Akatsu, an OFCFaquaculture specialist from

Japan. The main species of fishbeing raised are groupers for thelive fish trade in Asia.Fingerlings of the grouper E.fuscoguttatus are successfullybeing reared routinely. Spawningtrials for coral trout (P. leopardusand P. areolatus) are underway.There is a large broodstock ofNapolean wrasse (C. undulatus)at the facility. Presently, thegrouper fingerlings are suppliedto Ngatapang where they areraised in net-cages in the lagoon.An alternative option would bethe rabbitfish (Siganus spp.),because it does not require a car-nivorous diet.

Palau's diverse marine faunaattracts a number of differentmarine organisations, some withundertones of aquaculture, includ-ing the Coral Savers Foundation,a Japanese NGO that culturescorals to rehabilitate degradedsites; and Belau Marine Orna-mentals, which is the mainexporter of marine ornamentalssuch as giant clams from PMDCand soft corals. Even the PalauPacific Resort Hotel has a smallland-based pond with giantclams where they hope guestswill “adopt” a clam during theirstay.

Palau Mariculture Demonstration Center (PMDC)


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Original text: English

Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Marine Resources Division, Information Section,BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia

Telephone: +687 262000; Fax: +687 263818; [email protected]; http://www.spc.int/coastfish

Well-known tuna scientist, Tony “Dr Fish” Lewis in action...

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