Antoine Teitelbaum Vincent Talbot Franck Magron

SPC Activities Page 2

News from in and around the regionPage 28

Coral uses and perspectives onsustainable development in SolomonIslandsAntoine Teitelbaum Page 35

ISO 22000 Standard: A food safetymanagement systemVincent Talbot Page 40

Shallow water bathymetryFranck Magron Page 44

Welcome to this issue of the Fisheries Newsletter. We presenta very interesting article on the ISO 22000 Certification. Thisnew standard specifies requirements for a food safetymanagement system in which an organisation in the foodhandling chain needs to demonstrate its ability to controlfood safety hazards to ensure that food is safe at the time ofhuman consumption.

Franck Magron, following on an article published inFisheries Newsletter #117, describes sources of information forshallow water bathymetry and how these sources can beused to produce bathymetric maps for coastal fisheries man-agement purposes.

Jean-Paul GaudechouxFisheries Information [email protected]

Number 120 (January – March 2007)

Farmed Acropora in Leitongo Village, SolomonIslands. The international ornamental coralmarket is demanding more cultured coralsbecause they adapt better to aquariumconditions. Also, farming corals is seen as andeco-friendly practice, compared with the wildharvesting of corals

REEF FISHERIES OBSERVATORY

2 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #120 – January/March 2007

SPC ACTIVITIES

Fieldwork and surveys in the Cook Islands

Staff of the coastal component of the EU-funded Pacific Regional Oceanic and Coastal Fisheries DevelopmentProgramme (PROCFish/C) and the Coastal Fisheries Development Programme (CoFish) began fieldwork in theCook Islands, with two sites surveyed in the first quarter. In addition, the Live Reef Fisheries Trade Specialist wasinvolved in several projects, including fieldwork in Kiribati, a global IUCN grouper meeting, and training of anattachment from Tuvalu.

Finfish, invertebrate and socio-economic surveys were conduct-ed in two locations in the CookIslands (Palmerston and Aitutakiatolls, Fig. 1) during February2007. The PROCFish/C andCoFish team consisted of KimFriedman and Kalo Pakoa (inver-tebrates), Silvia Pinca and PierreBoblin (finfish), and MeckiKronen (socioeconomics). ThePROCFish/C and CoFish teamacknowledges and thanks thefollowing people who assistedand/or worked with the team atone or both locations: IanBertram, Secretary for Fisheries;Kori Koroa, Head of CoastalFisheries Section; counterpartsfrom the Cook Islands Ministry ofMarine Resources, Richard Story,Ngatamaroa Makikiriti, NooroaRoi, Ngametua Atingakau,Dorothy Solomona; boat opera-tors and guides, Mataio Mareko(aka Captain Nemo), JohnNoovao, and Bill Marsters; JoAkroyd, Cook Islands MarineResource Institutional Strength-ening Project; and the elders,community members, and fishersfrom the two survey sites.

Aitutaki

Aitutaki Atoll comprises a highisland (16.3 km2 in area), a shal-low lagoon (75 km2 in area toapproximately 10 m depth), and atypical atoll barrier reef forma-tion with reef islets or ‘motus’, themajority of which lie to the east

and south. Aitutaki's shallowlagoon (Fig. 2) is closed off by thebarrier reef, except for one cutthrough the passage in the west,and two shallow passages in theeast and northwest. Circulationinside the lagoon is slow, andcoastal waters around the main-land suffer heavy rates of sedi-

mentation. Reefs in the lagoonwere predominantly dead andfragile, and often covered by epi-phytes and silt. Coral conditionsimproved with distance from themainland, especially towards thesouthwest. On the barrier reef topand drop-off, reef conditionswere generally good.

Figure 1: The two survey sites:Palmerston and Aitutaki atolls

in the southern Cook Islands.

Figure 2: Aitutakiinvertebrate survey coverage,

with survey stations noted.

3SPC Fisheries Newsletter #120 – January/March 2007

SPC ACTIVITIES

Invertebrate surveys were con-ducted in many locationsaround the reef and lagoon (Fig.2). Preliminary results revealedthat the elongate clam, Tridacnamaxima was the most commongiant clam, although T. squamosawas present, but rare. T. maximastocks have been largely over-fished, with dead shell piles evi-dent on most ‘open’ reefs. Alsonoted in the reserve were largesized, healthy Tridacna gigas, T.derasa and Hippopus hippopus(translocated species). Thesepresent an excellent resource forCook Islanders, as large sized T.gigas and T. derasa are becomingrare around the Pacific.

The commercial topshell‘trochus’ (Trochus niloticus) fish-ery was the invertebrate high-light on Aitutaki. Trochus areharvested only when there aresufficient numbers on the reefsto ensure the quota can bereached sustainably, and har-

vests are valuable enough towarrant fishing. The last harvestwas in 2001, and the current sur-vey suggests that the trochusstock density (Fig. 3) is sufficientto allow fishing.

The density of urchins(Echinothrix diadema) was veryhigh in some areas, especially onthe reef platforms. Infaunalspecies were of little importancein the Aitutaki system due to lim-ited habitat, although the Pacificasaphis (Asaphis violascens) waspresent. Aitutaki's beche-de-merresource was unusual: althoughhabitat conditions looked verysuitable, the full complement ofspecies expected for a high islandlagoon system (such as Aitutaki)was not present. The three mostcommercially valuable specieswere Actinopyga mauritiana,Stichopus chloronotus and Holothuriaatra, which according to localknowledge, have not been har-vested for many years. Deeper

water species, such as pricklyredfish (Thelenota ananas) wererecorded, but at low densities.Other species such as Stichopus hor-rens (collected for subsistence use)were recorded in very low num-bers. Holothuria leucospilota (ediblegonads are consumed) was pres-ent in moderate to high densities.Brown sandfish (Bohadschia vitien-sis) was absent, and only a singletigerfish, B. argus, was recorded. Inaddition, high-value black teatfish,H. nobilis, were also absent fromrecords.

Finfish surveys are normallyconducted at six locations in eachof four reef types: outer reef, backreef, coastal reef and intermedi-ate (lagoon) reef. However, atotal lack of reefs along the coastand the murky water conditionswithin Aitutaki Atoll in the east-ern lagoon area imposed a limitto the assessment of the coastalreef. Therefore, 18 dive locationsin the outer, back and lagoonhabitats were assessed with thefollowing preliminary results.

Outer reefs: In general, fish den-sity was high but diversity wasvery low. Most fish hid in poolsin very shallow water and couldnot be reached due to the surf.There were fair numbers of largecarangids (e.g. Caranx melampy-gus and C. ignobilis), Chanos chanos,Scomberoides lysan, and few aver-age-sized Cheilinus undulatus(Fig. 4). Very high concentrationsof Cephalopholis argus (ciguatox-ic), and Melichthys niger and M.vidua were sighted. Parrotfishwere the most abundant fish, withChlorurus frontalis the main species.

Surgeonfish were representedby many Ctenochaetus striatus, aswell as some species ofAcanthurus. Very few Acanthuruslineatus and a few large schoolsof small A. triostegus wereobserved. A. achilles were rare.Higher level carnivores werefrequent, such as Lethrinus atkin-soni. The fish were not wary ofdivers, most probably becausecarnivores are not targeted

Figure 3 (above): Largebroodstock shells in

abundance (sizes 110 mm +) inparts of Aitutaki

Figure 4 (left): Napoleonwrasse on the outer reef of

Aitutaki.


SPC ACTIVITIES

because of problems with ciguat-era, especially Caranx argus,Lethrinus xanthochilus, C. melampy-gus, C. ignobilis, Lutjanus fulvusand L. monostigma. There wasalso a total absence of sharksand only one turtle was seen atthe surface by the west pass.

Intermediate reefs: These werevery rare in the lagoon and locat-ed in very shallow murky waters(Fig. 5). The eastern reefs werenot sampled due to very low vis-ibility. Hard substrate was main-ly found in the southwesternpart of the atoll, where elongatedthin reef structures were found.

Back reefs: The east side of theatoll has no back reef, which is

only present on the west andsouth sides of the atoll. Thishabitat is represented by a mixof dead coral rock and pocketsof sand and rubble, inhabited bymany small surgeonfish, and afew other fish assemblages.

Socioeconomic surveys onAitutaki covered 30 households,including 129 people (~7% of thetotal number of 435 householdsand current population of 1871).Household interviews focusedon the collection of generaldemographic, socioeconomic andseafood consumption data. Inaddition, individual interviews

were conducted with finfish fish-ers (26: 22 men, 4 women) andinvertebrate fishers (22: 13 men,9 women). The most importantsocioeconomic parameters arepresented in Table 1 for bothAitutaki and Palmerston atolls.

Survey data for Aitutaki suggestthat the community is less

Figure 5: Acroporacoral in the lagoon.

(n=30 HH) (n=10 HH)Demography % of HH involved in reef fisheries 80 90

Nb fisher per HH 1.93 (±0.53) 2.40 (±0.52)of which % finfisher men 25.9 16.7of which % finfisher women 5.2 0of which % invertebrate fishermen 0 0of which % invertebrate fisherwomen 6.9 0of which % finfish and invertebrate fishermen 39.7 33.3of which % finfish and invertebrate fisherwomen 22.4 50

Income % HH with fisheries as 1st income 6.7 40% HH with fisheries as 2nd income 23.3 0% HH with agriculture as 1st income 16.7 0% HH with agriculture as 2nd income 6.7 0% HH with salary as 1st income 56.7 50% HH with salary as 2nd income 13.3 20% HH with other source as 1st income 33.3 20% HH with other source as 2nd income 10 30Expenditure USD/year/HH 5,239.13 (±788.81) 7,784.32 (±1,502.36)Remittance USD/year/HH * 1,068.09 (±584.44) 826.36 (n/a)

Consumption Quantity fresh fish consumed (kg/capita/year) 57.71 (±7.31) 111.52 (±26.48)Frequency fresh fish consumed (time/week) 3.35 (±0.33) 5.30 (±0.42)Quantity fresh invertebrate consumed (kg/capita/year) 2.52 (±0.90) 4.25 (±3.70)Frequency fresh invertebrate consumed (time/week) 0.25 (±0.10) 0.30 (±0.25)Quantity canned fish consumed (kg/capita/year). 20.37 (±5.24) 0.00 (±0.00)Frequency canned fish consumed (time/week) 1.64 (±0.37) 0.00 (±0.00)% HH eat fresh fish 100 100% HH eat invertebrates 63.3 70% HH eat canned fish 73.3 0% HH eat fresh fish they catch 73.3 90% HH eat fresh fish they buy 36.7 0% HH eat fresh fish they are given 66.7 100% HH eat fresh invertebrates they catch 63.3 60% HH eat fresh invertebrates they buy 6.7 0% HH eat fresh invertebrates they are given 6.7 20

Aitutaki Palmerston

* average sum for households that receive remittances

Table 1: Fishery demographics, income and seafood consumption patternson Aitutaki and Palmerston atolls


SPC ACTIVITIES

dependent on fisheries than itmay have traditionally been. Thetraditional dependency is evi-dent from moderate to high percapita fresh fish consumption.

However, people also consumedcanned fish at a significant rate,suggesting a change in lifestylefrom fresh fish to processed fish,and a higher availability of cash,which helps to substitute subsis-tence fishing activities with pur-chased meals. A comparison ofthe current 2007 results withthose reported by Adams et al.(1996)1 in 1996, reveals that: 1)Aitutaki's total population hasdecreased from 2300 to 1800, 2)the average household size hasalso decreased (from 7 to 4 peo-ple), and 3) the frequency andquantity of fresh fish hasdecreased from 4.7 to 3.3meals/week, and 100 to 58kg/per capita/year. In addition,salaries are the most importantsource of income, whereas only7% of households rely on fishingas a primary source of income,and 23% of households with acomplementary secondary sourceof income. One reason for the sug-gested lifestyle change may betourism, which brings at least 10times as many visitors to Aitutakiper year as there are residents.

Palmerston

Palmerston Atoll has an exten-sive lagoon area (51 km2) that is32% smaller than Aitutaki's, butis much deeper. There were sixislets (or motus) on the barrierreef whose total land area wasless than 2 km2 (Fig. 6). Thelagoon is closed off by the barrierreef except for one very shallowreef crossing (in the west, andwith a depth of 2 m) and a sec-ond shallow cut, traversable athigh tide, in the northeast.Circulation inside the lagoon wasminimal, with the main waterexchange occurring over the reef.Patch reefs were common

throughout the lagoon, oftenreaching up from a fine sedimentbenthos of 20–30 m (total inshorereef area was approx 10.2 km2).

Invertebrate surveys were con-ducted in many locations aroundthe reef and lagoon (Fig. 6).Preliminary results revealed thatTridacna maxima was the mostcommon giant clam species, andT. squamosa was present, but rare.Many dead shell piles were evi-dent on most suitable reefs, indi-cating that the resource was beingoverfished. Small numbers ofgood sized adults are still presentto ensure the flow of recruitmentin the lagoon, but they are widelyspaced and attention is requiredto ensure sustainability of theexisting stock. The bulk of thefemale population is found in thelarger sized clams (clams areprotandric in their development),and therefore some stocks need tobe protected in areas of medium

to high density. There was somemantle bleaching of clams in thelagoon (a similar reaction to coralbleaching), and no clams werefound at depth on pinnaclepatches, indicating that thesehabitats are affected by episodicperiods of poor water quality.

Movements of trochus (Trochusniloticus) to Palmerston havebeen recorded for 1973, 1981, and1982 (> 3000 shells transported),with just a single 1.5 tonne har-vest in 1997 of poor qualityshells. There is currently a mora-torium on trochus harvesting,and there is some anecdotal evi-dence that the presence oftrochus is limiting the return ofgiant clam stocks. Palmerston’souter reef (approximately 34.4km lineal measure) was exten-sive, but most shells were record-ed in the lagoon and near the‘draining’ passages in the eastand north of the lagoon. The cur-

1 Adams T.J.H., Bertram I., Dalzell P., Koroa M., Matoto S., Ngu J., Terekia O. and Tuara P. 1996. Aitutaki Lagoon Fishery,Fisheries Resources Survey and Management Plan, SPC, Noumea, New Caledonia.

Figure 6: Palmerston Atoll invertebratesurvey coverage, with survey stations noted


SPC ACTIVITIES

rent survey suggests that trochusstocks are patchy and, within thebest aggregations, occurring atlow density. The outer reefs are agood habitat (high topographyand complexity) for adults, butthe low production of juvenilesin the lagoon means less exportof shells to these reefs.

The density of urchins (Echino-thrix diadema) was not as high ason Aitutaki. In fact, the commu-nity at Palmerston is clearing outsome of these urchins (dumpingthem on the beaches). Infaunalspecies were of more importancein the Palmerston system due tothe available habitat, but Pacificasaphis (Asaphis violascens) wasthe main target, and this speciesdoes not lend itself to surveyingas it is found in the stony benthos.Anecdotal records show lobsterabundance to be low to moderate.

Palmerston's beche-de-merresource consisted of slightlymore species than Aitutaki's. Thesea cucumber resource com-prised mainly Stichopus chlorono-tus, although Holothuria atra,Actinopyga mauritiana and severalspecimens of Bohadschia arguswere also recorded. In addition,black teatfish, Holothuria nobilisand a single specimen of whiteteatfish, Holothuria fuscogilvawere also recorded. Otherspecies such as Stichopus horrensand Holothuria leucospilota werealso present, although brownsandfish (Bohadschia vitiensis)was absent. There was undoubt-edly an opportunity to fish smallamounts of greenfish (S. chlorono-tus), which were ubiquitous inthe lagoon and recorded in highdensities. Surf redfish (A. mauri-tiana) also has limited potential.

Like Aitutaki, Palmerston's fin-fish surveys were restricted tothe outer reef, back reef andintermediate reef, as the coastal

reef area was all but missing, dueto the atoll's particular topogra-phy and the total lack of terrige-nous influence from the smallmotus. The following prelimi-nary results are drawn from the18 dive locations surveyed acrossthree habitats.

Outer reefs: The eastern side ofthe atoll was not sampled due topoor weather conditions. In thenorthwest and northeast areas,high densities and large sizes ofHipposcarus longiceps (Fig. 7),Chlorurus microrhinos, C. frontalis,Scarus altipinnis and Lethrinusxanthochilus also formed largeschools, and some of the sizesobserved were quite exceptional.Since fish were not scared by thepresence of divers, it can beassumed that spearfishing is notpracticed. Large Plectropomus lae-vis were found everywhere dueto the fact that they were cigua-toxic and therefore not caught byfishers. The abundance of apexpredators (especially Carcharhinusamblyrhynchos and Triaenodon obe-sus) was fairly good, but notexceptional.

During the sampling period, thewater at the northern tip of theatoll was very milky, probablybecause of spawn, and the fishwere actively mating (especiallysurgeonfish and parrotfish, Fig. 8).Abundant small sized and juve-nile fish, especially Scarus sor-

didus, were recorded on the flatouter reef area, but many largesized fish were found on theshallower coastward part of thereef. Poorer fish fauna of smallersize was recorded at the southeastsites. Several sharks, bothTriaenodon obesus and Carcharhinusamblyrhynchos, along with oneturtle, were sighted in these areas.

Intermediate reefs: The inside ofthe atoll is dominated by a sandyfloor dispersed with severalsmall columnar-shaped pinna-cles and small patche reefs thatdisplayed fairly good coral cov-erage and fish biomass. Two pin-nacle dives in the northwest areaof the atoll displayed high num-bers of good-sized Scarus altipin-nis, Hipposcarus longiceps,Cephalopholis argus and Lethrinusmonostigma. A site located on apatch reef directly in front of themain island had fairly good coralcover and diverse fish biomass,with one Napoleon wrasse and alarge school of rabbitfish.

Back reef: This habitat in thesouth and southeast had smallcoral patches composed ofmicro-atolls, which act as naturalfish traps. This area is about 3.5nautical miles long and has beenseriously impacted, being locat-ed very close to the inhabitedisland. The northern lagoon sec-tor is much richer although thefish, especially the dominant H.

Figure 7: Hipposcaruslongiceps and Chlorurus

microrhinos in Palmerston'swestern outer reefs.


SPC ACTIVITIES

Figure 8 (top): Chlorurusmicrorhinos in mating displayon Palmerston's outer reefs.

Figure 9 (middle): Highconcentration of juvenilesurgeonfish.

Figure 10 (bottom): Blue fintrevallies (Caranx melampygus)and rays around back reef coralpatch.

longiceps, escape at the approachof boats and divers. The backreefs are very poor in corals andvery poor in fish, except for avery high concentration of juve-nile Ctenochaetus striatus (Fig. 9)found in the thousands on thesouthwest back reefs. Abundantnumbers of trevallies (Caranxmelampygus) were feeding andgrey reef sharks hovered aroundthe area. Rays were found feed-ing on the sandy bottom aroundthe reef structures (Fig. 10).

On Palmerston, the current totalpopulation of 56 people, and all10 households, were surveyed.Household interviews focusedon the collection of general demo-graphic, socioeconomic andseafood consumption data. Inaddition, individual interviewswere conducted with all 24 finfishfishers and 20 invertebrate fishers(12 women, 8 men). A fish man-agement meeting was also con-ducted with the Palmerston com-munity. Acomparison of the mostimportant socioeconomic param-eters of both island populations ispresented in Table 1.

The Palmerston community isgreatly dependent on its reef andlagoon resources due to the limit-ed alternatives to earn income onthis isolated atoll, as well as thelimited agricultural potential. Thisfact shows in a calculated per capi-ta consumption of ~110 kg/year,which is much higher than the fig-ure stipulated by Preston et al.(1995)2 of ~70 kg/year.

2 Preston G.L., Lewis A.D., Sims N., Bertram I., Howard N., Maluofenua S., Marsters B., Passfield K., Tearii T., Viala F., WrightD. and Yeeting B. 1985. The marine resources of Palmerston Island, Cook Islands (1988). SPC, Noumea, New Caledonia.


SPC ACTIVITIES

Living costs on Palmerston arehigh because all goods are import-ed by boat from Rarotonga, andall perishable food items requirefreezing facilities. However,Palmerston has experiencedsome modernization as seen innutritional, educational, incomeand lifestyle changes. Comparingdata reported in the 1988 survey

(Preston et al. 1995) and theCoFish 2007 survey reveals that1) the population has decreasedfrom 140 (end of 1980s/begin-ning 1990s) to 66 (in 1996) and 56(in 2007); and 2) the total numberof motorized boats has decreased,from a reported 24 boats (and 35outboard engines) in 1988, to 15boats surveyed in 2007 (9 motor-

ized, 6 non-motorized). In addi-tion there has been a slight reduc-tion in the volume of fish export-ed, from a reported 80% in 1988,to an estimated 75% in 2007.There has also been a reductionin the quantity of open water fishcatches (~70% in 1988) in favourof mainly parrotfish (2007).

The Live Reef Fisheries Trade Initiative

The Live Reef Fisheries Trade (LRFT) Initiative, a part of the Reef Fisheries Observatory, is a project currentlyfunded by the MacArthur Foundation, AusAID and the Taiwanese government. The Initiative provides technicalassistance and advice to Pacific Island countries and territories in managing their live reef fisheries and addressesother problems and issues relating to these fisheries in order to ensure their ecological and economical sustainabil-ity over the long term.

MacArthur Foundationapproves further fundingsupport for SPC's LRFTInitiative

In March 2007, the MacArthurFoundation Board of Directorsapproved the extension of thegrant in support of the LRFTInitiative, with USD 350,000being provided over the nextthree years. The grant will allowSPC to continue to provide theneeded assistance to its membercountries and territories inaddressing issues and problemsrelating to the conservation andsustainable management oftheir live reef fisheries.

SPC is very thankful for thiscontinuing support from theMacArthur Foundation andlooks forward to a further fruit-ful three years working togetherin partnership with theFoundation.

Moving forward with theKiritimati Island bonefishmanagement plan

The Kiritimati Island bonefishfishery is a very importanttourist-based catch and releasesport fishery for Kiribati, withan estimated net worth of aboutUSD 2.5 million annually.Because of concerns raised by

local bonefish guides and hote-liers on Kiritimati — in anticipa-tion of potential problems fromuncontrolled fishing efforts —the Kiribati government in 2002requested SPC to assist in devel-oping a management plan forthe fishery. Due to a lack ofinformation about the fishery,SPC initiated some scientificresearch and field experiments,which were conducted in 2003and 2004. Most of this fieldworkwent well, although some veryimportant field experimentswere vandalized towards thefinal stages of the survey, and sowere not completed. Financialresources were short then, andthe research was suspendeduntil further funding could befound to complete the work. By2006, with still with no fundssecured, the Kiribati govern-ment decided to look into inter-nal funding options and againrequested SPC's assistance.

A one-week trip was made bythe Live Reef Fisheries Specialist,Being Yeeting, in January 2007to discuss a strategy for movingforward with the Ministry ofFisheries and Marine ResourcesDevelopment (MFMRD). Duringthe visit — and after consultingwith MFMRD and several othergovernment departments thathave an interest in the bonefish

fishery in Kiritimati — a six-month plan of action was draft-ed and presented to MFMRD.The plan consists of seekingfunding as well as undertakingactivities necessary to develop aKiritimati bonefish manage-ment plan up to the actual com-pletion and submission of theplan to the government.

The plan of action was imple-mented on 1 March 2007, andthus far, it is on schedule.Achievements to date, which arepart of the action plan, include:

1. The completion and submis-sion of a funding proposal togovernment. This has result-ed in funds now being avail-able to cover all activities,including the cost of techni-cal assistance from SPC.

2. The completion and submis-sion of a Cabinet paper tothe Kiribati government forthe endorsement of the man-agement plan and relatedregulations to be developed.

3. The establishment of aBonefish Task Force withinthe government that wouldprovide governmental sup-port and coordination ofefforts and contributions ofthe different government


SPC ACTIVITIES

stakeholders. The Task Forceis headed by the Ministry ofFisheries and comprises rep-resentatives from the Ministryof Environment, Ministry ofTourism, Ministry of the Lineand Phoenix Group and theAttorney General’s office.

4. The first consultation work-shop with Kiritimati Islandstakeholders was held inmid-March. The workshopprovided the opportunity topresent some of the biologi-cal findings from the bone-fish research to date, discussmanagement issues and con-cerns, and facilitate thedevelopment of a bonefishmanagement framework bythe stakeholders using theEcosystems Approach toFisheries Management. Theworkshop was a great suc-cess with strong positivesupport from the public. Aworkshop report has beenfinalized and distributed tothe Kiribati government andworkshop participants at theend of April 2007.

5. The next steps include anattachment training of aKiribati fisheries officer atSPC to learn how to processbiological samples (e.g.otoliths, gonads), and learnhow to process and analysedata. The attachment willalso be involved in writingup the draft bonefish man-agement plan and regula-tions to take back to Kiribatiat the end of the training.Both the plan and the regula-tions will be given to gov-ernment and public stake-holders for finalizing beforesubmission to the govern-ment for endorsement andimplementation.

Red listing of grouper species

The red listing of fish species isdone through a process devel-oped by the International Unionfor the Conservation of Nature

and Natural Resources (IUCN)to check on the status of exploit-ed fish species. IUCN uses itswidely understood system toassess and classify speciesaccording to their respectivelevel of risk of global extinction.Critically endangered speciesultimately become red listed bythe Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species ofWild Fauna and Flora (CITES),which provides some protectionfor trade in signatory countries.

From 7–11 February 2007, theLRFT Specialist attended anIUCN workshop at the Universityof Hong Kong on the red listingof groupers. The workshop wasattended by a number of well-known grouper researchersfrom around the world.Participants brought their owndatabases and references fromthe region they work in. TheSPC PROCFish/C data, anddata from previous SPC techni-cal reports, were shared at theworkshop, and together withdata from the French Institute ofResearch and Development(IRD) provided by MichelKulbicki, it was possible to com-plete an assessment of grouperspecies in the Pacific.

At the end of the workshop, thestatus of more than 100 grouperspecies was assessed. Twentygrouper species were classifiedas being threatened, meaningthat these species neededurgent management measuresto reduce their overexploitationlevels in order for them to avoidbecoming globally extinct. Mostof these threatened species arenot from the Pacific Islandsregion. Two species from thePacific that are being targeted bythe Live Reef Food Fish Trade,Plectropomus areolatus and P. lae-vis, were listed as vulnerable andtherefore are in need of manage-ment, especially the known fish-ing practice of targeting theirspawning aggregations.

The workshop was very usefulin understanding the wholeIUCN red listing process and ingaining an understanding of thestatus of groupers globally, andspecifically, in the Pacific region.An information paper describ-ing the IUCN red listing processwill be circulated to SPC mem-ber countries in the near future.Also, a press release of therecent IUCN workshop held inHong Kong can be viewed onthe IUCN website:

http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2007/03/6_coral_reefs.htm

CITES update

The next meeting of the partiesto CITES will be in June 2007,and the following marinespecies are being considered:

• Proposed for Appendix II list-ing: two species of spiny lob-sters (Brazil population only);European eel; red coral; spinydogfish (Squalus acanthias);Porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus);and an endemic Indonesianspecies of cardinal fish.

• Proposed for Appendix I list-ing: all species of sawfish.

The proposed listings underCITES should have no affect onPacific Island countries and terri-tories. Also on the agenda forfuture consideration are seacucumbers, toothfish, some othershark species, and seahorses.

There is now a memorandum ofagreement between FAO andthe CITES Secretariat, whereFAO will provide scientificopinion and advice on all pro-posed CITES listings of marinespecies. In this regard, FAO hasbegun a worldwide review ofsea cucumbers, covering thebiology, fisheries and stock sta-tus. This will form the basis forany scientific advice providedto CITES on sea cucumbers, inthe event they are proposed forlisting under the convention.

AQUACULTURE SECTION


SPC ACTIVITIES

Also to be discussed at theupcoming CITES meeting is thetrade in giant clams, especiallyfor the aquarium trade. CITES isconcerned that some speciesbeing traded are not secondgeneration cultured, and itappears that giant clam exportsfrom some countries in thePacific are under question.

Closer working relationshipsbetween SPC and SCRFA

In February 2007, the LRFT Spe-cialist met with the Director of theSociety for the Conservation ofReef Fish Aggregations (SCRFA,website: http://www.scrfa.org) tofinalize and sign a memoran-dum of understanding (MOU)between SPC (through the LRFTInitiative) and SCRFA that thetwo organisations have beendeveloping and discussing overthe last year. In the past, SPChas worked closely with SCFRAinformally, for the benefit andinterest of SPC member coun-tries. The MOU will allow acloser formal working partner-ship between the two organisa-tions, so that they can assessreef fish spawning aggregationsand establish management andmonitoring programmes inPacific Island countries that willensure the sustainability of reef

fisheries in the region. There areno funding commitments tiedto this MOU, but it is hoped thatfunding proposals will bedeveloped for future workactivities.

Tuvalu looks into the marineaquarium trade

In March 2007, Mr. TupulangaPoulasi, fisheries officer fromTuvalu's Fisheries Department,undertook a three-week attach-ment training under the LRFTInitiative Attachment Trainingprogramme. Attachment train-ing is part of a regular capacitybuilding programme for PacificIsland countries to build localexpertise within fisheries depart-ments so that they can conductresource surveys and analyseand interpret survey results oftheir live reef fisheries for man-agement and sustainable devel-opment purposes.

This attachment training forTuvalu is a follow-up to in-country training on field surveymethodology, and a survey ofthe marine aquarium traderesources of Funafuti,undertak-en in 2005 at the request of theTuvalu Fisheries Department.This survey looked at the poten-tial of Tuvalu's marine resources

for the marine aquarium trade.Unfortunately Tuvalu had todefer this part of the attachmentto a later date, due to localstaffing shortages.

The aim of the attachment train-ing was to learn how to clean,enter and analyze the Funafutisurvey data using RFID, a data-base and query programmedeveloped by the Reef FisheriesObservatory. The fisheries offi-cer also had the chance to inter-pret survey results and to writea technical report under theguidance of the LRFT Specialist.The report discussed the currentstatus of the potential marineaquarium trade resources, theavailable species and stock esti-mates (with recommendations onhow much should be consideredfor exploitation), and what man-agement setups and logistical fac-tors should be considered beforestarting up operations. The tech-nical report aimed to provide thestatus of the resource without try-ing to promote or negate the pos-sibilities of a marine aquariumtrade for Tuvalu. The first draft ofthe technical report was complet-ed by the end of the attachment.The report has been finalized bymid-April, and submitted to theTuvalu government for consider-ation.

Impacts of Policy and Institutional Environment on ACIAR Research in the South Pacific,USP Campus, Suva, 6-7 March 2007

According to the Centre forInternational Economics (CIE),policy and institutional settingsare a major influence on theuptake, effectiveness and, there-fore, the impact of research proj-ects in the Pacific. This was thepremise adopted by CIE when itwas commissioned by the Aus-tralian Centre for InternationalAgricultural Research (ACIAR)to review the impact of policyand institutions on its researchprojects in the Pacific.

To explore this issue further theCIE organised a regional work-shop, involving approximately20 representatives from indus-try, academia, NGOs, regionalagencies and ACIAR. Countryparticipants included Fiji,Samoa, Solomon Islands, PapuaNew Guinea and Tonga. Theworkshop was co-hosted by theUniversity of the South Pacific(USP) Pacific Institute ofAdvanced Studies in Develop-ment and Governance, and was

held from 6–7 March at the USPSuva campus. SPC's Aquacul-ture Adviser also participated.

Policy may negatively influencethe incentives of producers toundertake the investments gen-erated by research. Distortionscan also lead to situations wherenew production techniques mayhave counter intuitive and some-times counter productive effects.Formal and informal institutionsmay reduce returns to invest-


SPC ACTIVITIES

ment in new technologies. A lackof managing risk may detersmallholders from becomingspecialised and moving out ofsubsistence production.

The workshop observed thatproject selection and design arecritical stages that often fail totake into account the questions ofcommercial viability and the linkbetween commercial involve-ment and adoption. Some of theissues poorly addressed at thisstage include:

• Market and risk analysis;

• Consultation with the pri-vate sector;

• Analysis of incentives facingquasi-subsistence farmers;

• Recognition of incentivesdriving researchers (e.g. theemphasis on producing pub-lications); and

• Contractual arrangementswith private sector collabo-rators.

Other important policy/institu-tional factors include:

• The security of propertyrights/tenure: Incorporatingcustomary fishing rights;land tenure and its impacton mobilising land forinvestment or use as securityfor loans;

• Government funding and itsapproach to research andextension activities: Donordependence often detersgovernment from funding orcontributing to ongoingresearch and development;inadequate priority oftengiven for spending in theagriculture/fisheries sector;inherent weakness in gov-ernment extension services;

• Issues of trust and methods ofengagement lead to inappro-priate contractual arrange-ments and enforcement: Thisimpedes the scope for enter-prises to be formally involvedin growing/distribution/marketing and for input toprovide credit and technology;

• Weakness of national bio-security agencies makes it dif-ficult to comply with require-ments for export markets;

• Input costs may be unreason-ably high. Especially concern-ing fertilizers and pesticidesfor agriculture. This may bethe result of high internalcosts (taxes) or that the per-ceived cost/benefits by farm-ers of technological gains aretoo low or uncertain;

• Insufficient institutionalcapacity to absorb and utilisepolicy analysis (i.e. a lack ofanalytical tools for policymaking);

• Limited capacity to enforcelegislation;

• Poor governance influencingthe targeted beneficiariesand consistency of applica-tion of regulations and taxa-tion; and

• Government marketing agen-cies may erode incentives forprivate sector activities.

SPC Aquaculture Section assists with aquaculture environmental impactassessments in the Federated States of Micronesia and Cook Islands

Coral farming in Kosrae,Federated States of Micronesia

In January 2007, SPC's Aqua-culture Section commissionedMr Steve Lindsay (Australia) asa short-term consultant to pre-pare an environmental impactassessment (EIA) for a coralfarm on Kosrae. The farmingproponent is Mr Martin Selch, aGerman entrepreneur who hasformed a local company calledMicronesian Management andMarketing Enterprises (MMME).MMME proposes to culture andexport marine ornamentalspecies, including hard and softcorals, from its base in Kosrae.

The main environmental riskreported by Mr Lindsay’sassessment was the requiredremoval of first generation coralfragments to initiate the farm.However, the conclusion drawnfrom the report supported, inprinciple, the business plan pro-posed by MMME. The EIA wassubmitted to Kosrae's Environ-mental Protection Agency, and afarming permit has beenapproved.

The EIA report produced by MrLindsay has been designed toprovide a template for SPC toassist other commercial coraloperations within the Pacific.

Finfish and edible oyster farmin Rarotonga, Cook Islands

During the first quarter of 2007,SPC also provided advice to theCook Islands National Environ-ment Service to assess the envi-ronmental impacts for a pro-posed aquaculture operation onthe main island of Rarotonga.The aquaculture operation is ajoint project between EcocultureLtd, a local company headed byMr Tap Pryor, and theTitikaveka Growers Association(TGA), a local association ofagricultural growers.

The project will consist of fishponds and oyster raceways. The


SPC ACTIVITIES

site already has a hydroponicfarm. The species to be farmedinclude edible oysters, milkfish,Nile tilapia, and possibly prawns.The system is designed to usethe fish farm's by-products forthe growth of the oysters andthe prawns. The raceways willserve as biofilters due to themicrobial activity, the filterfeeding of the oysters. Detritusfeeding by the shrimp will helprecycle nutrients. Pilot trialsinvolving milkfish resulted inrapid growth rates. Small trialswith local Macrobrachium larwere also carried out.

A comprehensive EIS was pro-vided. One concern that wasaddressed was the impact of theproject on the water table lens.The project has drilled its ownwells to source water and hasput in place safeguards for theproper discharge of wastewater.The EIA has also documentedthe risks and management prac-tices to prevent negativeimpacts associated with theintroduction of aquatic speciesthat are alien to the CookIslands. It is hoped that thisdocument can serve as a modelfor enterprises considering sim-ilar projects.

After a process of technicalreviews and public consulta-tions, the National EnvironmentService issued Ecoculture andTGA a permit to proceed withfarming. The company has sincestarted importing Nile tilapiafrom the Philippines.

Top: Coral fragments beinggrown by MMME in Kosrae,

Federated States ofMicronesia

Middle: Fish ponds forRarotonga project

Bottom: Mr Tap Pryor next tosome trial shrimp ponds for

his Rarotonga project.


SPC ACTIVITIES

Fiji: Update on Dairy Farms Fiji's Macrobrachium shrimp farmand J. Hunter Ltd's Pearl Farm

DFF prawn farm, Navua

I accompanied Dr Tim Pickering(Aquaculture Lecturer, Universityof the South Pacific – USP) tothe Dairy Farm Fiji (DFF)Aquaculture Unit, located at theformer Viti-corp Ltd farm,which the company has leasedfrom the Fiji Islands Govern-ment. Macrobrachium and tilapiahad been farmed there previ-ously, and so DFF inherited theexisting ponds and infrastruc-ture. Improvements were under-taken, however, to upgrade pondsurfaces, dykes and slopes.

DFF prawn farm operatesthrough a unique relationshipbetween private sector and aca-demia (i.e. USP). Under the cur-rent arrangement, USP —through it's Institute of MarineResources (IMR) — providestechnical advice and labour tothe farm on a cost-recovery basis.The School of Marine Studies(SMS) Seawater Laboratory atUSP (Laucala campus) breedsand rears post-larvae (PL) readyfor pond stocking. Avinash Singh(IMR) is project manager.

This is a useful case-study oftechnology transfer for thePacific Islands region, as it is asuccessful demonstration of onemechanism for transferring sci-entific research and developmentto industry application. Earlyprojections for the businessmodel were derived from theeconomic models (available onthe SPC Aquaculture portal web-site); it was interesting to see thismodel being applied in a real life

While in Fiji recently, the Aquaculture Adviser took the opportunity to visit a shrimp farm in Navua and a black-pearl farm in Savusavu.

situation. The model continues tobe useful for fine-tuning thewhole operation; for example, byinputting real farm data to makedecisions about the optimumsize of prawns for harvesting, orthe best stock density for prawns.

DFF has already completed sev-eral harvest cycles. The opera-tion is well into the learningcurve, and from this experiencethe commercial aspects ofprawn farming are beginning tobe understood. So far DFF hasexceeded its harvest expecta-tions (compared with the initialeconomic modelling), largely byincreasing stocking densities.One of the 0.3-ha ponds washarvested the week prior to myvisit, had yielded approximate-ly 600 kg of prawns at 38 g/individual, after a six-monthgrow-out.

During my visit, I also notedsome positive indications of themarketing demand for prawns.For example, DFF had just com-

pleted building a retail shop,called ‘The Prawn Shop’, whichthat week had sold 250 kg ofprawns (at FJD25/kg) withoutany advertising. This consistedof sales made to people drivingby who saw the sign andstopped. The product is market-ed as ‘Fiji Blue Prawn’.

According to Kevin Blake, CEOof DFF, the company is a smallportfolio of two of NewZealand's eminent entrepre-neurs (Bruce Pulman and PaulBoocock). The primary businessof the parent operation in Fiji(Highway Stabilizers Ltd) isroad works, bridge constructionand other road projects. TheViti-Corp lease for the DFFprawn farm was added as an‘industry good’ project, intend-ed to raise the company profile.

Since DFF is generating a quickcash turnover, there is potentialfor commercial expansion.Currently there are 24 grow-outponds and there are plans to

The newly constructed PrawnShop where DFF farm raisedMacrobrachium prawns aresold. From left to right: Tim

Pickering (USP), Avinesh Sing(IMR), and Ben Ponia (SPC)


SPC ACTIVITIES

build another 20 after the rainyseason. To take the industrygood concept another step fur-ther, and to make a widerimpact at the community level,the DFF farm is keen to explorea satellite-farming concept. Thiswould involve post-larvalprawns being supplied fromDFF hatchery extension servicesto village ponds. After a shortgrow-out period, these prawnswould be marketed through thecompany chain: a soft version ofthe Fijian Goodman FielderCrest Chicken contract grow-out model.

J. Hunter Pearl Farm,Savusavu

The J. Hunter Pearl label isquickly becoming an exclusive,high quality product line forFijian pearls. The farm's successis the result of attention to anumber of critical factors, suchas good business acumen, mar-keting, and consultation withlocal communities.

Under the managerial directionof Justin Hunter, the farm at

Savusavu has approximately500,000 oysters under cultiva-tion. The pearl harvests severalmillion Fijian dollars (gross) perannum. Upon arrival I viewedseveral crops that had just beenharvested. The pearls displaythe usual spectacular array ofcolour that Fiji pearls arebecoming renown for. Amongstthis crop were some dark ‘choco-late’ coloured pearls. The qualityof the pearls is probably due, inpart, to the expertise of theJapanese technicians employedby the farm. These techniciansalso provide seeding services forother pearl farmers in the sur-rounding area. The J. Hunteroperation is also expanding to asecond location.

The pearl farm operates its ownhatchery, and routine spawningoperations were underway dur-ing my visit. The Fiji oystersappear to have a high fecundityand large sized eggs, whichcould be related to the nutrient-

rich water quality environmentof Savusavu Bay. While thehatchery is not large by com-mercial standards, it still hasscope for expansion and couldaccommodate other species.The farm also employs a USPgraduate as its biologist to carryout ecological baseline studies,particularly water quality moni-toring and carrying out basicpearl grow-out experiments.

The pearl farm provides directbenefits through avenues suchas employment (of all gendersand a range of ages), but alsoindirectly through the businessthat the high investment pearlfarming enterprise generates.The farm also pays a dividendfrom its profits to the local vil-lage. For example, it has provid-ed funds for a community hall,which also serves as emergencyshelter in case of a cyclone. Inaddition, the farm sponsors aneducation scholarship foryoung students from the vil-

J. Hunter Pearl harvest,showing the different shades

of Fiji pearls


SPC ACTIVITIES

lage. Those interesting in know-ing more about the farm's oper-ations can visit their website(www.pearlsfiji.com).

At the farm we also discussedthe possibility of carrying out

some mabe pearl seeding trials.The J. Hunter Pearl Farm hasthousands of reject oysters thatcould be used for experiments.It would be particularly inter-esting if the geographical scopefor this experiment could be

standardised and extendedthroughout the Pacific andother countries.

Publications update

Joint SPC and USP farmingand hatchery techniquesmanual produced forfreshwater prawns(Macrobrachium rosenbergii)

Two practical manuals on fresh-water prawns (Machrobrachiumrosenbergii), resulting from col-laborative work between USPand SPC, have been recentlypublished. Mr Satya Nandlal(SPC Aquaculture Officer) andDr Timothy Pickering (USPAquaculture Lecturer) havejointly contributed to the publi-cation. These manuals use thesame format for the populartilapia hatchery and tilapiagrow-out manuals produced in2004 by the same authors.

The first manual is dedicated tohatchery operations (Volume I),and the second manual (VolumeII) concentrates on pond grow-out.

The entire Machrobrachium prawnindustry is relies entirely on theavailability of post-larvae. To facethe needs of this young but grow-ing industry in the Pacific, morehatchery and best practices areencouraged at the regional level.The hatchery manual is targetsfisheries department, NGOs, andthe private sector that wish toimprove or expand their tech-niques in setting up or running afreshwater prawn hatchery. Themanual covers topics includinghatchery techniques (broodstock,larvae, and feeding), systemdesign, water quality manage-ment and more.

The grow-out manual aims atassisting small-scale commercial

farmers, as the freshwaterprawn market is expandingquickly. This manual covers top-ics such as pond management,water quality management, har-vesting and marketing.

Both volumes are well-illustrat-ed and user-friendly documents,well initiated and very descrip-tive. They will greatly contributeto improve freshwater prawnhatchery and grow-out tech-niques in the Pacific region.

The manuals are available on theSPC aquaculture portal website:

http://www.spc.int/aquaculture/site/publications/pub_search.asp

Printed copies are also availablefor a charge. If you wish to findout more information about thispublication the please contact:

Dr Tim Pickering, MarineStudies Program, Uni-versity of the SouthPacific, Private Bag, Suva,Fiji Islands. Email: [email protected], or

Satya Nandlal, SPCAquaculture Officer, BPD5, 98848 Noumea,New Caledonia. Email:[email protected]

SPC Pearl OysterInformation Bulletinrevived

After two and halfyears of absence, the17th issue of the SPCSpecial Interest GroupBulletin on Pearl

Oysters has been released.Professor Paul Southgate fromJames Cook University (Aus-tralia) has replaced Mr NeilSims as the principal editor ofthis publication. The bulletincontinues to be produced bySPC, with financial assistancefrom Australia, France and NewZealand. Although the bulletinwill maintain the same generalformat, it will include minorchanges, such as the publicationof longer research type articles.It will also be seeking regularupdates from major researchgroups and country statements.

The first issue includes anabstract of pearl oyster workpresented during the WorldAquaculture Society (WAS) con-ferences in Hawaii (2004) andBali (2005). The issue also

NEARSHORE FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING SECTION


SPC ACTIVITIES

includes news from the indus-try and a report on the SPCregional pearl meeting (Fiji,December 2005) as well as arti-cles on the progress of pearlingin the Pacific region: CookIslands and Pohnpei, and inTanzania, East Africa.

The Pearl Oyster Bulletin willaim at being published twiceyearly and will mostly compriseresearch articles, reports fromresearch groups or from theindustry, as well as reports frommember countries.

The Pearl Oyster Bulletin is avail-able on SPC's website:

http://www.spc.int/coastfish/news/POIB/17/index.htm

Printed copies are mailed free ofcharge. The editorial board wel-comes any contribution to theBulletin. If you wish to con-tribute, join our mailing list orfind out more informationabout this publication. Pleasecontact:

Prof Paul Southgate, School ofMarine Biology and Aquacul-ture, James Cook University.Townsville, 4811 Queensland,Australia, Email: [email protected], or

Ben Ponia, SPC AquacultureAdviser, BP D5, 98848 Noumea,New Caledonia. Email:[email protected]

SPC assistance to New Caledonia-based tuna longline fishing company

Fisheries Development OfficersSteve Beverly and WilliamSokimi began a medium-termproject assisting a New Cale-donia-based longline fishingcompany, Navimon, during thefirst quarter of 2007. The projectbegan in February and will con-tinue into June 2007, or untilmost of the company’s eightboats and captains have had achance to benefit from SPC’sassistance. A Fisheries Develop-ment Officer will accompany thecaptain and crew of each boat ona regular longline fishing trip toobserve standard operating prac-tices with the view of offeringrecommendations for changesthat could increase catch and fishquality and, thus, profitability ofthe operation.

Navimon has a fleet of eightlongline boats (Fig. 1) that werebuilt in either France or FrenchPolynesia. All of the boats havethe same general particularsand all have practically thesame complement of gear, elec-tronics and safety appliances.What follows are lists detailingboat particulars, fishing gear,wheelhouse electronics, andsafety appliances on Navimon’sboats.

Particulars

• Built by Chantiers Piriou,Concarneau, France 1999

• Steel stern house longliner• LOA – 20.7 m• LWL – 18.75 m• Beam – 6.9 m• Molded depth – 3.6 m• Draft – 2.6 m• Fuel capacity – 24 m3

• FW capacity – 12 m3

• Main fish hold (ice, 0ºC) – 55m3

• Freezer capacity (-20ºC) – 20m3

• Main engine – 450 CV• Crew complement – 7

Fishing gear

• Lindgren-Pitman longlinereel with 35 nm of 3.5 mmmonofilament mainline.

• LS-4 line setter with 100 cmcircumference drive wheel.This makes line speed easyto calculate: RPM/31 =speed in kt.

• Floats are 36 cm hard plasticlongline floats.

• Floatlines are attached tofloats – 12 m long, 6.4 mmblack tarred line.

• Branchlines are 18 m of 2.0mm monofilament with 3.6Japan tuna hook w/ring

(90%) or 16/0 tuna circle hook(10%). There are no swivelsexcept on the snaps. 10%have 30 cm of SS wire leaderwith eye-to-eye connection.There are approximately1980 brachlines.

• There are 4 Sel Call radiobuoys.

Wheelhouse electronics

• Furuno FCV-291 echosounder

• Furuno FR-7062 radar• Furuno FAP-300 autopilot• Furuno GP-1810 GPS plotter• Furuno GPS-WAAS GPS• Furuno FM-8500 VHF radio• Furuno FM-3510 VHF radio• Furuno FS-1862-15 SSB radio• Furuno FAX-207 Weather

Fax Receiver• Linemaster longline con-

troller• PC with MaxSea plotter soft-

ware• CapSat transceiver TT-3022-

D VMS system• Thrane and Thrane

INMARSAT system• Taiyo ADDF-TD-L1100 radio

direction finder• Sel Call SVC-STI buoy caller• SST monitor


SPC ACTIVITIES

Safety appliances

• Two liferafts with Hammar bolts• Lifering with light (on

wheelhouse bulkhead)• Lifering (on main deck)• EPIRB with Hammar bolt (on

wheelhouse roof)• Radar transponder• SMDSS radios• Flares, rockets• Life jackets

On each boat there are fireextinguishers in every compart-ment, including the engineroom, wheelhouse, galley, andcrews’ quarters. There is anautomatic CO2 system in theengine room, and there is a firealarm monitor panel in theengine room. All compartmentshave an alarm.

The work plan devised for thisproject was to have Steve orWilliam participate in a stan-dard longline trip of about 15days on each boat, duringwhich the longline would be setand hauled 8 to 10 times. Theirtask is to observe normal fishingpractices and then offer sugges-tions on possible ways forimproving operations. At theconclusion of each trip, a de-briefing session with SPC,Navimon’s management, andthe captain of the boat in ques-tion, will be held at Navimonheadquarters. At the conclusionof the entire project a compre-hensive report will be provided,detailing the findings and rec-ommendations of the NearshoreFisheries Development andTraining Section. Observationsregarding the following cate-gories were made and noted.

• Boat• Fishing equipment and gear• Searching for fish• Fishing operations• Fish handling• Catch and effort• Captain and crew• Ecosystem approach to fishing• Other issues (miscellaneous)

Among other techniques, thecaptains were introduced to theuse of remote sensing charts forfinding likely fishing areas.Charts for New Caledonia’sEEZ, showing sea surfaceheight (SSH), sea surface tem-perature (SST), and currentspeed and direction, can bedownloaded free from theNaval Laboratory OceanModelling (NLOM 32 DegreePage) website from the USA(http://www7320.nrlssc.navy.mil/global_nlom32/nou.html).

Temperature depth recorders(TDRs) were used to monitordepths of sets during all fishingoperations. Depth reached bythe deepest hooks in a basket isimportant to know when target-ing different species. For exam-ple, bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus)are usually found in much deep-er water than are yellowfin tuna(T. albacares), while albacore tuna(T. alalunga) are found some-where between the other two.

Most longline fishermen havelearned some techniques forgetting their line to sink to a cer-tain depth but most times thereis considerable guesswork andwithout the use of TDRs it is dif-ficult, if not impossible, to know

the actual depth. Even whencareful calculations based online setter speed and boat speedare carried out, the actual depthis not really known. Anotherimportant factor is to have someway of determining the speed ofthe line being deployed fromthe line setter.

Not only will the distancebetween hooks be known but, incorrelation with boat speed, linesetter speed will determine theestimated depth that the linewill settle at, notwithstandingenvironmental conditions. Oftenhand-held tachometers are usedor the manual method of gather-ing the line to determine dis-tance between hooks can also beused. Now, however, many linesetters have a gauge to showline speed, or the speed can beread in the wheelhouse usingequipment such as a Linemasterline controller, which worksthrough a sensor attached to theline setter, which is calibrated toread the rotation speed of theline setter drive wheel.

Environmental conditions suchas currents cause the line to settleat depths that don’t correspondto calculations. Navimon’s cap-tains were shown techniques to

Figure 1: Navimon fleet at Fisherman’s Wharfin Nouville, New Caledonia.


SPC ACTIVITIES

calculate theoretical depth. Onemethod uses a hand-heldtachometer to find the speed ofthe line setter drive wheel, andthen calculates the speed of theline being thrown by the linesetter if the vessel isn’tequipped with a Linemasterline controller. Dividing thisspeed into the boat’s speedgives a figure called the saggingratio, or SR. Knowing the SRand the number of hooks in abasket allows the captain to cal-culate the depth of the deepesthooks in a basket.

At the end of March 2007, threetrips had been made by Williamand Steve. In February Stevemade a trip on F/V Katia, and inMarch he made a trip on F/VKeitre. William made a trip inApril on F/V Lanasera. Theresults of those trips are brieflydescribed as follows.

F/V Katia made eight sets fish-ing to the west of La GrandeTerre (the big island of NewCaledonia). A total of 349saleable fish (mostly albacore)with an estimated weight of6,050 kg were caught on 16,470hooks. The catch per unit ofeffort (CPUE) for this trip was2.1 fish per 100 hooks or 37 kgper 100 hooks. Calculated depthfor the parameters used on allsets was 315 m. Actual depthsaccording to TDR data, howev-er, ranged from 175–185 m. Thisdepth range also correspondsclosely to where albacore tunaare found and this was the mainspecies being sought on this trip.

F/V Keitre made seven sets fish-ing on the east coast of LaGrande Terre and around theLoyalty Islands of Ouvea andLifou. A total of 12,700 hookswere set during the seven sets(average set was about 1800hooks), catching 219 fish withan estimated weight of 3,850 kg.The CPUE for this trip was 1.72fish per 100 hooks or 30.3 kg per100 hooks. Calculated depth forthe deepest hooks on F/V

Keitre’s sets was 330 m but actu-al depths based on TDRs rangedfrom 200–240 m. Yellowfin tunaand wahoo (Acanthocybiumsolandri) were caught on thehooks nearest the floats, whilealbacore tuna were caught onhooks 5 to 12 and bigeye tunawere caught on hooks 12 to 15.The boat was targeting a mixedfish species because the boatplanned to unload at the newfresh processing facility (LaPêcheries de Lifou) on Lifou.The range of depths was suit-able for mixed target species.

F/V Lanasera made 12 sets. Twosets were made northwest ofNew Caledonia while the other10 sets were done on the eastcoast of La Grande Terre andnorthwest of the LoyaltyIslands. A total of 22,800 hookswere deployed averaging 1900hooks per set. The total catchwas 233 fish with an estimatedweight of 4804 kg. The estimat-ed CPUE for this trip was 1.02fish per 100 hooks or 21 kg per100 hooks. Using the skipper’snormal setting parameters, thecalculated depth for the deepesthooks was 297 m. The range ofdepths actually reached, asdetermined by TDR data for thenormal sets, was 165–224 m.The calculated depth for thedeeper setting parameters using340 RPM on the line setter was443 m. The actual settling depthfor the deepest hook on thesesets ranged from 445–646 m.

The overall catch on F/VLanasera comprised 38.7% alba-core tuna, 34.9% yellowfin tuna,7.2% bigeye tuna, 9.8% mahimahi (Coryphaena hippurus),4.3% wahoo, 2.6% blue marlin(Makaira nigricans), 1.7% opah(Lampris guttatus), 0.4% sword-fish (Xiphias gladius), and 0.4%sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus).

On all trips the captains weregiven advice on searching forfish using remote sensing dataand other more traditionalmethods, such as following the

2000 m and 3000 m depth con-tours on the navigation charts,talking to other boat captains,watching for birds, and moni-toring temperature on thewheelhouse SST monitor (i.e.searching for thermal fronts).Crews were also given adviceon ways to improve fish han-dling and icing. When all tripshave been completed in June,William and Steve will write acomprehensive report detailingall recommendations so that theNavimon fleet can improvetheir profitability.

In March, Steve conducted asashimi tuna-handling work-shop for captains and crew ofPêcheries de Nouvelle-Calé-donie (PNC) in the NorthernProvince of New Caledonia(Fig. 2). PNC has a fleet of eightaluminium longliners that oper-ate out of Pandop Harbour inKoumac (Fig. 3).

All of their fish is processed atPêcheries du Nord’s processingfacility at Pandop Harbour. Fishare graded as either A grade orB grade soon after beingunloaded from the boats.Captains and crews are paidbased on fish grade. An A gradefish earns more for the boat thandoes a B grade or a reject fish.This fact was impressed on thecaptains and crew as theylearned the fine points of fishhandling to ensure that theyland more A grade fish and,thus, get more in their pay pack-ets. Copies of SPC’s manual,On-board handling of sashimigrade tuna, were given to eachworkshop participant.


SPC ACTIVITIES

Figure 2 (left): Fish handling workshop at Pandop Harbour.

Figure 3 (right): One of PNC’s longline boats, F/V Karaavha 8, at Pandop Harbour.

Minimising sea turtle mortality from interactions from longline fishing gear

A project, sponsored by the USNOAA Fisheries’ Pacific IslandsRegional Office in Honolulu(PIRO), was undertaken in NewCaledonia during March 2007 toheighten awareness of appro-priate measures to take in orderto minimize sea turtle mortalityfrom interactions with longlinefishing gear. The project includ-ed the development of turtlebycatch awareness and instruc-tional materials, followed by aseries of workshops, includingone at SPC that included partic-ipation from the staff of the SPCNearshore Fisheries Developmentand Training Section and that ofNew Caledonia’s Marine Mar-chande1 . Additional workshopswere undertaken with captainsand crews of the New Cale-donia tuna longline fishingindustry in the tuna longlineports at Noumea and Koumac.

The project’s activities in NewCaledonia are part of a greatereffort by PIRO to heightenawareness of sea turtle bycatchmitigation, and to introducemortality reduction techniquesto several countries withdomestic-based longline fish-

eries in the Western and CentralPacific Ocean. Similar PIRO-supported projects have beenundertaken in Indonesia andseveral Pacific Island countries,including Papua New Guinea,Federated States of Micronesia,Marshall Islands, and Palau.Although basic elementsaddressing turtle bycatch aresimilar for each country, theprojects have been developed toaddress the specific needs of thecountry concerned. For exam-ple, in some countries longlineactivities are undertaken by for-eign fleets so awareness materi-als need to target the activitiesof those vessels and should beproduced in the relevant lan-guages. In New Caledonia,longlining is undertaken by pure-ly domestic companies usingnational crews, which affordsmore ongoing contact with thecrews, and creates opportunitiesfor follow-up activities.

The project in New Caledoniawas undertaken by Kona,Hawaii-based fisheries consult-ant Mike A. McCoy of Gillett,Preston and Associates. He wasassisted by the staff of the

Nearshore Fisheries Develop-ment and Training Section andthat of Marine Marchande, whichcoordinated the project’s contactswith the fishing industry.

Initial impetus for the projectcame from several directions.During 2003–2004 NOAA fish-eries scientists undertook activi-ties in Papua New Guinea totrack the migrations of leather-back sea turtles, Dermochelyscoriacea, through satellite tele-metry. Since migratory tracksfrom several leatherback turtlestransiting the New Caledoniaexclusive economic zone (EEZ)indicated the cessation of trans-missions from ocean areas to thenorth and east of the mainisland, it was considered impor-tant that longline fishing opera-tors in New Caledonia be madeaware of these tagging activitiesand migratory patterns. Theproject also offered an opportu-nity to collect any anecdotalinformation on sea turtle inter-actions, in particular those withleatherbacks.

A second reason to highlightturtle bycatch mortality mitiga-

1 The Service de la Marine Marchande et des Pêches: the government fisheries management agency in charge of commercialfisheries in New Caledonia.


SPC ACTIVITIES

tion was to encourage NewCaledonia to increase its effortsat placing onboard fisheryobservers on its domestic tunalongline fleet. Observers canplay an important role in raisingawareness of means to reducepotential sea turtle mortality ifinteractions with sea turtlesoccur with longline fishing gear.Observers are also a criticalcomponent in the collection ofdata on fishery interactionswith sea turtles.

The project was given addition-al momentum when fishery reg-ulations regarding sea turtleswere promulgated at theprovincial level in NewCaledonia during 2006. Theseregulations prohibit the captureof turtles by residents of NewCaledonia within provincial (i.e.lagoon and nearshore) watersexcept when prior approval forcultural use has been obtained.Subsequently, new regulationsaddressing sea turtles that are

captured incidentally by com-mercial fishing vessels innational waters are being for-mulated and are expected to bepromulgated by the NewCaledonia government in thenear future. The project wasthus timely in highlighting pos-sible responses at sea to sea tur-tle interaction with fishing gear,and sensitizing the industry tothe overall subject.

The major objectives of the proj-ect were to:

1) heighten awareness of seaturtle interactions with fish-ing gear by familiarizingcommercial fishing opera-tors in New Caledonia andfishery observers and staff ofMarine Marchande withtechniques of handling seaturtles caught incidentallyby fishing operations,

2) provide appropriate equip-ment and instructions to the

fishing industry on how toaddress specific sea turtleinteractions with commer-cial fishing gear,

3) collect baseline data on inter-actions between sea turtlesand tuna fish gear in NewCaledonia,

4) integrate appropriate topicson sea turtle interactions withcommercial fishing intoongoing work programmesof Marine Marchande andthe SPC Training Section, and

5) enhance cooperation amongthe different government andnon-governmental organisa-tions involved in fisheriesmanagement and turtle con-servation, locally and region-ally.

The project directed its activitiestowards the following primarytarget audiences:

• Fishery observers and rele-vant staff of MarineMarchande;

• Operators and crew ofdomestic-based longline ves-sels in New Caledonia;

• Staff of L’École Des Métiersde la Mer, a tertiary traininginstitution in Noumea thatprovides instruction inmarine-related occupationsincluding commercial fishing;

• Staff of the three provincialgovernment departments incharge of inshore naturalresources management anddevelopment; and

• Certain staff of the SPCMarine Resources Divisionwho are active in supportand analyses of pelagic fish-eries in the WCPO.

A Navimon crew member practicesthe turtle dehooking technique


SPC ACTIVITIES

In addition to the above, twolocally based environmentalnon-governmental organisationsactive in turtle conservationactivities in New Caledonia —Worldwide Fund for Nature,New Caledonia (WWF) and theAssociation pour la Sauvegardede la Nature Neo-Calédonienne— were advised of the project’sactivities and given a briefing atits conclusion. The Director ofthe Noumea Aquarium also par-ticipated in the briefing as theaquarium is currently undertak-ing several turtle projects, includ-ing placement of satellite trans-mitters and subsequent trackingof turtles in New Caledonia.

Workshops with the fishingindustry resulted in the gather-ing of anecdotal informationthat suggests a low level ofinteractions between sea turtlesand tuna longlining in NewCaledonia. From discussionswith captains and crews, itappears that when turtles arecaught incidentally by longlineoperations, it occurs mainlywith loggerheads (Caretta caret-ta). In only one instance did acaptain acknowledge catching(entangling) a leatherback dur-ing fishing operations. Somecaptains mentioned catchingfour to five turtles over a multi-year span. One captain said hecaught three turltes during2006, but most captains indicat-ed that interactions were rare.

The project successfully attainedits objectives, due in great partto the cooperation and partici-pation of the New Caledonialongline fishing industry. Thisproject can serve as a foundationon which future turtle bycatchawareness activities can beundertaken by Marine Mar-chande at the national level, andby the SPC Training Sectionthrough training institutions atthe regional level.

Some near-instant gratificationwas received by the projectwhen Charles Cuewapuru, anobserver with Marine Marchandewas at sea on the Noumea-based F/V Sidina followingattendance at one of the work-shops. During his voyage, thevessel encountered a small (37cm carapace length) green turtle

entangled in fishing gear. Theturtle appeared very weak, sothe observer and crew usedskills described in the work-shops to bring the turtleonboard, untangle the line, andresuscitate it. They raised itshind quarters, covered the turtlewith a wet towel, and periodi-cally checked if had regainedconsciousness. According to theobserver, after about two hours,the turtle did regain conscious-ness and began moving its flip-pers. At the conclusion of thehaul the skipper stopped thevessel and the turtle wasreturned to the water where itquickly swam away. Charlesnotes that this was the first tur-tle he has encountered in sixyears of observing on longlinersin New Caledonia.

Fisheries Development Officer visits Port Moresby, PNG to look at the domesticlongline fishery and to deploy FADs

Fisheries Development Officer (FDO), Steve Beverly, spent two months in PNG recently, first looking at thedomestic longline fishery in order to advise on improvements to increase profitability and sustainability; and,second, to rig and deploy six FADs for artisanal and sports fishermen.

PNG’s domestic longlinefishery

The objectives of the longlineportion of the FDO’s visit toPNG were to:

• meet with longline fisheryoperators to identify and

document current fishingand catch handling practices;

• undertake fishing trips toobserve current fishing tech-niques and onboard han-dling methods to determinepossible improvements; and

• observe unloading of catchand immediate post-dis-

charge handling and process-ing practices to determinepossible improvements thatcould be made at that stage ofthe product handling chain.

Three longline companies werelooked at: Sanko Bussan PNG,Fare Well Investment, and

Caretta caretta


SPC ACTIVITIES

Latitude 8. Between them theyoperate a fleet of around 30 tunalongliners. In addition, SankoBussan PNG operates a process-ing plant that grades and packsfresh fish for export and pro-duces value-added tuna prod-ucts for export. Fare WellInvestment does its own grad-ing and marketing but usesSanko Bussan PNG for all pro-cessing and packing. Latitude 8has a processing plant thatgrades and packs all Latitude 8tuna for export.

These three companies hadbeen experiencing losses andwere having difficulties operat-ing profitably due to a numberof factors, including rising fueland airfreight costs, decreasingmarket value for export fish,and decreasing catch rates.Several boats were looked at inthis brief study, including boatsfrom each company. Off-loadingand processing was also viewedfrom all three companies.

However, the FDO went onlyon one fishing trip and that waswith a Latitude 8 boat. A num-ber of problems were identifiedwith the vessel and this infor-mation has been passed on in aformal report. None of the prob-lems related to fishing practices.It turns out that catch rates havestarted to improve in PNG. Onthe trip that the FDO made inOctober the boat set a total of16,000 hooks during a 14-dayfishing trip averaging 2000hooks per set and catching 181saleable fish weighing 5850 kg.The nominal CPUE was 1.13fish per 100 hooks or 36.5 kg per100 hooks. The catch was domi-nated by large yellowfin tuna (>40 kg). Fish handling, off-load-

ing, grading, processing, andpacking were all carried outaccording to industry norms. Inspite of this relatively goodcatch of mostly high-grade tunathat was handled and processedvery well, the trip resulted in anet loss for the company.

The reasons outlined above(high fuel costs, etc.) con-tributed to the loss from thistrip, but another contributingfactor was the boat itself. Oldersecond-hand Asian boats can bebargains but the best option isto re-power them before puttingthem into service. Vessels over

20 years old have large largeengines that use a lot of fuel(these boats were made at atime when fuel costs were halfof what they are today). Re-powering with a more fuel-effi-cient engine would have madethis boat more viable. The gen-eral condition of the boat alsocontributed to the loss. Onlyone of several refrigerated seawater (RSW) fish holds wasoperational. The boat had toreturn to port after only eightsets when the one hold was full.If all of the holds were working,then 14–16 sets could be madein a single trip, cutting back on

Top: Fare Well Investment’sF/V Crystal 102 at the Main

Wharfin Port Moresby.

Bottom: Frozen tuna quarterloins at Sanko Bussan’s

processing plant.


SPC ACTIVITIES

operating expenses. Most of theother boats viewed by the FDOwere in top condition, includingFare Well Investment’s F/VCrystal 102 (Fig. 1).

Airfreight availability and costhave always been a problem forPNG longline fisheries. The costof air freighting fresh tuna toforeign markets is often equal tohalf the total revenue from fishsales, and cargo space is oftenhard to find. One way to avoidthe dependency on airfreight isto produce frozen value-addedproducts that can be exportedby sea freight. One option to be

considered is producing value-added products onboard ves-sels. In order to do this, howev-er, new vessels would be neededfor the fishery. Value adding isalready being done on shore inPNG, with fish produced by thedomestic longline fleet. SankoBussan PNG was producing avariety of products, includingfrozen tuna quarter loins (Fig. 2)and frozen wahoo steaks thatwere being exported to marketsin the European Union.

The fish are coming back toPNG's southern waters, but oper-ating costs will probably continue

to rise. Older Asian boats in thedomestic fleet probably won’tsurvive but the better boats havea good chance of meeting thechallenge if they continue withthe trend of moving away fromthe dependency on airfreight.Frozen value-added products arelikely to replace fresh frozenexports in the coming years in thedomestic longline fishery inPNG. Any acquisitions of newboats should steer towards fuel-efficient boats capable of stayingat sea for months and of produc-ing frozen value-added productsonboard.

The Development of Tuna Fisheriesin the Pacific ACP Countries(DEVFISH) Project has been pro-gressing through its planned activ-ities in the second year of this four-year project.

Work with privatesector/associations

One of the project’s componentsis to assist beneficiary countriesin improving their national poli-cies for and national institutionalarrangements with private sectortuna fishery development. This isdone by providing supportaimed at strengthening nationalconsultative processes andnational representation of privateinterests involved in tuna fish-eries policies and development.

This process involves identifica-tion of appropriate private sec-tor interest groups through con-sultations with the national fish-eries authorities.

In instances where there was noformalized establishment ofsuch interest groups and desirewas registered, support wasprovided through:

• Constitution /articles ofassociation guides

• Registration fee to appropri-ate government office

• Provision of templates forbusiness /work plan devel-opment

Since the commencement of theproject, seven countries haverequested project support andthis has been provided or is inthe process of being provided.

The second phase of the pro-ject’s assistance in this compo-nent — especially designed fornewly established associations— is developing and expandingindividual business and/orwork plans so that they includelinks to relevant national andregional support programmesand schemes.

The project's profiling survey ofassociations, done through ques-tionnaires given at variousindustry workshops, supportsthe findings of a previousFFA/SPC-sponsored study(Walton, H. 2001. National Fish-eries Association Study. A reportprepared for the Forum Secretariatand the Forum Fisheries Agency),which found that one factorrecognised to have caused thedownfall and lack of effective-ness of associations is their

reliance on voluntary input,which compromises the individ-uals' own business aspirationsand takes time and effort awayfrom their own work.

To build capacity at the associa-tion level to undertake and pur-sue these initiatives and inter-ests, the project is supportingassociation staff for a trial peri-od of 6–12-months. One of theirprimary responsibilities, inaddition to administrative tasksand following up on outstand-ing association business, is pur-suing opportunities to securefunding for sustaining positionsand funding other identifiedactivities after the DEVFISHsponsorship lapses.

DEVFISH is liaising with poten-tial regional programmes andschemes to build support forDEVFISH's objectives. Onepotential area currently underdiscussion as this article goes topress is facilitation of supportstaff capacity development inproposal write-up and identifi-cation of a potential list of sup-port schemes available throughregional agencies.

To date the project has spon-sored support staff in five asso-

DEVFISH Project update

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT SECTION


SPC ACTIVITIES

ciations that have requestedsuch assistance; a few morehave expressed interest, and arein discussions with the projectofficer to finalize prerequisiterequirements before support isprovided.

Assistance provided within thiscomponent also includes sup-port to facilitate a dialogue

between private sector interestsand the government.

There are a few other forms ofassociation support that theDEVFISH project is providingto tuna fishing associations inPacific-ACP countries.

The project has limited fundsavailable for small projects in

each of the participating coun-tries, which can be accessed by anational coordinating committee.

Detail reports and work pro-gram/activities of the DEVFISHproject can be viewed onwww.ffa.int/DEVFISH.

Coastal Fisheries Management Programme in the Solomon Islands

(This contribution is dedicated toMs Ethel Sigimanu – formerPermanent Secretary for theMinistry of Fisheries and MarineResources)

In an effort to manage the coun-try's coastal fisheries resources,the Solomon Islands Ministry ofFisheries and Marine Resources(MFMR) has developed andimplemented a community-based fisheries managementprogramme (CBFMP) withassistance from SPC's CoastalFisheries Management Section.

A model CBFMP was devel-oped by SPC staff and approvedof by MFMR as an approach fordeveloping community fish-eries management plans. Themodel takes into account theSolomon Islands' cultural com-plexity and traditional systems,its various forms of governance(community, provincial andnational), and systems of tenureand resource ownership.

In recognition of the importanceof managing coastal fisheries, theKoilovala community, throughtheir village Chief Mr GodfreyTivahorua and Chairman MrJohn Liva, requested MFMR'sassistance in developing andestablishing a fisheries manage-ment programme for their com-munity. MFMR responded withthe development of a CBFMP forthe village and neighbouring

communities. The fisheries man-agement plan will obligate com-munities to take actions to man-age their fishery resources andmarine environment, and obli-gates MFMR to provide techni-cal services that support com-munity actions.

Koilovala community

Koilovala village is situatedalong the southern coast ofSmall Ngella (Ngella Pile) in theFlorida Islands, Central IslandsProvince. The village gets itsname from koilo, a native plant(known scientifically as

Callophyllum spp.) and valameaning ‘across’ in the nativedialect. The village's populationis around 400: 150 adult menand women, and the remainingbeing children and youth. Thosethat migrated to live and workin Honiara or other provincesare estimated to be in the rangeof 50–100 people.

The majority of people in thecommunity are activelyinvolved in fishing. The mainfishing methods used by menare hook-and-line, drop-lining,trolling, and spearfishing, whilewomen are more involved in

The CBFMP team on their way back to Honiara: Carlos Haikau(front), and from left to right Peter Rex,

Lionel Luda, John Leqata.


SPC ACTIVITIES

collecting shellfish on reefs andmangrove areas, and hook-and-line fishing in coastal areas.Children are mostly involved ingillnet fishing and handlining.

The community is quite depend-ent on fishing for income anddaily subsistence needs.

Community workshops

Community workshops wereheld in Koilovala from 14–17February 2007. The workshopswere officially open by theMinister for Fisheries, CentralProvince Honourable RobertKande. In his opening address,the minister highlighted theimportance of looking after com-munity fisheries resources, theimportance of stakeholder partic-ipation in the decision-makingprocess and participating inprovincial efforts to develop theprovince as a whole. He also gaveassurance of the current adminis-

tration's commitment to sustain-ably manage the use of theseresources for future generations.

The workshops, which werefacilitated by MFMR staff, iden-tified key problems and howthe community was affected bythese problems, identified thecauses and possible solutions tothe problems, actions to betaken to resolve these problems,and suggestions for who wasresponsible for implementingthese actions. Representativesfrom the neighbouring commu-nities of Vunuha, Ghumba,Siarana and Burungia alsoattended the workshop, express-ing their interest and support forthe programme.

The management plan

Information gathered from thecommunity workshops werecompiled by programme staffand used to formulate a commu-

nity fisheries management plan.The plan highlights some of thekey problems identified by thecommunity, and covers a rangeof actions to be undertaken byboth the community and MFMR.

Before any undertakings areimplemented, the draft planmust first be approved byMFMR and the community.

Final word

The establishment of a nationalCBFMP for the Solomon Islandsis seen as an important initiativethat supports the government’saim of providing greater foodsecurity for everyone, especiallypeople living on the outerislands and in rural areas.

The CBFMP approach acknowl-edges that local communitiesare the prime instigators of atti-tude change, and that commu-nities need to understand that it

Rural communities lead resource management

A new programme has been established by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to enable communi-ty participation in sustaining their fisheries and marine resources. The programme is called 'community-basedfisheries management' and will be facilitated by a team of five officers from the Ministry of Fisheries and theSecretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

Ministry of Fisheries Permanent Secretary Ethel Sigimanu told Solomon Star that as resource owners and users,communities have to participate in the programme. 'It is the communities who will use the resources therefore,the Ministry sees that it is their responsibility to use and look after their resources wisely.'

'We took this approach because our capacity is very small to ensure that marine resources are preserved and areused in a sustainable way,' Mrs Sigimanu said. The programme involves workshops and awareness among com-munities on how to identify problems in relation to the use of fisheries and marine resources.

Mrs Sigimanu said these awareness programmes would help communities identify problems they have encoun-tered in relation to their resources and seek solutions to those problems. The community-based fisheries man-agement programme was the Ministry’s initiative since last year. The permanent secretary said KoilovalaVillage in Small Gela is the first community to adopt this programme.

'This is an ongoing programme that will cover all provinces but for the start, only one community from eachprovince will be selected upon their interest,' Mrs Sigimanu said.

This means, communities will have to identify their problems and then request the team to include them in theirprogramme. SPC’s participation in the programme is to provide technical support. SPC’s Coastal FisheriesManagement Officer Etuati Ropeti, who is also the technical adviser of the programme, said when the programmewas initiated, a preliminary study was also conducted to identify the needs for the programme.

'Today we are actually providing advice and implementation is on the ground,' Ropeti said.

Excerpts from the Solomon Star Newspaper 21 February 2007 (reprinted with permission)


SPC ACTIVITIES

is they who must take responsi-bility for looking after their fish-ery resources and marine envi-ronment.

Changes in community atti-tudes can be facilitated withMFMR as the lead agency, alongwith international and localnon-governmental organisa-tions (NGOs). These agenciescan support awareness pro-grammes and the developmentof fishery resource managementschemes to properly manage theinshore fish stocks of theSolomon Islands.

Awareness programmes play acrucial role in the developmentof a CBFMP. Such awareness

programmes increase local com-munities' understanding of themarine environment, the cur-rent status of coastal fisheriesresources, and problems associ-ated with the marine environ-ment.

The CBFMP, which has nowbeen implemented in Koilovala,will no doubt benefit the com-munity for many years ahead.

Acknowledgements

The work in Koilovala wouldnot have been possible withoutthe support of the PermanentSecretary Ms Ethel Sigimanuand the staff of MFMR. Supportfrom the premier and ministers

of the Central Province govern-ment also needs special mention.

The hard work of the CBFMPteam, Carlos Haikau, JohnLeqata, Peter Rex and LionelLuda are very much appreciat-ed. Keep up the good work!

Special thanks go to the Chief,Chairman and people ofKoilovala who have sharedtheir vision and taken the initia-tive in ensuring that theircoastal fisheries resources willbe well looked after for nowand future generations.

Dynamite and chlorine causes scarcity in marine resources

Dynamite and chlorine have been identified as the main cause of fish and marine resources scarcity in Ngella,Central Islands Province. Koilovala villagers revealed this during the first community-based fisheries manage-ment workshop held at their village last week.

The management workshop was an initiative of the Ministry of Fisheries supported by the Secretariat of thePacific Community (SPC). Speaking to Solomon Star yesterday SPC’s Coastal Fisheries Management Officer,Etuati Ropeti, said villagers only realised the effects of dynamite and chlorine on their marine resources aftercomparing the resources they have now to what they used to have.

Mr Ropeti said there are other contributing factors such as population growth and pollution. However, vil-lagers felt that dynamite and chlorine were the main causes for their declining marine resources. 'People havebeen practising these for so long and today more and more people from outside are using these methods intheir waters every now and then.'

'Some of the villagers have learnt from these techniques and are now practising them as well,' Mr Ropeti said,reiterating what the villagers have raised during the workshop. Therefore, he said having realised these problems,the villagers are now working with the police to put a stop to these destructive methods of fishing.

'It is encouraging to see that the communities have realized one of the major causes to unsustainable harvest offish and marine resources and are willing to work together with the police to protect their environment,' MrRopeti said.

He said the Koilovala villagers have also agreed to set up their community by-laws to ban the use of dynamite andchlorine in their waters. They also requested the Ministry of Fisheries to provide awareness programmes againstthese destructive methods of fishing. Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Permanent Secretary EthelSigimanu said people have turned to such fishing methods because of commercial gain.

'The pressure from school fees and other needs could be one of the pressures that gave rise to such unsustain-able harvesting,' Mrs Sigimanu said.

Therefore, she said her ministry is encouraging communities to give suggestions on how to resolve these issueson dangerous fishing methods through the community-based fisheries management programme. Mr Ropetisaid this management plan would spell out the responsibility of not only the communities but also the govern-ment. But he said the overall objective of the programme is for the community to take ownership of the man-agement.

Excerpts from the Solomon Star Newspaper 21 February 2007 (reprinted with permission)


Developing a coastal fisheries legislation for Kiribati

SPC ACTIVITIES

In the last two years, FAO under-took a project that provides assis-tance in establishing coastal fish-eries legislations in Micronesiancountries. Kirbati was one of thecountries involved. SPC’sCoastal Fisheries ManagementSection was asked to provideexpertise to the project.

SPC's Coastal FisheriesManagement Adviser, UetaFaasili, and a legal consultant,drafted coastal fisheries legisla-tion for Kiribati, provided atemplate for community fish-eries by-laws, and ran a one-dayworkshop for relevant and

interested ministries and stake-holders in order to provideguidance on how the legislationmay proceed.

The assignment concluded withdrafts of:

• Cabinet submission for theMinistry of Fisheries andMarine Resources;

• An interim by-laws processto be used by the islandcouncils, Fisheries Divisionand other important stake-holders in developing fish-eries by-laws; and

• A by-law template to be usedduring the formulation offisheries by-laws.

Recommendations were alsoput through to the Ministry ofFisheries and Marine ResourcesDevelopment as a guide indeveloping its legislation.

© Copyright Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 2007

All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. SPC authorises thepartial reproduction or translation of this material for scientific, educational or research purposes, provided that

SPC and the source document are properly acknowledged. Permission to reproduce the document and/ortranslate in whole or in part, in any form, whether for commercial / for profit or non-profit purposes, must be

requested in writing. Original SPC artwork may not be altered or separately published without permission.

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

THE FISHING CAPACITY OF LONGLINE AND POLE-AND-LINE FLEETS IN THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN


NEWS FROM IN AND AROUND THE REGION

The control of fishing capacitycontinues to be one of the mostsignificant challenges facingnational fishery managers andadministrators, as well the vari-ous tuna regional fisheries man-agement organisations(RFMOs) around the globe. Insome fora, the level of analysisthat has been undertaken todevelop capacity controls is rel-atively involved and complete.In others, data are not yet avail-able from all the requiredsources for quantitative assess-ment of national and regionalcapacities of the relevant fishingfleets. Highly migratory species(HMS) fisheries in the westernand central Pacific Ocean(WCPO) fall into the latter cate-gory. This study complements a2003 report on purse seinecapacity in the WCPO. To datethere have been no publishedreports documenting the num-

ber, much less the fishing capac-ity, of longline or pole-and-linefleets in the WCPO.

To augment that previous studyon the fishing capacity of thelongline and pole-and-linefleets, the consultancy firmGillett, Preston and Associates(GPA) was contracted in June2006 by the US National MarineFisheries Service Pacific IslandsRegional Office to review thefishing capacity of these twofleets. Work on the review beganin early July 2006 and was com-pleted four months later.

The difficulties of measuringfishing capacity should not beunder-estimated. In a review ofglobal longline fishing capacity,Miyake1 states it is ‘very hard todefine and furthermore, almostimpossible to quantify at pres-ent’. Because the survey was an

initial attempt to estimate a fair-ly elusive subject in the WCPFCarea, a relatively simple inputmeasure of capacity is used: thenumber of vessels in the variousfleets. More specifically, capaci-ty is defined as the number ofvessels having at least someparticipation in tuna longline ortuna pole-and-line fishing in theWCPFC area in 2005.

The results of the study werepresented in Apia in December2006 at the annual meeting ofthe Western and Central PacificFisheries Commission. The fol-lowing are the main findings ofthe study.

Major constraint The lack of detailed vessel information from Japan and Taiwan was the study’s greatest constraint toobtaining an accurate assessment of fishing capacity in the region.

Fleet activity According to data collected during this study, the longline and pole-and-line vessels of at least 29nations were active in the WCPFC area in 2005. The largest longline fleets were those of Japan andTaiwan. The largest pole-and-line fleets were those of Japan and Indonesia.

Estimate of the numberof longline vessels

Taking the national longline fleets for which the study’s database has good coverage (25 countries,1,021 vessels) and adding to it the estimates from other sources for the vessels of Japan, Taiwan,Indonesia, and Vietnam (3493 vessels) results in the study’s best estimate of the number of longliners14 meters and above: 4514 vessels.

Estimate of the numberof pole-and-line vessels

Taking the national pole-and-line fleets for which the study’s database has good coverage (7 countries,138 vessels) and adding to it the estimates from other sources for the vessels of Japan (215 vessels)results in the study’s best estimate of the number of pole-and-line 14 meters and above: 353 vessels.

Limitations and gaps ofthe databases

Numerous limitations and gaps in data must be acknowledged. Vessel size, transliteration of theChinese language into Taiwanese, and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency's Regional Registerare particularly important and require special attention.

Improving theestimates of vesselnumbers

Estimates of vessel numbers could be improved considerably by obtaining the full cooperation of Japanand Taiwan, gaining a greater understanding of longliners based in Indonesia and Vietnam, and alteringthe WCPFC vessel reporting requirements.

Obtaining an output-oriented estimate offishing capacity

Going beyond fleet sizes to obtain an output-oriented estimate of fishing capacity (potential annualcatch) appears possible. More information on vessel characteristics and catch rates are required, but thiscould be obtained, or at least estimated, through a combination of available data and fleet experience.

1 Miyake, P. 2004. A review of the fishing capacity of the longline fleets of the world. p. 157–170. In: Bayliff W.H., deLeiva Moreno J.I. and Majkowski J. (eds). Management of tuna fishing capacity: Conservation and socio-economics.Second meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee, FAO Fisheries Proceedings Number 2, Rome.

SPEARFISHING IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS: CAN IT BE MANAGED?



The number of longline andpole-and-line vessels estimatedby the study are shown in thefigures below.

A copy of the full study in elec-tronic form is available fromGillett, Preston and Associates([email protected]

(Source: Gillett R. and McCoyM.A. November 2006. Gillett,Preston and Associates)

Taiw

an

Japa

n

Chi

na

Kor

ea

USA

Aus

tral

ia

Van

uatu

Fr.

Pol

ynes

ia

Fij

i

*Vie

tnam

New

Zea

land

Bel

ize

Major WCPFC area longline fleets(* As many or most of the small longline vessels in Vietnam operate only part time,

only the large Vietnamese longliners are shown here)

Pole-and-line vessels over 14 meters

Spearfishing is growing inimportance in the Pacific Islands.It was almost insignificant in theregion prior to the introductionof diving goggles in the middleof the twentieth century. Nowthe fishing method is one of the

major components of inshorefishing in the Pacific Islands.Spearfishing is also a major con-tributor to what is arguably thegreatest fishery problem in thePacific Islands: excess inshorefishing effort and associated

resource declines. On the posi-tive side, spearfishing producesmuch of the local marine foodavailable to Pacific Islanders.

A recent SPC/FAO studyreviewed spearfishing in select-



ed Pacific Island countries. Thereport of the study identifiedthe important species caught,ascertained the major difficul-ties caused by spearfishing,

explored interventions to miti-gate the problems, and consid-ered the assistance likely to berequired by Pacific Island coun-tries in the management of theirspearfisheries.

The major spearfishing issues inthe five countries of the studywere identified as:

Commercial spearfisheries depleting fishery resources in areas that may be quiteimportant for village food supplies.The low priority given to enforcing legislation related to spearfishing.The exclusion of 'spearing' from commercial fishing activities that require a license, andthe exclusion of 'spearing' by outsiders from activities that can be regulated by traditionalauthorities under the Fisheries Act.The difficulty of collecting evidence required for a successful prosecution of fishing withscuba gear.The difficulty of villagers enforcing rules on fisheries activities that mainly occur ati hThe incompatibility of marine-oriented tourism and spearfishing, or at least commercial

spearfishing.The health risks of scuba to untrained divers.The use of large 'fish collection vessels' in conjunction with spearfishing.The targeting of fish spawning aggregations by spearfishers.In Tonga’s open-access regime there is some concern that nothing practical can be doneabout the excessive fishing effort, a major element of which is spearfishing.There are very few controls on spearfishing, and very lax enforcement of ones that doexist.Although the use of scuba for spearfishing appears to be contained, there is some worrythat the situation may change if the beche-de-mer fishery and associated scuba use re-commence.It is difficult or impractical to collect the evidence required for a successful prosecution ofusing scuba for spearfishing.Some individuals are concerned about the long-term impacts of visits by industrial-scalespearfishing operations to Tonga’s isolated reef areas.Spearfishing inside the fish fences for fish, which other people considered have alreadybeen 'caught' is growing.

Balancing the need to protect Samoa’s inshore fisheries from the deleterious effects ofspearfishing with the political directive to allow the existing group of spearfishers tocontinue.Reconciling the village by-laws (which may ban scuba spearfishing) with the nationallevel de-facto permission granted to a group of scuba spearfishers.The difficulty of reducing fishing effort from a variety of inshore fishing techniques, themost important of which is spearfishing.Whether the export of inshore fisheries resources (an important component of which isthe catch from spearfishing), is justified.

There is sometimes conflict between spearfishing and other gear; the contention thatspearing reduces the amount of fish available for line fishing.The complexity of reducing Funafuti inshore fishing effortThe concept that there are limits to inshore fisheries production is new to manyTuvaluans.The perception by some government officials that any controls placed on inshore fishing(including spearfishing) by the Fisheries Department could be thought by the generalpublic as being contradictory to the Fisheries Department’s development efforts.The increased algal growth in the lagoon area around the populated centre of Funafuticould be, at least partially, as a result of the removal of herbivorous fish by spearfishing.Fishing is an important component of inshore fishing effort and, even in areas away fromthe urban centres, there is the perception that inshore resource are declining due to fishingpressure.Night-time spearfishing with flashlights is having a major impact on parrotfish andspawning aggregations of groupers.There is considerable concern about coral damage while spearfishing.At least some fisheries officers feel that spearfishing is wasteful because of the damage tofish flesh and because a spear hole results in faster bacterial decomposition.

Important issues inthe Solomon Islands

Importantspearfishing issuesin Fiji

Important issues inTonga

Important issues inSamoa

Important issues inTuvalu




The 10 most important spear-fishing difficulties from the fivecountry visits, a review of theliterature, and discussions withfishers appear to be:

• The contribution of spearfish-ing to inshore over-fishing

• The use of scuba in spear-fishing

• Night spearfishing

• Industrial spearfishing

• Negative interaction withline fishing

• Poaching and difficulties ofsurveillance

• Devastation of certain species

• Devastation of spawningaggregations

• Incompatibility of spearfish-ing with marine tourism

• Increased algal growth dueto the removal of herbivores.

The table on page 32 summa-rizes these difficulties and listssome successes and failures intheir mitigation.

The SPC/FAO study indicatesthat spearfishing is important in

Pacific Island inshore fishing.The visits to five countries dur-ing the present study show thatthere are very large differencesbetween countries, and betweenlocations within a single coun-try, in the level and type ofspearfishing activities. A com-mon feature in each area is thatspearfishing is a major contribu-tor to inshore over-fishing. In allbut the most traditional placesthere are difficulties withenforcing spearfishing manage-ment measures.

A few generalisations onspearfishing management canbe made:

• For several reasons, a com-plete and effective ban ofscuba spearfishing and effec-tive enforcement is the singlemost important spearfishingmanagement measure.Expressed in crude terms, ‘Ifa country does nothing elseright in spearfishing manage-ment, ban the use of scuba’.

• Spearfishing effort must bemanaged along with otherforms of inshore fishing.Attempts at restricting justspearfishing are not likely tobe successful, as fishingeffort may be easily trans-ferred to other small-scalefishing methods.

• In the management ofinshore fisheries, includingthat of spearfishing, only afew measures are likely to besuccessfully implemented atthe national level. Mostinterventions must be for-mulated, initiated, andenforced at the local level,preferably with some assis-tance from the national level.

In the management of PacificIsland inshore fisheries, no sin-gle measure is likely to be effec-tive in addressing all the pres-ent and future concerns at a par-ticular site. The relative successof the various possible interven-tions is likely to change overtime as conditions evolve. Ittherefore seems that an effectivecommunity-level strategy wouldbe to have a marine protectedarea along with other interven-tions such as limits on commer-cial species, seasonal bans, andprohibition of night spearfish-ing ('MPA plus').

A full copy of the report of theSPC/FAO spearfishing study isavailable on the FAO website:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0774e/a0774e00.htm



SpearfishingDifficulties

Considerations What has not worked at addressingissue; What may have been over-looked

What has enjoyed at least some successat addressing issue

Spearfishing is amajor contributorto inshore over-fishing

Excess inshore fishing effort and associatedresource declines are arguably the greatestfishery problem in the region

National level legislation by itself Spearfishing must be treated as one ofmany fishing methods that contribute to theproblem.

The problem of inshore over-fishing iscomplex and there are no easy solutions

Management interventions dealing withspearfishing alone are unlikely to beeffective at addressing inshore over-fishing

Providinginformation/assistance/encouragement tocommunities for them to address issue

All attempts at controlling effort in openaccess situations

Use of scuba Reduces fish populations to low levels Simply banning the use of scuba forspearfishing or all fishing, because ofdifficulties of obtaining evidence for courtprosecution

Banning at the national level the possessionof scuba and fishing gear in same boat orcar

Diminishes/eliminates reserves for fish indeep water

Research on the issue is no guarantee that aban on scuba will follow (Guam)

Awareness raising: In rural areas, socialpressure to avoid what is considered anunsustainable practice seems moreeffective than government regulations

Inevitable use of scuba gear by unqualifiedand/or careless people and accompanyinginjury and death

Using dive tourism operators topromote/enforce bans

Night spearfishing Reduces fish populations to low levels Attempts to legislate on the national level Bans at the community levelPast or present operations in Fiji, Tonga,Solomons, and Northern Marianas uselarge vessels and many divers

Assuming that cash provided to villagesadequately compensates for resourcedepletion

Providing information to nationalauthorities on experiences in theseoperations (e.g. southern Lau in late 1980s)

Sequential devastation of fish populationsto the detriment of adjacent villages underthe guise of developmentTraditional fishers often feel that spearingreduces the amount of fish available forline fishing, either by reducing theabundance of fish or by making them waryof all fishing gear.

Ignoring the generational aspect to thespear/line conflict - old men, who mostlyfish with lines, disapproving ofspearfishing, mostly done by muchyounger males.

Communities banning spearfishing incertain areas (e.g. inside lagoon)

Although could be dismissed as not beingimportant, it appears to be perceived to be asignificant issue in many traditional areasBecause spearfishing occurs at underwaterand often at night, enforcement of anymanagement rules can be difficult andexpensive.

Suggestions that national governmentsshould provide boats and fuel tocommunities for policing usually do notcome to fruition, nor do they seemsustainable

Sensitisation of communities by outsidepartners as to the value of their coastalresources and the harm done to theresources by poachers.

Sanctions on both boat owners and onspearfishers

The humphead parrotfish (Bolbometoponmuricatum ) and the humphead wrasse(Cheilinus undulatus ) seem to beespecially unfortunate as they are both highvalue species and inherently not veryresilient to fishing pressure

National level legislation banningcommercialisation of certain specieswithout significant follow up is noteffective even in a capital city

Local-level bans on night spearfishing

An externally funded marketing projectrefusing to buy these species

The large numbers of fish taken at somespawning aggregations give the impressionthat the species is abundant. This can hidethe less obvious possibility that, for somespecies, one or a few large aggregationsmay represent all the adults in a population(Y. Sadovy, per.com., November 2005).

National level legislation by itself Creation of an awareness at both thefisheries officer and the community levelsof the importance of spawningaggregations and associated protection

Community involvement in establishingmarine protected areas that encompassspawning aggregations

Spearfishing, whether traditional ormodern, catch many of the same fish thatare most visible/valued by tourist divers

Attempting to 'win a war with a village' Community involvement in establishingmarine protected areas that are close toresorts

Even at sustainable levels of fishing effort,spearfishing can have considerable effectson tourism prospects

An economically powerful tourismindustry leading initiatives to banspearfishing entirely, or commercialspearfishing, or by non-residents (someCaribbean and Indian Ocean countries).

Increased algalgrowth with theremoval ofherbivores

The removal of scarids, acanthurids, andsiganids by spearfishing is thought to resultin increased abundance of algae

An increase of ciguatera-producingorganisms could possibly result

Some Funafuti, Tuvalu spearfishers reportan increase in siganids at some distancefrom a large MPA

Industrialspearfishing

Negative interactionwith hook/linefishing

Devastatingspawningaggregations

Incompatibility ofspearfishing andmarine tourism

Poaching anddifficulties ofsurveillance

Devastating certainspecies

Spearfishing difficulties and considerations of mitigation measures

URGENT BAN TO PROTECT 7 SPECIES



An emergency five-month sus-pension of all bottomfishing inthe main Hawaiian Islandsresulted from new research thatseven species of bottomfish arebeing overfished and thatimmediate steps are needed toprotect them.

The closure, which will start insix weeks, needs to be enactedby US National Oceanic andAtmospheric AdministrationFisheries Service and the stateDepartment of Land andNatural Resources, but bothagencies have indicated they areprepared to do so.

The new closed season, which isto be established in both stateand federal waters around allthe main Hawaiian Islands, willbe in place 1 May–30 September.The closed season replaces aprevious plan to close federalwaters only at Penguin Banks ofMoloka'i and Middle Bank,between Kaua'i and Nihoa.

The more aggressive regulationis because the newest fisheriesdata suggest bottomfish stocksare more threatened than scien-tists had realized, said EdEbisui, a member of the WesternPacific Regional Fishery Man-agement Council.

Prized Hawaiian eating fish —the onaga, 'ehu, gindai, 'opaka-paka, kalekale, lehi andhapu'upu'u — are covered bythe closed season. The closurewill mean the only Hawaiianbottomfish on local markets dur-ing those months will be fromthe Northwestern HawaiianIslands, which federal regulatorssay is not being overfished.

The closure will affect his busi-ness, but something clearlyneeded to be done to protect thefishery, said Brooks Takenaka ofUnited Fishing Agency, whichoperates a fish auction inHonolulu.

'It's all of our collective respon-sibility to realize what is hap-pening. We've got to be carefulof the utilization of ourresources,' he said. But he alsosaid he hopes regulators keepopen minds and continue look-ing at data to find ways to man-age the fishery that least affectsthe community and the fishingindustry.

'I'm getting calls from fishermenand wholesalers that weren'taware of this. For the full-timecommercial fishing guys, this isa knock. They can't just go anddo other types of fishing. Ittakes different equipment. Andit's not like they can just gosomewhere else,' Takenaka said.

He said some fish will continuecoming in from the Northwest-ern Hawaiian Islands until a fish-ing ban takes place in four yearswithin the PapahanaumokuakeaNational Marine Monument.And local consumers will alsofind more fish coming in fromthe Indian Ocean and the SouthPacific — generally from areasnot carefully managed to pro-tect resources, he said.

'People are going to be eatingfish from someone else's back-yard,' he said.

The Western Pacific RegionalFishery Management Councilresponded with the closed sea-son after receiving NOAAFisheries' latest estimate, basedon fishery data through 2005,that says local bottomfish stocksare at risk unless the take isreduced by 24 percent.

Federal waters beyond threemiles and out to 200 miles fromshore are covered by the newban. The state is committed toenacting a nearly identicalclosed season as well, said AltonMiyasaka, an aquatic biologistwith the state Division ofAquatic Resources. But he said

the state has not yet laid out atimetable for getting the newclosed season rules enacted.

'Our hope is to manage ittogether. We're all pullingtogether,' Ebisui said.

During the first year of the closedseason, NOAA Fisheries andstate fisheries officials will beaggressively gathering data, andtrying to expand the informationthey now collect about the fish-ery. Within the next year, theyexpect to establish a fishery man-aged like some Alaskan and WestCoast fisheries, in which a totalallowable annual catch is estab-lished and daily catches are mon-itored. When Hawai'i anglershave caught the total allowablecatch, the season immediatelycloses until the following year.

One problem: Commercialanglers report their catch, butrecreational fishing boats don'thave to.

Recreational bottomfishers bythe start of the 2008 season willbe required to report their catchdaily, as will commercialanglers. Both would also berequired to provide detailedlocations on where they catchtheir bottomfish. One benefit forrecreational anglers is that baglimits will be removed.

'This year's five-month closureis kind of a buffer. We still don'thave a handle on the recreation-al take,' Ebisui said.

Source: Honolulu Advertiser, 20March 2007http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com




CORAL USES AND PERSPECTIVESON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

IN SOLOMON ISLANDS

Antoine TeitelbaumAquaculture Officer

SPC, NoumeaNew Caledonia

([email protected])

During a recent visit to SolomonIslands, staff from SPC's Aqua-culture Section and the SolomonIslands Ministry of Fisheries andMarine Resources (MFMR) visit-ed the Western and the CentralProvinces and gathered informa-tion on the wild harvesting andfarming of corals.

TRADITIONAL AND MODERNCORAL USE IN SOLOMON ISLANDS

For many years, the wild collec-tion of corals has brought sub-stantial income to rural commu-nities in many provinces inSolomon Islands. Wild coralharvesting caters to three mainmarkets:

1. Local trade (as a source oflime for chewing with betel-nut);

2. Curio trade (dead corals)

3. Marine aquarium trade (livecorals)

Lime production

In Solomon Islands, chewingbetelnut is a long-standing andcommon tradition. Calcium car-bonate is the active ingredientof lime and forms the basis ofthe skeletal structure ofstaghorn corals (Acropora spp.),which are harvested on the reef.

All Solomon Islanders, especial-ly those who chew betelnut, arefamiliar with lime. Daka or leaf,lime and betelnut are all essen-tial ingredients in betelnutchewing because without one ofthese, the desired taste cannotbe achieved. Betelnut chewingis part of Solomon Islands tradi-tional culture and enhancessocialization among people.

However, today many peopledo not chew betelnut due toreligious restrictions (Seventh-Day Adventists and evangelicalchurches).

Lime production is as follows.

• Corals are harvested fromtheir habitat using light crow-bars or other tools.Harvesting duration dependson the amount of coralrequired. In some provinces,coastal communities gathergreat amounts of coral in thewaters near their villages.This coral is then stockpiled.

• All harvested corals are thensun-dried for over 10 days.After drying, the coralsappear bleached because thelive tissue has died.

• The bleached corals areburned on a fire. Dried man-grove wood is the best fuelto use because they burnslowly, and produce goodheat. The wood is stacked aswhen making a motu (tradi-tional oven).

• The corals are burned untilthey turn into ashes (lime).The lime is collected andstored in coconut wovenbaskets or bamboo stalks.These are then stored in thewarmest part of the kitchenabove the fireplace.

• The lime is now ready to bestored in various types andsizes of bottles to be sold tobetelnut consumers. It isimportant that lime is storedin airtight containers toavoid humidity.

Lime is sold in local marketsthrough the barter system. Theprice for lime ranges from

Staghorn corals used for the production of lime.


CORAL USES AND PERSPECTIVES ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SOLOMON ISLANDS

SBD1.00 to SBD10.00 dependingon the quantity sold. Lime is notan export commodity inSolomon Islands, therefore theMinistry of Fisheries has nodata on its production.

Bleached coralsfor the curio trade

In Solomon Islands, the use ofcorals for the curio trade beganin 1984. It was then stopped bythe government in 1994 but re-started again in 2003. Accordingto MFMR’s data, 20,000 pieceswere exported in 2004 (Lal andKinch, 2005)1.

This activity is a substantialsource of cash for coastal com-munities. Acropora spp., Pocillo-pora spp., Turbinaria spp., Helio-pora spp., and Seriatopora spp. areharvested on reefs (especially inCentral and the Guadalcanalprovinces) then sun dried andbleached. These are shipped bysea, in containers, to the USAwhere they are sold as curios.

Harvesting corals for theornamental trade

Corals harvested for export forthe ornamental trade generate thehighest incomes. Most of thisactivity takes place around theNggela group in Central Province.Inhabitants of Buenavista, Sandflyand Nggela islands have been col-lecting corals since the mid-1990s.In 1996, 175,000 pieces of livecoral were exported for the orna-mental trade.

Villagers often operate ingroups under an informal coop-erative, harvesting live corals asa cash income mostly on a part-time basis. Of the 200 peopleinvolved in the collection ofmarine ornamentals in SolomonIslands, it is estimated that 25%are focusing on the collection ofcoral fragments.

Around 70 species of corals areharvested for the ornamentaltrade. The most popular ordersrequested by Honiara-basedexporters to village fishers are

for the following genera:Euphyllia spp., Acropora spp.,Montipora spp., Sarcophyton spp.,Sinularia spp., Ricordia spp., andFungia spp.

During a recent trip to CentralProvince, staff from SPC andMFMR met with a group ofcoral fishers from Leitongo vil-lage in the Sandfly Islands.Henry Kaoni, chief of the collec-tors, outlined his practices andshared his concerns with theteam. For 13 years, fishers fromLeitongo have been harvestingcorals that are mainly sold toSolomon Islands Marine Export(SIME) in Honiara. Over 2000pieces of corals can be sold eachweek. Each piece sells forbetween SBD2 and SBD2.5.Coral fishers are becomingincreasingly worried that coralresource in their surroundingwaters seem to be suffering bythis activity, and while the costof living has increased, the priceof corals has remained the same.

Later, the SPC/MFMR team metwith a group of collectors in amangrove stand. This area had avery diverse population of hardcoral species. Although freshwa-ter runoff has caused mortality inthe surface layers, healthy coralcolonies were observed in thedeeper parts of the mangrove.Collectors use a dugout canoe asthe collection vessel and taketurns diving. The group harvestscorals with a screw driver orchisel. Coral fragments are thenplaced in a plastic basket on topof a layer of mangrove leaves.On the day of the visit, the SPC/MFMR team observed a harvestof Lobopyllia spp., Euphyllia spp.,Ricordia spp., and Merulina spp.

Back at the village, the corals areplaced underwater in surround-ing areas, to ease the acclimati-zation of the freshly harvestedWild caught coral in the Nggela.

1 Lal P. and Kinch J. 2005. Financial assessment of the marine trade of corals in Solomon Islands. Report prepared for theFoundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International, Suva, Fiji; South Pacific Regional Environment Programme,Apia, Samoa; Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources and Forestry and Environment and Conservation, Ministry ofNatural Resources, the Solomon Islands Government, Honiara, Solomon Islands. C-SPODP II. 32 p.



colonies. The day before theyare exported, the corals aretaken to Honiara (1–1.5 hoursby boat) and placed at SIME'sfacilities. Coral colonies aresorted, graded and placed in theraceways of SIME’s re-circulat-ing system. On the day ofexport, the corals are baggedwith oxygen, boxed, and sent tothe airport.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF FARMEDCORALS?

The sustainability of the wildcaught coral trade is question-able. In the late 1990s, the firsttrials of coral aquaculture start-ed in Marau Sound inGuadalcanal Province. Of the 30farmers that were trained andequipped for that purpose, onlya few individuals adopted thetechnology and producedfarmed coral fragments.Between 2000 and 2004, farmedcorals accounted for only asmall fraction (on average 1.6%)

of the total amount of coralsexported from the SolomonIslands (see table below).

The financial assessment pro-duced by Lal and Kinch in 2005demonstrated that coral culturein Solomon Islands can only bea viable source of income if thefollowing criteria are met.

• Culture operation are devel-oped on a large scale;

• Transport costs to Honiaraare shared with those fromother activities;

• Transport of coral fragmentsto Honiara are made at leastonce a month;

• Villagers fetch better pricesfor their production.

Since 2004, the number offarmed corals appears to beincreasing at an exponentialrate. Official export statistics

show an increase from 600pieces in 2004 to 1600 in 2005,and more than 7000 pieces in2006. These figures are from theproduction of 1 farmer inCentral Province, 8 farmers inthe Marau Sound area, and 6farmers in Western Province.

The international ornamentalcoral market is demandingmore cultured corals becausethey adapt better to aquariumconditions and they are regularin sizes, colours and shapes fora given species. Furthermore,farming corals is seen as an‘eco-friendly’ practice, com-pared with the wild harvestingof corals.

Unfortunately, in SolomonIslands, coral farming is limitedby the following factors.

• The demand for wild caughtcorals is still high and theyare cheaper products forexporters;

• Only a few species of coralscan be cultured (fast grow-ing ones); a larger number ofwild caught species can beobtained;

• There are only two ship-ments of live stock per week.Most available airfreightspace is already used byaquarium fish and wildcaught corals;

• Villagers often find it diffi-cult to access basic materialsfor culture (wire, cement,plastic moulds).

After further discussions withcoral fishers, it appears thatcatching wild corals is not asprofitable as it used to be. Pricesare low and collection sites arefar away because some nearbyareas have been overfished.Culturing areas close to villagesmakes this activity very attrac-tive. Further more, farmedcorals fetch higher prices thanwild caught corals: farmed

Number of farmed corals vs number of wild corals exportedfrom Solomon Islands since 2000

Year No. of farmedcorals (pieces)

No. of wildcorals (pieces)

Percentage offarmed vs wild

2000 1299 51,417 2.46%2001 766 33,250 2.25%2002 567 40,750 1.37%2003 686 51,627 1.31%2004 439 71,017 0.61%

Export of farmed corals (in pieces)from the Solomon Islands since 2000.

Value in SBD

Volume exported(pieces)



corals are currently marketed atSBD8 per piece.

Not all coral species can befarmed. Some have slow growthrates, and others do not adapt tofarming conditions. However,for those that can be easilyfarmed, it makes sense that cul-tured fragment should slowlyreplace wild caught for a givenspecies, for both soft and hardcorals. For example, Acroporaspp., Montipora spp., Sarcophytonspp., and Sinularia spp. are veryeasy to farm and have fastgrowth rates.

COULD STOCK MANAGEMENT,LABELS AND REGULATIONS HELPDEVELOP THE CORALAQUACULTURE INDUSTRY?

The WorldFish Center and theMarine Aquarium Council(MAC) are currently workingtogether in drafting a'Mariculture Area ManagementPlan’, with financial assistancefrom the New Zealand Agencyfor International Development(NZAID). Management plansare established within localcommunities that are involvedin the aquaculture of clams andcorals within Western Province.The goal is to obtain MAC certi-

fication of the products. Forexample, villagers are taught tocommercialize third generationcorals only, and good practicesfor fragmenting and handlingare demonstrated. Recently,three workshops, on corals,giant clams and post larval cap-ture and culture techniques,were carried by the WorldFishCenter at the Nusa Tupe fieldstation in Western Province.

Obtaining MAC certificationwill help Solomon Islands prod-ucts by adding value and willhelp farmed marine ornamental

products in gaining recognitionon the global ornamental trade.

So far, regulations on coral har-vesting in Solomon Island arebasic (see boxed text below).However, a license is requiredfor exporting corals overseas.The introduction of quotas onwild caught fragments wouldhelp in promoting farmingactivities.

WHAT WILL MFMR DO?

Although the global ornamentalmarket is growing, MFMRunderstands that harvestingand culturing of corals can onlybe a source of income for a lim-ited number of coastal commu-nities.

However, MFMR wishes to reg-ulate the wild caught harvestingwhile promoting farming activi-ties. The following actions willbe MFMR’s priority as part ofthe national aquaculture devel-opment pan.

• Assist the private sector indeveloping in a sustainableway (i.e. promoting and sup-porting farming);

• Encourage competition byproviding a limited numberof licenses;

Lagoon house used for farming activities in Sandfly island.



• Assess how many house-holds will benefit from farm-ing activities and supportaccordingly;

• Develop a strategy that willprogressively replace wildcaught corals by farmedcorals (for fast growingspecies);

• Train provincial fisheriesassistants in coral farmingtechniques; they in turn willbe able to train villagers.

For further reading, see thereport of the Foundation of thePeoples of the South Pacific,International (FSPI), ‘Financialassessment of the marine trade

of corals in Solomon Islands’,written by Lal and Kinch, 2005.

http://www.fspi.org.fj/program/coastal/research_and_development_reports.htm)

Mother coloniesused for producingcoral cuttings.

Culture of Acroporafragments.


ISO 22000 STANDARD: A FOODSAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Vincent TalbotInstitut de la Qualité

NoumeaNew Caledonia

([email protected])

The Quality Institute is a NewCaledonia-based company thatbrings together quality, hygiene,safety and environmental con-sultants. A leader in theInternational Organization ofStandardization (ISO) proce-dures, the Institute assisted thefirst New Caledonian compa-nies in getting their ISO 22000certification.

ISO 22000 certification allowscompanies in the food industryto show that they are capable ofproviding customers with safeproducts. But what exactly doesthis new certification guaran-tee? What type of company is itfor? Why do companies decideto commit themselves to theprocedure?

WHAT IS THE REASONFOR ISO 22000?

At the time when a major credi-bility crisis is affecting the foodsector and overwhelming pub-lic opinion, gaining control offood safety has become a vitalissue. A lack of hygiene canhave negative consequences interms of both public health andeconomics.

Given this, initiatives have beenundertaken in many countriesto formulate more or less volun-tary rules. But the vast increasein the number of private refer-ence systems based on theHazard Analysis CriticalControl Point (HACCP) methodled to a certain amount of con-fusion among the variousgroups in the food industry. InSeptember 2005, after threeyears of work, ISO published auniversal reference framework(i.e. the ISO 22000 standard),which was the result of a con-sensus between 45 countries.

This standard meets a two-partneed to:

1. improve safety for all foodsector stakeholders, and

2. harmonise existing foodsafety methods through ainternationally recognisedreference system.

Just over a year has passed sinceISO 22000 was issued, butalready more than 50 countrieshave adopted it.

WHO IS THE ISO 22000MEANT FOR?

The ISO 22000 certification is forall food sector companies (pro-ducers, processors, distributors)as well as all related industries,such as packaging, transport, ani-mal feed, cleaning and disinfect-ing, equipment production, etc.

This standard implements a com-mon vocabulary and improvescommunications between every-one involved in the food industry.

Hedelab, Belgium, states: 'For us, the ISO 22000 is designed toallow — whatever the country or product involved — harmonisedimplementation of the HACCP method, recognised by experts as thebest tool currently available to guarantee food safety for consumers.Since the large increase in the numbers and types of food crises,certain countries and even certain food industries and companieshave created their own safety standards. As a result, there are morethan 20 different sets of standards. Through the internationalconsensus that led to its development, the ISO22000 certification isdestined to become the reference in international food safety.'

What added value does ISO 22000s provide?

• requires the creation of a complete food safety managementsystem;

• provides an international dimension;• allows a smaller number of more harmonised standards;• imposes structured and targeted communications;• subjects all control measures to hazard analysis;• meets food industry expectations;• fills the gap between ISO 9001 and HACCP;• suitable for all types of business since it imposes results and not

resources ;• is based on a system approach, not a product approach;• proposes clear, easily audited requirements;• provides a reference base for the food chain as a whole;• focuses on mastering the essentials;• provides an auditing (and not inspection) standard composed

of clear requirements;• allows third-party certification;• makes resource savings possible by reducing the number of

redundant audits; and• can serve as a reference base for national legislation


ISO 22000 STANDARD: A FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

KEY FEATURES OF THE ISO 22000STANDARD

The ISO 22000 standard is amanagement system standardthat sets requirements forresults without setting require-ments for resources. TheHACCP system is based onorganisation and is guided by apolicy and objectives with clear-ly defined responsibilities, allot-ted resources, and control overhow objectives are met. Thisorganisation is designed toensure continual improvementin food safety. This standardsets out specific requirementsfor the five areas shown in thefigure at right.

WHAT DOES ISO 22000 BRINGTO THE HACCP METHOD?

PRP, operational PRP, CCP andvalidation

ISO 22000 has made it possibleto fill in, in a targeted manner,certain gaps that hindered prop-er understanding and use of theHACCP method, in particular,by introducing prerequisite pro-grams (PRP), and operationalPRP (oPRP). The standardmakes it possible to prioritisecontrol measures based on crite-ria linked to the probably of theoccurrence of a certain type ofhazard and its severity. In addi-tion, ISO 22000 requires thatcontrol measures associatedwith oPRP and critical controlpoints be validated before theyare implemented.

System components

ISO 22000 has also set up,around the HACCP method, allthe system and organisationalcomponents, based on the prin-ciple of continual improvementthat made ISO 9001 such a suc-cess.

In fact, once companies havemet the challenge of setting upan HACCP the first year, theythen face a new challenge —



keeping it operational over thecoming years, something thatISO 22000’s 'PDCA: Plan-Do-Check-Act' system approachmakes possible. By providingsystem components (proce-dures, audit, indicators, operat-ing reports, managementreviews, steering committees,etc.), this standard contributesto efforts to structure andimprove management. Thesemeasures allow companies toavoid fixed HACCP systemsand move towards systems thatconstantly adapt to the situationand to food safety needs.

As the first New Caledonia com-pany to receive ISO 22000 certifi-cation reports: 'Our system real-ly became dynamic and involvesour staff a great deal more.'

Communication between par-ticipants in the food industry

The requirement for communi-cation about potential hazards,both upstream and downstreamdepending on the needs, is anew and major asset of ISO22000, one that will promote thedevelopment of an integratedsector culture and approach. Inthe seafood sector, for example,processors will not only have tohave good communicationswith fishers, packaging suppli-ers and transporters but willalso have to prove that theyfully master the requirementsthat they have set with theseparticipants in the food chain.

For in-house communications,emphasis is placed on provid-ing the ISO 22000 team withtimely information on anychanges that could affect foodsafety. A lack of communicationin this area can have a signifi-cant impact as has been demon-strated by recent cases of foodpoisoning caused by changes inmaintenance or in raw materialsor packaging without the ISO22000 team’s prior approval.

ISO 22000: A PASSPORT FOREXPORTING?

By selecting an ISO 22000 certi-fication, you are adopting aninternationally recognised sys-tem. Whatever the country, youwill share a common languagewith your customers, suppliersand competent health services.Also, from a health point ofview, the ISO 22000 standardhas a great potential to partiallyfill the gap between rich import-ing countries and developingcountries that want to export.

In the seafood sector, Thailandwas one of the first countries tobenefit from the development ofprocessed product exports byadopting an effective and inter-nationally recognised food safe-ty programme.

ISO 22000 is also a good way toreassure consumers who areincreasingly wary about thefood they buy. Certified compa-nies demonstrate their foodmanufacturing professionalismby guaranteeing better study ofand communication about relat-ed hazards.

WHY DO COMPANIES COMMITTHEMSELVES TO AN ISO 22000APPROACH?

Mainly because some exportingcompanies want to adopt acommon language to facilitateexchanges. Other companiesbecause they want their hazardanalysis and control techniquesto be consolidated, validated

and recognised by an outsideagency. And other companiescommit to an ISO 22000approach in order to completetheir ISO 9001, ISO 14001,HACCP plans through theimplementation of an integrat-ed system.

In all cases, everyone recognisesthe interest of the standard’smanagerial dimension in mov-ing their current fixed HACCPplans towards a well-adapteddynamic system that stronglyinvolves staff and is constantlyimproving.

In the end, ISO 22000 combinesa series of advantages, involv-ing quality management, exter-nal and in-house communica-tions, designating responsibili-ty, implementing crisis manage-ment, continual improvement,good health practices and dif-ferentiating between PRP, oPRPand CCP.

To find out about ISO 22000,visit the following websites:

www.codexalimentarius.net

www.iso.org

www.institut-qualite.nc

Goodman Fielder New Caledonia, first company in the SouthPacific to be certified for ISO 22000 in December 2006 by theBureau Veritas Certification: 'We were already certified for ISO9001 but we knew that our existing HACCP plan needed to berevised, optimised and included in a dynamic approach tocontinual improvement. With strong support from management,this approach allowed us to gain the full participation ofproduction staff and federate all our departments and teams.Today, our ISO 22000 certification demonstrates our efficiency infood safety control, increases our customers’ confidence on thelocal market and allows us to develop an export market.'



Vincent Talbot, a free-lance consultant from the Institut de la Qualité in New Caledonia, was invitedby the SPC Nearshore Fisheries Development and Training Section (NFDTS) to develop a tailor-madecourse for staff from various local institutions dealing with or interested in seafood safety issuesincluding HACCP principles and the new ISO 22000 standard. Overall, the course was designed toenable participants to gain a good understanding of the new ISO 22000 standard and its implications.This involves quality management, external and in-house communications, designating responsibility,implementing crisis management, continual improvement, good health practices and differentiatingbetween prerequisite programs (PRP), operational prerequisite programs (OPRP) and CriticalControl Points (CCP).

The one-day course was held at SPC in Noumea, on Monday 08 February 2007. Post-course feedbackfrom the trainer and the 10 participants – covering 7 government administrations and organisations(including SPC) — was very positive, particularly with regards to the training methodology andresource materials. At the end, participants left with a greater understanding of ISO 22000 standardsbut many felt that this very intensive course should preferably be delivered in two days.

Participants of the one-day course held at SPC


SHALLOW WATERBATHYMETRY

Franck MagronReef Fisheries Information

ManagerSecretariat of the Pacific

Community([email protected])

A previous article in the SPCFisheries Newsletter (# 117)described how ocean bottomsare largely unexplored, and thatthe available Pacific Oceanbathymetric maps are a mixtureof localized oceanic surveys andsatellite altimetry, with a resolu-tion ranging from 30 seconds(~1 km at equator) to 5 minutes.

While these maps are quite use-ful for the management of pelag-ic fishes and seamounts, they aregenerally unsuitable fornearshore and reef fisheriesmanagement, for which, higherresolution maps are necessary.This article describes othersources of information for shal-low water bathymetry, and howthese can be used to producebathymetric maps for coastalfisheries management purposes.

NAUTICAL CHARTS

Hydrographers and cartogra-phers have produced nauticalcharts for the Pacific Islandsregion for centuries, and someof the charts available today areupdated versions of 19th cen-tury original ones.

Nautical charts are generallyavailable for the whole Pacific,but scale varies depending onthe area. Because nautical chartshave been created for naviga-tional purposes, they emphasisehazards such as reefs, focusingon avoidance more than on theexact mapping of reefs. Nauticalcharts are generally quitedetailed for approaches to har-bours and passes, with addi-tional detailed plans for theseareas of interest.

Figure 1 shows that the bathym-etry in the NZ945 chart forPenrhyn is much more detailedaround Taruia Passage and

Gudgeon Bay, than in the rest ofthe lagoon and the passage iseven more detailed because ofits importance for navigators.

Importation of nauticalcharts in a GIS

For use within geographic infor-mation system (GIS) software,charts can be scanned and geo-referenced (raster image), orthey can be digitized (on screenor with a digitizing board) andstored as points, contour linesand polygons. Spatial queriesare possible with digitizedcharts, while raster images aregenerally used as backdrop.

Nautical charts have been digi-tized on a large scale by US feder-al agencies such as the NationalOceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA), theNational Geospatial-intelligenceAgency (NGA), and the NationalImagery and Mapping Agency(NIMA), but these products aregenerally not released to the pub-lic for copyright reasons, apart forUS waters. Some private compa-nies have also digitized charts toincorporate them in GPS plottersbut these are generally encryptedand in a format incompatiblewith GIS software.

The projection and datum usedto produce the chart must beknown in order to geo-referenceor digitize a chart, which issometimes not the case for oldercharts for which adjustments forplotting GPS positions cannot bedetermined.

In conclusion, nautical chartsare most often not readily avail-able in vector format and oftenlack detailed bathymetry forreef areas and areas outside fre-quently used shipping lanes.

HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYS OFCOASTAL WATERS

Depths between 30 m and 200 mare beyond remote sensing tech-niques (visible light is quicklyabsorbed and water is opaque toradar frequencies) and predictedbathymetry, using satellite alti-metry, is not reliable for shallowwater. Therefore, sonar and leadline remain the ways of measur-ing depths in the 30-200 m range.

A typical survey is done with amedium size boat equipped witha single-beam or multi-beam sonarthat records depths regularly(every 20 m; see Fig. 2) along theboat path (parallel transects). Veryshallow areas (e.g. patch reefs orflat reefs) are generally not cov-ered because they cannot be safelyexplored by the survey boat;therefore, holes in the datasetoften correspond to shallow reefs.

Hydrographic surveys providevery accurate depth information,and additional data can be col-lected with additional sensors atthe same time (e.g. acoustic signa-tures can be used to map bottomtypes). These types of surveys aredone routinely by the SouthPacific Applied Geoscience Com-mission (SOPAC) for ACP coun-tries, and NOAA's NationalOcean Service for US territories.

An alternative method consistsof digitizing individual sound-ings on nautical charts. This is atedious process, but can makeup for a lack of available sonarinformation for an area.

Use of hydrographic surveysoundings

Each sounding point is stored asan XYZ position (geographic posi-tion and depth), and the dense set


of sounding points is interpolatedto produce a depth map (with iso-baths at 5 m, 10 m, 20 m, 30 m),and determine the correspondingsurfaces as in Figure 3.

It is noticeable on this figurethat there are differencesbetween what can be seen onthe satellite image and with theisobaths, mostly due to the shal-low areas excluded from thesurvey. The area circled in redfor example is wrongly classi-fied as a 20–30 m area while it isobviously much shallower. Theactual error varies dependingon the interpolation methodand the pattern of data gaps.

It is possible to set a maximumdistance between interpolatedpoints and leave holes asunknown, or unclassified areas.Figure 4 correspond to the samelocation as Figure 3 but no inter-polation has been done for datagaps (in white). As a result, thearea for which depth can beretrieved is about 50% of the pre-vious one, and the proportion of10–20 m surface areas comparedwith deeper areas has changeddramatically because shallowreefs are mostly unclassified.

Because of these differences anddepending on the processing ofdata, it is important when usingisobaths or depth grids to deter-mine how they have been pro-duced (interpolation method andlocation of sounding points) and tocompare the interpolated gridwith available charts and satelliteimages.

BATHYMETRY OF VERY SHALLOWAREAS USING REMOTE SENSING

Pacific reef fisheries focus ondepths between 0 m and 20 m,for which detailed bathymetry isoften out of the scope of sonarsurveys (reef areas dangerous fornavigation). Yet these very shal-low waters are not totally opaqueto visible light and both passiveand active remote sensing can beused to determine bathymetry.

Light detection and ranging(LiDAR)

A LiDAR is an active remotesensing equipment that usestime delay between a laser pulseand its reflected signal by the tar-get to determine the distance ofthe latter. The SHOALS-1000(Scanning Hydrographic Opera-tional Airborne LiDAR Survey)system in particular uses a blue-green laser and can measuredepths up to 60 m over a 200 mswath width, a vertical accuracyof 15 cm and a distance of 8 mbetween sounding points(Wozencraft 2001). The SHOALSsystem is mounted on a TwinOtter aircraft and operated bythe Joint Airborne LidarBathymetry Technical Center ofExpertise (JALBTCX).

This technique is complementaryto the traditional sonar surveysand can be used to map veryshallow waters and surf zones. Itcan also map the topography ofthe nearshore (beaches anddunes). LiDAR data is currentlyfreely available from the NOAAwebsite for US coastlines.

Unfortunately, the cost of air-borne operations restricts its usefor specific areas, and it is veryunlikely that LiDAR data willbe available in the near futurefor remote islands. According tothe JALBTCX website, SHOALSsurveys will be conducted inMajuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae,Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap inaddition to US territories.

Multispectral andhyperspectral images

This method is based on theoptical properties of the watercolumn: light absorption isexponential with depth andvaries with wavelength (wave-lengths corresponding to redcolour are absorbed twice asfast as blue ones, see Fig. 5).Compared with LiDAR, whichuses laser pulses to illuminatethe scene, passive remote sens-

ing simply measures the sun-light reflected by the sea floor.

The difference between multi-and hyperspectral data is thenumber of sensors and their sen-sitivity a predefined range ofwavelengths: Landsat andIKONOS satellites for examplehave four sensors (bands) forvisible and near infrared spec-trum, while the Compact Air-borne Spectrographic Imager(CASI) can discriminate between288 spectral bands.

The accuracy of depth as deter-mined through passive remotesensing is far less than what canbe achieved using sonar orLiDAR. The method oftenrequires some kind of area spe-cific calibration, using groundtruth data and atmospheric cor-rection to normalize the data.The advantage of this method isthat it can use available images,and satellite images have a verylarge footprint compared withoairborne and ship surveys,which are more localized.

Passive remote sensing can beused for depths up to 30 m,depending on water turbidityand atmospheric conditions.Numerous papers have beenpublished on the use of satelliteimages for shallow waterbathymetry (Ishiguro et al. 2001;Stumpf and Holderied 2003;Provost et al. 2004) and it is stillan active research topic as thereis still room for improvement.The main problem being thatnot only the water columnabsorbs light but also the atmos-phere, particles in suspension inwater and the sea floor itself,depending on substrate type.The resultant signal contains thedepth information, but is mixedwith the other components.

Fortunately for fisheries man-agement purposes, depth doesnot need to be known within a15 cm accuracy. A rough map-ping of depth classes (for exam-ple 0–5 m, 5–10 m, 10–15 m,

SHALLOW WATER BATHYMETRY


15–20 m, and 20 m+) is probablysufficient and can be obtainedquite easily by using a ratio ofblue and green bands if somesoundings at various depths areavailable for the area and can beused to calibrate the image(Figure 6).

This method has been used toproduce rough depth maps ofTonga's reefs, using availablerelatively cloud free Landsatimages and sounding pointsfrom nautical charts.

CONCLUSION

Sonar surveys have limitationsin term of coverage of very shal-low waters and are well com-plemented by LiDAR surveysbut the operational costs ofthese types of surveys limittheir use to specific areas.Passive remote sensing can pro-vide a cheaper alternative but atthe expense of accuracy andmore robust methods, and mod-els are still sought byresearchers for improvement ofcurrent mapping.

When using a bathymetric mapfor coastal waters it is importantto know how it was produced,for which purpose, and its limi-tations in order to determine ifthe map is suitable for the par-ticular intended use.

REFERENCES

Ishiguro E., Tatsuno K.,Kawakatsu, M., Hirayama S.,Washid, D.A., Kongo S.,Shimada K., Higashi M.,Habano A., Azuma T.,Kikukawa H., Moriyama M.,Taifileichig A., Peckalibe P.,Sulog T., Liyeg F., KanemasuE.T. 2001. Studies on the eval-uation of water deptharound seashore and theland classification in YapIslands using satellite data.p. 77–85. In: The ProgressReport of the 1999 Survey ofthe Research Project SocialHomeostasis of Small Islandsin an Island-Zone. (paper no.34, part I, sec. 2, report 2).

Provost J.-N., Collet C. andRostaing P. 2004. HierarchicalMarkovian segmentation ofmultispectral images for thereconstruction of water depthmaps. Computer Vision andImage Understanding 93(2):155–174. doi:10.1016/j.cviu.2003.07.004

Shifrin K. S., Physical Optics ofOcean Water, AmericanInstitute of Physics, NewYork, (1988).

Stumpf R.P. and Holderied K.2003. Determination of waterdepth with high-resolutionsatellite imagery over variablebottom types. LimnologicalOceanography 48:7–556.

Wozencraft J.M. 2001. Thecoastal zone revealedthrough SHOALS LIDARdata, Proceedings, Hydro’01, Norfolk, Virginia, USA.




Figure 1: Increasing level of details around passes and harboursfor navigational purposes (from NZ 945 chart)

Figure 2: Sounding points of a typical sonar survey (in red) over a Landsat image

Surface (km2)From To

0 5 05 10 0.01610 20 1.19320 30 1.99230 40 1.73240 50 0.108

Depth (m)

Figure 3: Isobaths produced after interpolation of XYZ data (triangulation)



Surface (km2)From To

0 5 05 10 0.00910 20 0.29720 30 0.97230 40 1.27940 50 0.104

Depth (m)

Figure 4: Depth classes with interpolation limited to a maximum distance of 50 m

Figure 5 Absorption according to wavelength(as per data from Shifrin 1988)

absorption depending on wavelength

Wavelength (nm)

Visible InfraUltra

Figure 6: Satellite image (Landsat 7) and corresponding depth classes

Documents

Antoine Teitelbaum Vincent Talbot Franck Magron