SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 SPC ACTIVITIES Fish Taken During Night Fishing

Number 107 (October–December 2003) ISSN 0248-076X

Seaweed farming began more than 30 years ago in Southeast Asia. For some 20 years, attempts have been made in the Pacific with varying degrees of success but only two countries, Kiribati and Fiji, have been able to market their production over the past few years.

One of the objectives of the March 2002 meeting on “Building Capacity for Aqua- SPC activities Page 2 culture in the Pacific” was to make a list of the most interesting species for aquaculture in the region and formulate action plans. Seaweed farming gained the attention of the participants, who wanted it to because a sustainable, income-generating News from in and activity for isolated village communities. around the region Page 15 One of the points raised was informing fishers about this activity through the production of educational materials.The manual presented by Antoine Teitelbaum in this issue of the Fisheries Newsletter corresponds well to what was hoped for in the region Where’d you get that fish? and undoubtedly will become a reference document for small-scale seaweed farming. Jeb Wyman Page 17 Jean-Paul Gaudechoux Fisheries Information Adviser ([email protected]) GPS Toolkit:specialised software developed for PROCFish Franck Magron Page 20

Aquaculture in Fiji Islands: focus on training Satya Nandlal Page 22

Practical help for the seaweed farmers of Kiribati Antoine Teitelbaum Page 26

The seaweed farming industry in Kiribati has been provided with new educational material. A booklet titled Farming seaweed in Kiribati: a practical guide for seaweed farmers will help local farmers to extend their seaweed farming skills. SPC ACTIVITIES

FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT SECTION Solomon Islands rural enterprises

Fisheries Development Officer Since the fishermen were famil- these areas. Vessel cleanliness William Sokimi spent the month iar with the deep-water fishing and proper fish handling, pro- of October completing his work methods and were good boat- cessing and icing methods were with the rural fisheries centres handlers, more attention was practised. being established in Solomon given to practising quick turn- Islands under the EU-funded around fishing methods using Sixteen fishing trips were con- Rural Fisheries Enterprise Project, fishing accessories that were ducted in 16 days, resulting in a Phase III (RFEP III). In the previ- part of their gear. The fishermen total catch of 549 kg of mixed ous months, William had were encouraged to take note of species and a gross income of worked with fishermen in Seghe, the fishing months and the SBD2959.85. The deep-bottom Afio and Semeghe. Yandina was catch patterns over the months, species that were caught weighed the last centre to be assisted. especially noting the areas in a total of 501 kg, with 44 kg of which different species were fish taken during three vertical The Yandina fisheries centre caught and the sizes of fish in longline trial sets and 4 kg of had 11 fishermen who were issued loans under the RFEP III loans scheme. Aside from the 11 loan recipients, 22 other fishermen were trained to crew their fishing vessels. The crew were family members or village acquaintances selected by the loan recipients. The fishermen had only recently acquired their equipment and were in the process of building up capital to fund their fishing trips.

The first day was spent address- ing the fishermen as a group to discuss the type of activities that would be undertaken during the project, and then meeting the individual fishermen to obtain information on their fishing experiences. A short workshop was conducted on the second day to discuss the gear (Figure 1) and the fishing methods that would be used during William's time in Yandina: deep-bottom fishing using the FAO design Samoan handreels; vertical longlining; and night fishing methods using pressure kerosene lamps to attract fish and handline jigging for bait and target species. From the third day onwards, several fishing ground assessment surveys were carried out using a portable GPS and echo sounding unit, followed by fishing operations to gauge the potential of the fishing ground and to check the Figure 1 (top): Display of gear to be used during the workshop size of fish in the area. Figure 2 (top): Unloading a catch of good size deep-water snappers

2 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 SPC ACTIVITIES fish taken during night fishing. several of the first trips resulting fishing grounds had an abun- Although only a small catch in poor catches. Later fishing dance of fish but the fish sizes was recorded for the night fish- trips resulted in catches of 80 to were small and not marketable. ing method (a 4 kg barracuda), 100 kg per trip. Several of the However, bigger sized deep- about 20 kg scads and 3 kg squid fishing trips were hampered by water snapper (Figure 2) were were also caught and used for fuel shortage and poor weather eventually found off the south- bait during the vertical longline conditions compelling the fisher- west and western side of Russell sets and on some of the deep- men to fish only in the closer, Island. bottom fishing trips. sheltered fishing grounds. Fortu- nately, this situation improved During the fishing trips fish towards the end of William's catches began very slowly, with time in Yandina. The eastern

Tuna fishery development planning in Marshall Islands

The Government of the Marshall process. Lindsay specifically and Nautical Training Centre in Islands, through the Marshall looked at infrastructure, train- Majuro can run the necessary Islands Marine Resources ing needs and options, and con- courses for both fishing skip- Authority (MIMRA), has been straints to developing domestic pers and engineers, so there is developing a tuna management tuna fishing operations. The scope to overcome the skills plan for the country in collabo- Marshall Islands has substantial shortage in the near future. ration with the Forum Fisheries infrastructure, although the cur- However, the shortage of suit- Agency. MIMRA has also rent wharf space is well used able vessels will be an ongoing embarked on the drafting of a and there is little suitable land issue. domestic tuna fishery develop- available for the construction of ment strategy or policy. This was a new wharf complex. This is an To raise awareness of tuna long- a collaborative project between issue that MIMRA will need to lining in the Marshall Islands, Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), look at if domestic tuna fishing MIMRA conducted some tuna MIMRA and SPC, with FFA tak- operations are to develop. longline fishing trials and training the lead in drafting the policy. ing with assistance from the Suitable domestic vessels for SPC Fisheries Development Fisheries Development Adviser tuna longlining are scarce in the Section in 2003. This training is Lindsay Chapman travelled to Marshall Islands, as are quali- expected to continue in 2004. the Marshall Islands for two fied skippers and engineers for weeks to provide input to this fishing vessels. The Fisheries

Technical assistance provided to Kiribati

Fisheries Development Officer Steve Beverly has spent eight weeks on Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in the Line Islands group of Kiribati conducting a longline fishing workshop and an assessment of Kiritimati's new small-scale longliner. Early in 2003 Central Pacific Producers Ltd (CPPL), a Government of Kiribati enterprise, took delivery of F/V Tekokona III, the latest diesel powered outrigger canoe type longliner made by Betiraoi Boatbuilding in Tarawa (Figure 3). Steve and Fisheries Develop- ment Officer William Sokimi

Figure 3: F/V Tekokona III

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 3 SPC ACTIVITIES had both previously worked Kiritimati is unique in Kiribati in also learned some new skills in with its predecessor, Tekokona II, that there is a direct air link to the on-board fish handling and in in Tarawa (see Fisheries News- market in Honolulu. Air Kiribati icing the catch properly. letter #88 and #92). charters a flight once a week from Aloha Airlines to ferry fly fisher- Mr Kazu Inakoshi of Fresh Island F/V Tekokona III is a 13 m wood men to Kiritimati, who spend Fish, Inc. accompanied the crew outrigger canoe powered by a 45 their leisure time catching and on the second set and got to see HP inboard diesel engine. It is releasing bonefish in the many first-hand how tuna are caught equipped with a Seamech long- ponds and lagoons. CPPL takes and handled on a longliner. Before line reel and a Lindgren-Pitman advantage of the return flight to the fish were packed for shipping line setter. Figure 4 shows the ship fresh fish to Honolulu. They Mr Inakoshi graded all of the fish plan view with specifications market all of their fresh fish and by making a tail cut and examin- and deck layout. frozen lobster tails through Fresh ing the flesh for colour, freshness Island Fish, Inc. in Honolulu. and fat content. In all, eight yel- Before any fishing trials took lowfin tuna averaging over 50 kg place the crew made up a whole In December, when the market and one bigeye tuna weighing new set of longline gear. They improved for fresh tuna in 30 kg were exported to Honolulu. rigged 800 branchlines, 40 float- Honolulu, three longline sets The fish received grades ranging lines, 40 floats, three radio buoys were made using the new long- from 3+ to 2+. (Figure 5), and loaded 10 km of line gear. It turned out that new 3.0 mm monofilament main- Tekokona III did not have to ven- Tekokona III, despite having a few line on the longline reel. They ture far from Kiritimati to find problems, was a vast improve- also made up several trolling good catches. One set was made ment over Tekokona II and should lines with braided tuna leader, about eight miles northwest of do well as a multipurpose fishing 2.0 mm monofilament, and stain- Kiritimati and the other two vessel, trolling for wahoo when less steel wire leaders. These were made just five miles to the the season and market are good lines were used with hex head west. A total of 1122 hooks were for wahoo and longline fishing tuna jigs to troll for wahoo. Two set during the three sets in 25- for yellowfin and bigeye when trolling trips were made during hook baskets using milkfish bait the market is good for fresh tuna. the workshop and each time 13 caught previously in the lagoon With their newly learned skills wahoo were caught on the east- and frozen at CPPL. Longline and under the expertise of ern side of Kiritimati. setting and hauling techniques Tekokona III's captain, Teboko were mastered by the crew and Tarau, the crew are on their way At the time, the market for wahoo they became more proficient to becoming the leaders in the in Honolulu was reportedly bet- with each subsequent day of newly developing domestic long- ter than the market for tuna. fishing (Figures 6 and 7). They line fishery on Kiritimati.

Figure 4: Tekokona III plan view with specifications and deck layout

4 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 SPC ACTIVITIES

Figure 5 (top): Tekokona III crew rigging a radio buoy Figure 6 (middle): Setting the line Figure 7 (bottom): Hauling the line

Indian Ocean longline workshop

Following an invitation by the Director of INFOFISH (an inter- governmental organisation for marketing information and technical advisory services for fishery products in the Asia Pacific region), William attended the "Workshop for the exploitation of large pelagic fish with small/medium size longliners and catch utilisation in the Indian Ocean" in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 16–19 December 2003, to help facilitate the workshop. He also presented a paper on small- and medium-scale tuna longlining development in the Pacific.

The workshop was attended by vessel operators and owners, representatives from the Indian Figure 8: Display of SPC training materials at the Colombo workshop Ocean Tuna Commission, techni-

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 5 SPC ACTIVITIES cal officers from relevant regional • identification of potential the Caribbean and Sam organisations, and manufacturers private sector partners for Simorangkir for Indonesia. and suppliers of fishing equip- the programme; and ment. The workshop examined Recommendations by the partici- the status of tuna resources in • a strategy agreed on by all pants were used to develop an the Indian Ocean region, the sta- the beneficiaries from the Indian Ocean regional project tus and possibilities of techno- participating countries. document aimed at facilitating logical developments, and mar- the development of fishing for ket opportunities for catch, with Participants at the workshop large pelagics (especially tuna) special focus on: were from Sri Lanka, Maldives, with small- to medium-size long- Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, liners and improved utilisation • the status of large pelagic Thailand, Italy, Malaysia, of the landings. Because of time resources, with emphasis on Seychelles and India (Figure 9). constraints this document is still tuna; Experience with the develop- being formulated and will be for- ment of fishing using small- to warded to the workshop partici- • expectations and specific medium-sized tuna vessels was pants for comments before being needs of the participating shared by William who repre- finalised. countries; sented the Western and Central Pacific region, Roland Baldeo for • assessment of existing conditions in the countries in rela- tion to the development of the new fishery; availability and suitability of vessel, gear and equipment; supply of bait and ice; fish handling facilities; credit avenues; marketing infrastructure; and existing fisheries management structures;

• review of past or ongoing experiences in longlining and tuna fishing, identifying specific constraints and problems experienced;

• evaluation of market opportunities for the large pelagic species;

Figure 9: Workshop participants during one of the presentations

Small-scale deep-water fisheries workshop

A workshop on the manage- scale and medium-scale fishing Islands, Tonga, Australia, New ment of small-scale deep-water methods used or trialled in the Zealand, Peru, Indonesia, fisheries was held in Dunedin, Pacific to target deep-water Philippines, East Timor, Hawaii, New Zealand, 27–29 November snappers. This covered every- Azores and Malta. Each partici- 2003. The workshop was a pre- thing from handreels to bottom pant presented the current state liminary to the larger interna- longlines and trotlines, to traps of deep-water fisheries in their tional "Deepsea 2003" confer- to trawls. country, and it was interesting ence, which was held the fol- to note the different stages of lowing week in Queenstown, The workshop participants development and the basic New Zealand. Fisheries Devel- came from many countries gears that were being used in opment Adviser Lindsay Chapman including Fiji Islands, Samoa, most countries. presented a paper on the small- Papua New Guinea, Cook

6 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 SPC ACTIVITIES

The main issues raised were in ment and the provision of har- product, and these were com- regard to information and data vesting advice, regulations, piled into a paper presented at collection, resource assessment enforcement and compliance, the main conference the follow- and estimation of resource governance, biodiversity and ing week. abundance, resource manage- bycatch, and quality control of

Assistance provided to Niue

In early December, Lindsay Under current arrangements, a The current processes in each went to Niue to work with the fishing vessel would need to government department were Fisheries Department to identi- have contact with eight differ- examined and suggestions on fy the infrastructure needs and ent government departments ways to streamline these were government processes to be fol- (fisheries, quarantine, police/ presented to the Minister for lowed to permit a foreign tuna immigration, customs, health, Fisheries. longliner to commence fishing public works, telecom and envi- to a new processing facility on ronment) to be licensed and the island. The processing facili- cleared to fish and land product ty was under construction while in Niue. Lindsay was in Niue (Figure 10), with an expected completion date of April to May 2004. Figure 10: Construction of the new processing facility Niue has no harbour and only a on Niue concrete wharf from which to base fishing operations. Vesssels will need access to fuel, fresh water and electricity at the wharf. A crane will be needed to lift the fish off the vessels, and the fish will be trucked to the processing facility several kilo- metres away. Once the vessels have unloaded, they will need to move away from the wharf, so moorings will need to be installed for these vessels to tie up to. This will prevent damage to the reef from the vessels using their own anchor gear.

Update on FAD research projects

No FADs (fish aggregating water from 22 to 23 months, ing catch and effort logbooks. It devices) were reported missing while the FADs off the Cook is expected that the data will be over the fourth quarter of 2003: Islands have been on station for analysed in early 2004, and the seven of the initial 15 FADs 20 to 21 months. results sent back to the fisher- were still on station as of 1 men. January 2004. This means the More fishermen in Niue and FADs off Niue have been in the Rarotonga have been complet-

Note from the Editor

Niue was badly hit by cyclone Heta in early January 2004, and most if not all of the project FADs (four initial and one replacement) may have been lost as a result of the extreme weather conditions experienced during the cyclone.

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 7 SPC ACTIVITIES

COASTAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT SECTION Niue community-based coastal fisheries management

SPC's Coastal Fisheries Manage- Commercial fishing is mainly migrant Tuvalu communities ment Section was requested by small-business operations by who were brought in under a the Fisheries Department of fishermen with boats, who fish government scheme to assist in Niue to conduct an assessment and sell to shops, the restaurants resettling the island. There of the possibilities for initiating and hotels on the islands. The remain some differences and community-based coastal fish- industrial fishing sector has not minor tensions between locals eries management. Initial really been developed. The EEZ and the Tuvaluans on the use of groundwork done on coastal area is currently fished by for- marine resources, especially fisheries management by the eign fishing vessels (New concerning respect for custom- International Waters Programme Zealand and Taiwan being the ary checks that are in place. If of SPREP in 2001 provided a major distant water fishing not addressed at this stage, this foundation for the SPC model. nations). could be an area of conflict in Consultations with the Fisheries the future for villages that have Department in Niue in 2003 A fish-processing factory is cur- the more accessible and highlighted concerns about the rently under construction in favourable fishing areas. declining state of the inshore Niue and aims to sell frozen Village councils fishery and the need for com- tuna fish to New Zealand. munity-based management. Customary management Fishing activity in Niue Most of the work proposed under this plan will depend sig- Most natural resources are nificantly on the support of the Niue sits on an uplifted coral owned through customary people and the village councils. atoll, with an elevated rugged tenure. Land is family owned, The village councils are respon- coastline. The narrow fringing and cannot be bought or sold sible for environmental and reef that surrounds the island is but can be leased on long-term development issues and pro- accessible and is more utilised agreements. Fisheries resources vide the link between the gov- for fishing activities on the are under general government ernment and the people. western coast. The eastern coast jurisdiction, but there exist experiences huge waves and unwritten rules of jurisdiction The current powers of the vil- swells, limiting fishing to the and use of the fisheries resource lage councils allow them to few spells of calm weather that people have utilised for make decisions on resource use when fishing is feasible during generations. The coastal area and management. For example, the year. As a result of this, fish- directly beyond a village is con- when the striped goatfish ers from the eastern villages fish sidered as "belonging to that vil- kalowama is in season from regularly within the fishing lage" and, under traditional December through to February, areas of the western villages. resource use understandings, village councils can impose bans people seek permission from on swimming in certain areas Fishing is a mainstay of people's the village elders or the village when the fish is in their locality. lifestyle, with women fishing council to fish in village fishing Bans can be imposed on other within the narrow reef areas areas. Such agreements by local species or fishing methods. Bans and men fishing from canoes, villages for access to local fish- are also placed on certain reef or dinghies and powered boats ing areas are not specified fishing areas following the beyond the immediate reef under any of the existing regu- death of a prominent person. areas. Women's fishing activi- lations. Management initiatives The imposition of a ban is usual- ties involve gleaning for shell- would impinge on the village's ly announced on the radio for fish, collection of crabs and authority and areas of jurisdic- the general public's benefit. other seafood, and using rods tion, so there is need to define Thus, there already exist struc- and line to catch reef fish along boundaries for each village fish- tures and a governance system the reef edges. Men fish either ery, and draw up conditions for to enhance community-based from powered boats or from fishing access. management initiatives. canoes, and mainly troll for Existing legislation pelagic fish, especially the At a discussion with women migratory tuna species. The from a village on the western installation of FADs has assisted coast, concerns were expressed Niue's Domestic Fisheries Act men's fishing activities beyond about fishing activities by 1995 and the Domestic Fishing the immediate reef areas. "other races". In Niue there are Regulations cover most of the 8 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 SPC ACTIVITIES areas of the inshore fishery. The enforcement of them and need for community based offshore fishery is covered by awareness education may be management initiatives. The the Territorial Sea and Exclusive needed if they are to be adapted management model developed Economic Zone Act. Local area into village management plans by SPC provides a guideline fisheries use and management as village by-laws. that can be adapted and modi- is generally regulated through Application of the model fied to suit the different local by-laws under the Niue Village contexts in Niue. Councils Ordinance of 1967. Village councils are allowed to The Fisheries Department is Specific village-based discus- make by-laws under this ordi- small, with limited capacity, sions and further assessments nance "for the protection of fish and there is little scope for hir- will need to be conducted on resources" specific to each vil- ing extra staff to assist in com- the factors contributing to the lage. These by-laws can be spec- munity management work. The decline of the inshore fishery, in ified to cover quotas, licensing, people who use and own the order to formulate the appropri- fishing technology, prohibi- resources would be the best ate by-laws to protect the tions, and other such communi- people to be involved in man- resources and to plan further ty-specific regulations. agement of their resources. monitoring. As well, there is a From discussions and consulta- need to educate young people Most of the existing regulations tions, it was apparent that there on conservation and the value are known to the people, but was a general consensus on the of resources.

Marshall Islands gender and social study

The Coastal Fisheries Manage- on the industry and its social also visits to night spots fre- ment Section conducted a gender implications or benefits. quented by crew members of the and social study from 29 boats and visits to motels and November to 14 December 2003, Visits and discussions covered accommodation where crew as a component of the tuna devel- trans-shipment and ships in members are usually accommo- opment and management study port, the post-harvest sector and dated while waiting for their being done for the National conditions of workers in the fish flight out of the country or when Fisheries Authority in the processing factories. There were arriving in the country. Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Consultations were held with people from both the public and private sectors to gauge general views on the development of the tuna industry. There were also meetings with NGOs and church groups to get their views

Fishing vessels in Majuro (top) The making and sale of handicrafts generates income for the women in Marshall Islands (left)

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 9 SPC ACTIVITIES

Although the problems of sex no specific way of monitoring and clam hatcheries on Majuro workers were present, as in these activities and that there and adjacent islands, and also other areas where shipping ves- are still loopholes in mecha- met with the Japanese Interna- sels regularly call into port, nisms currently in place to tional Cooperation Agency (JICA) there was a general complacent address these issues. to discuss some planned work on attitude towards the issues community-based management associated with it. The police While in the Marshalls for this in an outer island. expressed concern that there are work, SPC staff also visited pearl

AQUACULTURE SECTION Tilapia and freshwater prawn manuals

The Institute of Marine tion, pond construction, pond fit from these manuals to Resources at the University of preparation, feeding, fertilisa- increase tilapia and prawn pro- the South Pacific have collabo- tion and pond management for duction and achieve higher eco- rated with SPC to write manu- small-scale tilapia and prawn nomic returns. als on culture of tilapia and pond culture. Small-scale tilapia freshwater prawns. and prawn farmers in the The manuals will be pilot-tested Pacific, especially Fiji Islands, in a training programme sched- The manuals provide simple Samoa, American Samoa, Cook uled for April–May 2004 before guidelines on hatchery opera- Islands and Vanuatu, will bene- being published.

Rural Fijian women learn hatchery operations

Lack of technical training has The support and assistance uses The only difficulty encountered been cited as a major reason for a two-pronged approach: pro- so far is that some of the ponds the low outputs of fish ponds in viding the women with neces- do not have properly construct- Fiji Islands. This lack has been sary start-up materials for semi- ed inlets and outlets, which observed at all levels—from intensive culture (fish seeds, could be a problem during farmers through to extension feed and fertiliser) while pro- rainy seasons. Repairing inlets agents working in the field. viding training to teach women and outlets is difficult when how to manage the aquaculture water is in the pond, and must A collaborative group made of activities on their own. be done during harvesting University of the South Pacific, when pond is dry. In addition, SPC, Fiji Fisheries Department Activities conducted so far the construction of a holding and Fiji Ministry of Women, include pond improvement work tank (cement tank) has not been with funding from the Canada- using a excavator, construction completed due insufficient South Pacific Ocean Develop- of a dam and piping, delivery of materials. The construction of ment Program II, has decided to tilapia and prawn seeds as well this tank is important, as tilapia support groups of women in as tilapia brood fish, provision of have to be kept live for 6–12 rural areas of Bua Province in fish feed, a one-week workshop hours before marketing. Fiji interested in learning to on fish farming for 35 women of farm tilapia more effectively in Driti village, and provision of The latest news received is that their existing village ponds. fertilisers, buckets, scales, scoop tilapia have been sold for a total nets and seining nets. value of FJD 1000 from one of Raising fish will provide an the five ponds. Now that the important source of protein to In 2004, some of the women will fish have been harvested from the local community, as well as tour the Naduruloulou tilapia this pond, Fisheries Officer generate income which could hatchery near Nausori to Maleli Dawai plans to repair the then be used to fund village observe hatchery operations inlets and outlets for this pond. projects. A project in Driti and learn live fish marketing He will follow through with Village has been in operation operations. They will also learn repairs to other ponds as they since late 1980s but production to keep records and financial are harvested. has been erratic due to lack of accounts. Fisheries staff will tilapia fingerlings and skills in make regular visits to discuss managing fish ponds. problems and progress.

10 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 SPC ACTIVITIES

Tilapia fingerling production in Vanuatu, Samoa and Fiji

In Vanuatu, a central issue for ing and new commercial farm- surplus to other farms. SPC will tilapia farming development is ers. The few private producers give technical instruction in that there is no tilapia hatchery. of fingerlings in Fiji Islands are how to operate a tilapia hatch- For Samoa, it is a shortage of fin- generally only geared to supply ery using floating holding nets gerling supply. In Fiji Islands, their own large-scale commer- called hapas, will provide finan- farmers in remote places have cial operations. cial support for essential equip- reported difficulties in obtaining ment (hapa and related materi- fingerlings from the only source, SPC will provide technical and als) and will carry out further the Naduruloulou government financial assistance so that the technical training. More news in hatchery. The hatchery is having agencies involved can produce the next issue of Fisheries News- difficulties due to increase in tilapia fingerlings to stock their letter. demand for fingerlings by exist- own fish ponds and supply any

Vanuatu study on tilapia and prawns

The SPC Aquaculture Officer Aquaculture Officer assisted the prawns. There are some exciting has completed a feasibility Vanuatu Fisheries Department developments planned for study on farming of tilapia and with the construction of two Vanuatu in 2004. More news in prawns in Vanuatu, with fund- medium sized ponds to use for the next issue of the Fisheries ing support from FAO and SPC. demonstration grow-out trials Newsletter. During the field visits the of tilapia and freshwater

Demonstration freshwater shrimp ponds in Vanuatu

TRAINING SECTION Farming seaweed in Kiribati: a practical guide for seaweed farmers

A large and growing global In Kiribati, Antoine Teitelbaum Two versions (I-Kiribati and demand for carrageenan, the (a Technical Adviser for Oceanic English) have been published by extract from kappaphycus sea- Développement) and staff from SPC with the financial support of weed (also known by the trade the Atoll Seaweed Company the EU. From this manual which names cottonii and euchema) designed and compiled a car- was originally intended for local gives high hopes in aquaculture. toon-type booklet illustrated on use in the Kiribati language, SPC front page of this issue. SPC staff extended the intiative to the The need for regional training from the Fisheries Training regional level. Since then, SPC and extension services to sup- Section and the Aquaculture has been requested by PNG to port the industry expansion and Section provided assistance to assist with the publication of a transfer of technology stimulat- produce this guide. The colourful similar booklet in local Pidgin ed, both at SPC and in Kiribati, illustrations were done for SPC language. the idea of a practical guide. by Sebatien Lesire in Noumea.

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 11 SPC ACTIVITIES

Expert consultation on sea safety in small fishing vessels

Fishing at sea is probably the safety activities. The SPC Fish- The purpose of the Expert most dangerous of occupations. eries Development Section also Consultation was two-fold: Data from those countries that promotes sea safety as part of collect accurate accounts show the work assignments of its 1. To address and progress four that occupational fatalities in Fisheries Development Officers. important issues in fisheries their fishing industries far sea safety from the perspec- exceed their national average. In a survey in early 2003, FAO tives of several relevant dis- Typical fatality rates for fisher- found that the majority of loss ciplines. These issues were: men are as follows: of life in Pacific Islands is asso- • appropriate sea safety regula- United States: 160 fatalities per ciated with small fishing tions for small fishing vessels; 100,000 (25 to 30 times the nation- boats—which have received the • improvements in sea safety al average) least attention in terms of legis- awareness programmes; Australia: 143 fatalities per lation, construction standards, • improving the safety of fibre- 100,000 (8/100,000 is the national enforcement strategies, regional glass skiffs through construc- average) discussions, training on proper tion standards; UK: 77 fatalities per 100,000 use, and other schemes to • enhancing systems of sea acci- (23/100,000 in next highest catego- improve safety. dent data recording. ry—mining) Issues include: 2. To formulate plans for future sea safety programmes. In some Pacific Island countries • appropriate sea safety regu- the accident rate for fishers is lations for small fishing ves- Artisanal fishers, legal special- among the highest in the world. sels; ists, boat-builders, and govern- Over the last four decades vari- ment fisheries and maritime ous UN agencies, regional • improvements in the SPC workers were the experts who organisations, donor agencies sea safety awareness pro- gathered in Suva, Fiji Islands, 9- and others have made efforts to gramme; 13 February 2004, to compile address the situation. There lessons learned from their own have been several safety pro- • mechanisms for generation experiences. Their report will be grammes and initiatives during of political will to improve circulated ahead of the next the past decade. sea safety; meeting of the Association of Pacific Islands Maritime Train- In 1991 FAO undertook a • improving the safety of ing Institutions and Maritime regional survey of sea safety fibreglass skiffs; Authorities (APIMTIMA) in issues in 16 countries in the May, at which countries will Pacific. That work concluded • enhancing systems of sea report on how they plan to devel- that “education through public- accident data recording; op and implement national sea ity campaigns, repeated and safety strategies for small fishing reinforced over a long period of • considerations on improving vessels. time and backed up by a good enforcement of sea safety supply of equipment and spare regulations in both urban Later, in July, the Heads of parts, and training seems to areas and remote locations; Fisheries meeting will also con- offer the best chance for and sider the consultation outcomes improving safety at sea for arti- and consider whether to formu- sanal fishers”. • achieving an appropriate late a request to the donor com- balance between legislation munity for supporting national This survey was followed by and awareness for improv- sea safety initiatives. initiatives of SPC’s Fisheries ing sea safety Training Section, which devel- The expert consultation recom- oped programmes in the areas These issues, although crucially mended that improved small of awareness raising and statu- important in improving sea boat safety will best be achieved tory training relating to small safety, have no easy solution. As through the development and vessel sea safety. Although a result, it was decided to con- implementation of coordinated SPC’s Regional Maritime Pro- vene an FAO/SPC Regional national strategies, which should gramme is primarily focused on Expert Consultation on Sea include: shipping legislation and provi- Safety in Small Fishing Vessels. sion of maritime training, it also 1. Provision of support to a has some fisheries-oriented sea consultative national stake-

12 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003

SPC ACTIVITIES

holder framework (e.g. each class of small fishing the establishment of small national sea safety coordin- vessel, with due regard to fishing vessel registration ating group) and motivated operational circumstances. and inspection schemes. people or "drivers". 6. Full use of existing institu- 11. Formal and informal train- 2. Generation of commitment tions and community-based ing directed at fishers, fish- and political will at a nation- structures for increasing ing communities, govern- al level to address small ves- compliance, data collection, ment staff, NGOs, the pri- sel sea safety. training and awareness, tak- vate sector and other stake- ing into account the time and holders. 3. Increasing the effectiveness resources required. of ongoing sea safety aware- 12. Consideration of the inclu- ness programmes, with spe- 7. Development and phased sion of sea safety as an inte- cial emphasis on the develop- implementation of appropri- gral part of fisheries man- ment of channels for the effi- ate enforcement procedures agement and development cient distribution of appro- to ensure compliance. initiatives. priate and updated materials, and evaluation of impact. 8. Development and mainte- This is far too important a mat- nance of national sea acci- ter to let die on the vine. The 4. Development, enactment dent databases. first steps have been taken, and and implementation of now it is up to all of us to gener- appropriate and sensitive 9. Support for the establishment ate the necessary interest, legislation for small fishing of an SPC special interest awareness, community support vessels, including the car- group on fishing vessel safety and political awareness to make riage of safety equipment, at sea, with an associated it happen. SPC will keep read- training and certification newsletter and the develop- ers up-to-date on future devel- requirements, and construc- ment of additional sea safety opments in subsequent issues of tion standards. awareness resource materials. Fisheries Newsletter.

5. Determination of minimum 10. Investigation of the advan- mandatory requirements for tages and disadvantages of

REEF FISHERIES OBSERVATORY Invitation to a scientific roundtable

A scientific roundtable will be side with experience from else- a) Present results of DemEcoFish held to mark the completion of where in the Pacific. to the wider regional and the DemEcoFish project, the international audience for MacArthur Foundation funded The DemEcoFish major objec- discussion and consideration. project implemented by the tives were to select methods and Secretariat of the Pacific Com- approaches to reliably, effectively b) Use the DemEcoFish output munity in cooperation with the and quickly assess the status of as an opportunity to assess Institut de recherche pour le the marine resource, using socio- state-of–the-art in amalga- développement, which finishes economic survey data as indica- mating socio-economic and in mid 2004. The workshop will tors or proxies. Identification of ecological data in pursuit of be held at SPC's headquarters in suitable socio-economic indica- a means to identify status of Noumea, New Caledonia, 2–4 tors or proxies required joint coastal resources and their June 2004. analysis of resource and socio- value for the livelihood of economic data. Selection of best coastal people in the South The goal of DemEcoFish was to methods and approaches demand- Pacific. find ways of assessing how reef ed scientifically based compari- fishery resources interact with son of a range of options . c) Assess the value of such human population growth and efforts in formulating effec- fish harvesting. The roundtable Taking the overall framework, tive management strategies will give participants an oppor- the objectives and experiences aiming at sustainable and tunity to summarise major into account, the roundtable equitable use of marine experiences of the project along- will have the following aims: resources.

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 13

SPC ACTIVITIES d) Determine and prioritise • What information is avail- Dr Mecki Kronen, Community gaps to be addressed in the able for the South Pacific Fisheries Scientist, PROCFish/C, future. region—is it comparative? Reef Fisheries Observaytory, email [email protected]. Further The roundtable meeting will • Multidisciplinary and inter- information is available from also provide an opportunity to disciplinary approaches— the same address. identify future needs and how to make ecological and opportunities for working socio-economic data comple- Applicants should also indicate together. Some questions to be mentary? whether or not funding is considered will be: required. Funding will be avail- Persons interested in participat- able under the MacArthur • Socio-economic data—what ing in the roundtable are Foundation budget to enable is it, what is needed and requested to submit their appli- participation of a selected num- why? cation including name, title, ber of professionals from the institution/organisation, by 20 region. It is stipulated that pro- • Marine resources—what to February 2004 together with (a) fessional staff from donor fund- consider and why? the title and an informative ed projects and programmes summary of their proposed con- will provide their own funding. • Methodological approaches tribution to the meeting, and (b) Observers are welcome on their and techniques used—which a short description of frame- own funding. works best under which con- work and background of their ditions and for what purpos- work and how this fits into the es? objective of this roundtable, to

Socio-economic survey, talking to reef fishers

14 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 NEWS FROM IN AND AROUND THE REGION

COUNCIL VOTES FOR A MODEL SWORDFISH FISHERY

The Western Pacific Fishery leatherback and loggerhead tur- published by the National Management Council (Council) tles in the Atlantic by 67% and Marine Fisheries Service in 2001 took action on long-term man- 92% respectively. concluded that the Hawaii long- agement of the Hawaii-based line fishery represented a seri- longline fishery and voted The Council has also undertak- ous risk to leatherbacks and log- unanimously in favor of imple- en a range of turtle conservation gerheads. This opinion obliged menting a model swordfish projects at turtle nesting beaches the Council to introduce a series fishery. The establishment of the and foraging grounds in part- of measures, chief of which was model fishery is an important nership with conservation organ- a complete ban on shallow set milestone for the Council. The isations in Central America, swordfish longline fishing in swordfish component of the Indonesia, Papua New Guinea the North Pacific by the Hawaii longline fishery was closed by and Japan. These measures will based fleet. While this and other the National Marine Fisheries assist in reversing the decline of measures reduced accidental Service in 2001 because of its these sea turtle populations, turtle catches significantly, it impacts to protected sea turtles. which would offset any future had a severe negative impact on Restoring swordfish fishing will negative impacts from the long- the Hawaii fishing industry benefit Hawaii's fishing indus- line fishery. Other requirements which, according to Jim Cook of try and will serve as an exam- of the new fishery include the Hawaii Longline Association ple, to the much larger foreign use of approved dehooking and Pacific Ocean Producers, longline fleets in the Pacific, that devices to safely release sea tur- has cost Hawaii about USD 100 it is possible to have a viable tles, and provisions governing million and affected as many as longline fishery that has mini- shallow-setting above 23°N to 500 jobs over the past two years. mal impacts on sea turtles. avoid any potential interactions Cook also expressed optimism with protected seabirds. about the new technology and The model fishery will consist the opportunity it represents for of a total of 2,120 swordfish sets The closure of the swordfish ele- the Hawaii longline industry to per year, or about half of the ment of the Hawaii longline demonstrate to other Pacific average annual number of long- fishery stems from concerns fleets that it is possible to fish line sets targeting swordfish about the number of turtles responsibly for swordfish and prior to the 2001 ban. There will taken in the Hawaii-based fish- not pose a threat to turtles. also be a "hard limit" on the ery, particularly leatherback number of sea turtles that can and loggerhead turtles. Some For more information, contact be taken by the fishery. Should estimates have suggested that the Council at: this limit be reached, the fishery over 20,000 turtles are caught would close for the remainder annually in Pacific longline fish- [email protected] of the year. Instead of J-hooks eries, with perhaps half this http://www.wpcouncil.org and squid bait, the fishery number being killed. Prior to (Source: Council Press Release, would be required to use large 2001, the Hawaii fishery was 26 November 2003) (18/0) circle hooks and macker- estimated to annually catch 113 el-type bait. These have been leatherback and 418 loggerhead shown to reduce captures of turtles. A biological opinion

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 15 NEWS FROM IN AND AROUND THE REGION

GLOBAL STUDY OF NON-INDUSTRIAL TUNA FISHERIES

FAO is implementing a project from vessels which are to define very small-scale and on the management of world undecked, unpowered, or use medium-scale as subsets of non- tuna fishing capacity. As part of outboard engines or sail and industrial tuna fishing. Such a this project, a study was under- mostly "unclassified surface scheme would, however, require taken of non-industrial tuna gear". catch data partitioned by vessels fisheries to describe what these larger/smaller than 24 m, some- fisheries are, where they occur, Medium-scale: Operations of a thing that was not available for and their relative importance. larger scale that fall between the the present study. Rationale for the study definitions of industrial-scale and Improving the estimates of very small-scale given above. catch by non-industrial tuna Major output of the study fishing Although fishing capacity specialists generally feel that it would be impractical to esti- Estimates of the catches of tuna The accuracy of the information mate the fishing capacity for a by non-industrial fishing were in the appendix tables could be multitude of types of non- made in 148 countries and a greatly improved by scrutiny by industrial tuna fishing, it is nec- closer examination was under- specialists with knowledge of essary to know at least the mag- taken of tuna fishing in the national tuna fisheries. It is espe- nitude of non-industrial tuna Philippines and Indonesia. cially important for those experts catches in order to evaluate how Relative importance to resolve the uncertainty associ- important to the success of the ated with whether certain cate- overall capacity study it would gories belong to medium-scale or be to not have the non-industri- The results of this study show to industrial-scale fisheries. al capacity estimates. the amount of tuna caught in (Source: based on the work of Bob Tuna species covered the world by very small-scale Gillett, Gillett, Preston and Associates, fisheries is about 320,200 mt, or FAO, January 2004) about 8% of the global catch. It This study was concerned was not possible to make a sim- exclusively with the "principal ilar compilation for the medi- market species of tuna": skip- um-scale tuna fisheries—in jack tuna, yellowfin tuna, big- most regions, the readily avail- eye tuna, albacore, northern able information did not allow bluefin tuna, and southern certain gear types to be broken bluefin tuna. down into industrial and non- Categories of tuna fishing industrial components. used in the report Further thoughts on classifying tuna fishing Industrial-scale: Mechanised purse seining, conventional freezer With the benefit of hindsight, it longlining, distant water fishing, appears that the best option for a and most baitboat fishing. "clear division of scales" in the future would be to use a vessel Very small-scale: Includes all length of 24 m to establish a divi- handlining, trolling from open sion between the industrial and vessels, rod/reel fishing, sport- non-industrial components, while fishing, all kinds of tuna fishing using gear/vessel-based features

16 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 WHERE’D YOU GET unique barcode ID for each individual seafood product, THAT FISH? affixing it to a box—or, in the case of whole frozen fish, possibly a fin. The producer records and stores a series of product (This article originally appeared in Jeb Wyman specifications accessed via the Pacific Fishing, October 2003— barcode ID, before shipping it reprinted with permission) off. From that point on, every freight forwarder, distributor, Starting in 2005, all seafood enter- While the Pacific fisheries have wholesaler, caterer—any entity ing Europe will require documenta- long regarded Japan as the fore- that handles the product—will tion from boat to retailer. Will you most destination for their catch, scan the product, recording and be ready? Europe has become an increas- storing data on its handling of ingly vital market. Consider the product. In concept, all this Rocked by outbreaks of mad that, in 2002, Germany import- crucial information is stored in cow disease and dioxin in chick- ed 41,371 metric tons of pollock databases which can be en feed, and keen to support fillets; France, over 8,300 mt of accessed by authorities. global stewardship of marine surimi; Britain, 620,000 cases What to record resources, a health- and eco- (48-tall) of canned sockeye; conscious Europe is taking steps Spain, 3,429 mt of albacore; and to ensure the integrity and ethi- Greece, 2.2 million kilos of What information would fisher- cal nature of its food supply. By California squid—among many men and processors need to January 1, 2005, all fish and other examples. provide? In the case of whole shellfish entering the European frozen albacore shipped directly Union must be fully traceable, Europe's new regulation will to Spain, for example, the from the waters out of which require full traceability of all Tracefish process is fairly they are landed to the restau- seafood not only destined for straightforward. Every box of rants or retailers that sell them, Europe but also trans-shipped fish would receive a barcode ID states Article 18 of Europe's through Europe to places like that was keyed to these manda- General Food Law. The harvest, North Africa and the Baltic. All tory data: production, and distribution U.S. seafood exported to a pro- history of every seafood item— cessing country such as China • Name and address of the com- from cans of tuna to breaded fil- that eventually finds its way to pany that owns the vessel; lets—must be documented and Europe must be traceable to its immediately accessible at every U.S. origins. Moreover, Japan • Nationality, name and regis- point in the chain. appears to be embracing the tration number of vessel; traceability concept as well, and "There are increasing demands has instituted a traceability pro- • Seafood unit (single fish, for detailed information on the gram for its beef industry. box, block etc.), net weight, nature and origin of food prod- Despite opposition by the U.S. and species; ucts," says Tracefish, the consor- government, segments of indus- tium of 24 entities within gov- try and influential organiza- • Where caught; ernment, industry and research tions such as the National sectors that developed the Fisheries Institute, traceability • Product form (fillet, H&G, guidelines for Europe's pro- will almost certainly become etc.), condition (live, chilled, gram. "Traceability is becoming part and parcel of the U.S. fish- frozen); a legal and commercial necessi- ing industry. "It will definitely ty." have a major impact on the • Date of capture or sailing; world's fisheries," says Chris The U.S. Food and Drug Bjerregaard, the U.S. manager • Name and address of the Administration and the Depart- for Scanvaegt, which is offering next business to receive the ment of Agriculture remain offi- technical solutions to comply product; cially opposed to full traceabili- with the new E.U. mandate. ty, arguing that existing regula- • Location and date of that tions adequately guarantee food The key to seafood traceability transaction. safety. Yet Europe's declaration is the marriage of barcode tech- to enforce traceability require- nology from the 1970s with What about a tenderload of ments promises to change the databases and the Internet. A salmon, where dozens of gill- way U.S. fisheries operate. seafood producer will create a netters offload their hauls into a

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 17 WHERE’D YOU GET THAT FISH? common tank? How about a the official vehicle for proving ty concepts, both government- box of breaded halibut fillets, the eco-friendly pedigree of and industry-driven. The U.S. which might have come from your fish. Bio-terrorism and Response Act any of a hundred longliners? of 2002, for example, requires all Thankfully, the current Tracefish Food businesses are often wary foreign and domestic food facil- scheme “does not demand per- of releasing information about ities supplying food to the U.S. fect traceability”. Instead it rec- their ingredients and processes. to register themselves. The law ognizes that batches of fish get Here the Tracefish scheme runs also mandates "one step for- mixed up all the time during headlong into serious propri- ward, one step back" documen- reprocessing operations, auc- etary issues. tation of all food products: tions, and tendering. In these every link in the chain must situations, any business doing In the event of a food safety record who they got the food the mixing records the IDs of incident, processors must be from and who they're selling it the fish that constitute a mixed able to produce a full list of to. It's tantamount to Tracefish's lot. They also create a new ID ingredients used in their prod- traceability, but without obliga- for the new product. That products. But companies that have tory, systematized barcode IDs uct—cases of canned sockeye, invested a king's ransom into on every product. perhaps—is then traceable back R&D to develop their salmon to "a finite number of vessels or burger or special sauce will be In fact, barcodes are fast enter- farms". loath to release those secrets— ing the seafood business, but possibly to a foreign authori- that's due to industry, not gov- Tracefish has also identified ty—without good reasons to ernment, demands. While Uni- other data it considers advisable compel them and solid guaran- lever is imposing traceability on or optional to include in each tees that the corporate files aren't suppliers so it can market sus- product's documentation: a leaked to their competitors. tainable seafood, other large temperature log during storage; companies like SYSCO, the lead- fishing gear type; trawl or soak Tracefish is encouraging indus- ing U.S. food service provider, time; refrigeration method; and try members to make their infor- are imposing barcodes to sim- any food safety schemes mation "visible" at the various plify inventory management. employed aboard the vessel. points along the chain, so a "We now put barcode labels on wholesaler can research stock pollock boxes," says an execu- Perhaps more importantly, he's purchasing, or so a con- tive in the Bering Sea pollock Tracefish recommends also sumer can learn the origins of a industry. "Some U.S. distribu- recording of "the names of sus- pound of swordfish. Again, the tors wanted the barcode. They're tainable fishing schemes by scheme comes perilously close dealing with huge numbers of which the fishery is certified, to violating the privacy of infor- products, and they wanted to and specific environmental ben- mation. No Tracefish mecha- read cartons as they went through efits of fishing gear" such as dol- nism appears to protect produc- conveyor lines." They said, "We phin-friendly seine panels. The ers from the risk that "links in have thousands of products prime example of sustainable the chain" above them might going through our buildings. If certification is, of course, the share their information. You you want to sell to us, you gotta Marine Stewardship Council, might not want competitors to have it." which was founded by Unilever know where your reprocessing Tools for traceability and World Wildlife Fund in operations are located, for exam- 1997. While Brussels is baring ple, or what freight routes you its regulatory teeth on traceabil- use. A brand's success and repu- A host of software companies ity, gargantuan market players tation is on the line, yet freight now offer tools to the seafood like Unilever may be the reason forwarders, distributors, whole- industry so they can manage why U.S. seafood producers salers, traders, and others don't inventory, generate barcodes, will ultimately embrace the con- have the same investment in the and account for traceability. cept. Unilever has declared its brand that owners want to pro- Wisefish, with offices in intent to buy fish only from tect. At some level, Tracefish Norway, Iceland, Canada, and demonstrably sustainable stocks opens up the traditional wilder- England, has been in the by 2005 and is "working with ness between producer and cus- seafood software business for 15 suppliers to meet this target". If tomer. That can be good for food years, and is adapting its prod- you're going to use Unilever as safety, but it can make seafood ucts for full compatibility with a conduit to your markets, be businesses vulnerable. the Tracefish scheme; the com- ready to flash your products' pany's product FarmControl is sustain ability credentials. And The U.S. fishing industry is in designed for aquaculture com- Tracefish is jockeying to become fact already adopting traceabili- pliance with the pending E.U.

18 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 WHERE’D YOU GET THAT FISH? rules. Both Astra Information been on the market since 1993 "We're looking at this in terms of Systems and Disc Design & and has been expanded to being proactive," says Thompson. Data, whose signature product address all requirements of "A lot of albacore is shipped to is Fishmonger software, tailor Tracefish. ScanFish Logistic will the E.U. each year, and in order their products to the seafood build a database that includes for them to sell their product, industry, coordinating digital all mandatory and optional they will have to institute a pro- weighing systems, inventory information specified by gram of traceability. We're trying and shipping information, bar- Tracefish. "All the things you to look at ways to make a system code labeling, and other opera- need to comply with Tracefish that is relatively inexpensive that tions. C-Trace, based in are already considered in the meets the standards. We're trying Scotland, has created Trace 2000, system," says Scanvaegt's Chris to use standard, ordinary soft- a shipboard traceability pro- Bjerregaard. "It is much more ware that they can purchase and gram. Using Trace 2000, a vessel comprehensive than other sys- send in a data format." sends its data to shore fully tems, but it is extremely easy to encrypted; via an Internet portal use. You can go back two years "More and more countries are called Webtrace, the home office and see where you caught fish gravitating towards traceabili- and potential customers can and what the temperature of the ty," says Thompson. "Whether access real-time traceability water was. It is unlike any other or not the U.S. makes it manda- information. Net-Yield, which system in the world." tory, many companies are going began in 1987 as a software to require it. If we can develop a effort for an East Coast seafood Still, major software products system that brings costs down producer, now claims 2,200 typically cost USD10,000 and and makes it affordable to boat users in 270 seafood companies, up. How can small boat owners owners and smaller processors, including Ocean Beauty. With who can't come up with that we can help them stay competi- advances in hand-held wireless investment comply with tive. It might be a boon to them computers and portable print- Tracefish? Fortunately, small to offer certain information to ers, Net-Yield says its Net-Yield operators have an advocate in consumers. They might be able 2003 system facilitates on-site Michael Thompson, a graduate to get better prices in Europe, bar code scanning and printing student at Oregon State but if they aren't prepared to "for even small companies". University. Working with meet the traceability require- Michael Morrissey, director of ments, that's obviously going to Scanvaegt not only offers soft- OSU's Seafood Laboratory, have a big impact on their busi- ware systems, but also weigh- Thompson has taken on the ness. It's going to affect fisher- ing and processing equipment traceability issue with an eye to men in the near future." that integrates with their soft- finding solutions for small busi- ware. The company's principal ness owners, in particular alba- software product, ScanFish, has core fishermen.

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 19 GPS TOOLKIT: tion library", which enables communication between differ- SPECIALISED SOFTWARE ent types of Garmin receivers and the various software pro- DEVELOPED FOR PROCFISH grammes developed for the project. The data is downloaded from the GPS receiver using the One of the traditional challenges Franck Magron, appropriate data cable (this of doing field research was accu- Reef Fisheries Information Manager, cable is often sold separately), rately locating one's field SPC, Noumea, New Caledonia once the communication proto- research sites on maps and ([email protected]) col has been set to "Garmin" on charts. With the advent of the the receiver (the default one is satellite-based global positioning often NMEA). system (GPS), part of this prob- for each transect. Any biological lem was solved, as GPS technol- data they subsequently collect is The SPC programmes that use ogy makes it possible to deter- consequently geo-referenced; this communication library mine one's location anywhere in both raw data and results can be include React (used for under- the world at the push of a but- plotted on charts, or spatially water census taking) and GPS ton, using a handheld receiver analysed using GIS software. Toolkit (described below). no larger than a mobile phone. Adaptability GPS Toolkit The increasing sophistication of computer-based mapping pro- grams was a separate develop- PROCFish scientists and their GPS Toolkit was first developed ment that greatly enhanced the partners in various organisa- to serve as a test base for the ability of researchers to analyse tions and Pacific Island coun- communication library, but and conduct comparative tries use different types of Franck soon realised that it research utilising geographic Garmin® handheld GPS would useful if developed into data. But even with these receivers, so the code developed a stand-alone tool. GPS Toolkit advances considerable room for by Franck had to be compatible now includes a graphic user error remained, as coordinates with different models (it has interface that facilitates the (latitude and longitude) of loca- been successfully tested on 10 export of GPS waypoints and tions had to be manually models to date). The code thus tracks in a format (MIF) that is retrieved from the GPS receiver took the form of a "communica- readable by MapInfo. and entered into spreadsheets. This is a tedious task prone to errors, and data checking and GPS communication protocols verification are often difficult. NMEA 0183 is a communication standard supported by various Combining GPS and brands of GPS, but is more adapted to real-time acquisition of data by MapInfo for the chart plotters because data is sent continuously as an uninterrupted PROCFish project flow of NMEA packets called sentences. A device connected to a NMEA-enabled GPS receives continuously sentences corresponding to different kinds of data (time, position, number of satellites in sight Franck Magron (Reef Fisheries etc.), discards the corrupted or unnecessary ones and extracts data Information Manager for the from the remaining sentences. PROCFish project) has developed a software to assist The constraints of PROCFish field surveys are a little bit different PROCFish scientists transfer from navigation constraints: only positions of a limited number of their data from handheld GPS sampling stations have to be stored, but the data must be retrievable receivers to geographic informa- at later time to avoid exposing computer equipment to the harsh salty tion system (GIS) software, such environment of fishing boats.The solution was to enter a waypoint at as MapInfo®, a GIS product each sampling station and download the waypoint's location straight commonly used in the Pacific into the database and GIS using a communication protocol that allows region by Fisheries and Lands retrieval on-demand of data stored in the GPS. Most GPS manufactur- and Surveys departments. ers have developed a proprietary, partially documented, communication protocol to handle these kinds of tasks. Garmin, for example, Scientists working in the field provides such a protocol and the communication library developed by use their handheld GPS to PROCFish/C acts as a standard proxy for applications to retrieve way- establish and store in memory points and tracks from the various supported devices. the position of each sampling station by entering a waypoint

20 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 GPS TOOLKIT: SPECIALISED SOFTWARE DEVELOPED FOR PROCFISH

The software is available in French and English, and can be downloaded from the SPC web- site at:

http://www.spc.int/coastfish/ Sections/reef/gpstoolkit/index.htm

Earlier versions of the software have been provided to Fisheries and Lands departments of some countries during PROCFish site selection field trips. Additional features have been added to the software during these trips, at the request of users. GPS Toolkit in use

Once the waypoints have been downloaded from the GPS it is still possible to modify their label or manually add new waypoints. The labels will be exported along with the locations and so can be displayed under MapInfo after exporting to MIF file format and import- ing under MapInfo.

On exporting the waypoints to MapInfo Interchange Format, you can select which waypoints you want to export, and give them a default shape and colour. You can also set the set- tings (datum) that were used during acquisition of waypoints.

The MIF file can be imported under MapInfo and displayed on top of existing layers, such as reef or coast outline. Future developments

Future plans call for extension of the communication library, enabling the transfer of waypoints and routes to the GPS; a graphic interface will be incor- porated into GPS Toolkit for this function. Franck is also waiting for additional feedback from users, so that he can address their needs in future releases of GPS Toolkit.

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 21 AQUACULTURE IN of Macrobrachium prawns and 300 tonnes of seaweed valued at FIJI ISLANDS: FOCUS FJD 150,000. No information is available on production of ON TRAINING pearls.

Introduction Aquaculture production in Fiji Satya Nandlal, is therefore still very small but is Aquaculture Officer, expected to increase greatly While there had been some for- SPC, Noumea, New Caledonia within the next 2 or 3 years. ([email protected]) mal training in aquaculture in Aquaculture education in Fiji the past, at present there is hardly any training offered to meet the needs of Fiji's aquacul- It was mainly involved with Since the late 1980s, aquaculture ture industry. This low level of breeding of carp for biological education has received increas- formal training is affecting the weed control in rivers. Later, in ing attention and hence fish- development of the aquaculture the early 1980, it added breed- eries officials have been given sector in Fiji. Some strategies for ing and distribution of tilapia the opportunity to participate in meeting the future needs and fingerlings to subsistence farm- various training programmes. opportunities for regional coop- ers, and also prawns. These trained staff now form eration in aquaculture are pro- the core staff tasked to imple- vided. A marine aquaculture station ment the research and extension was built on Makogai Island in programmes, although they still Historically, aquaculture in Fiji the mid 1980s. It conducted need training to get acquainted dates back to 1940 but it was not research and extension on giant with latest developments. until 1962 that the Government clams, trochus, beche-de-mer of Fiji introduced the Inland and turtles. Successful aquaculture involves Fisheries Programme, which Contribution of aquaculture skilful management of the stock included fish culture. In 1970, to the national economy and the environment in which it the UNDP-sponsored project is raised. This calls for sound known as the South Pacific knowledge of the requirements Islands Fisheries Development At present, almost all of the edi- and habits of the cultivated Agency (SPIFDA) had as an ble aquaculture products organisms and expertise in the objective, among others, to (tilapia, carp, prawns and methods of maintaining condi- assess the potential of aquacul- shrimps) are sold locally, while tions favourable to their rapid ture in Fiji. seaweed, aquarium-sized giant growth and high survival. clams and pearls are exported. Although fish culture was a Infinite patience and attention promising enterprise at that time, In 1999, the Fisheries Division to detail are considered essen- development was limited by lack recorded production of 300 tial for successful farming. of expertise, experience, and suit- tonnes of tilapia valued at FJD Whether this is really so or not, able technology. From the mid 1 million, some carp, 2.2 tonnes it certainly is true that the fail- 1970s, development accelerated. Several projects were implemented in the framework of various Aquaculture in Fiji is dominated by small- to medium-scale production programmes with focus on dif- of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) by semi-intensive culture methods. In ferent fields of freshwater aqua- 1999, a total of 296 tonnes of tilapia valued at FJD1,000,000 was pro- culture—introduction of new duced (Fisheries Division 1999 Annual Report) and sold domestically. species, improvement of infra- Apart from O. niloticus culture, freshwater prawn culture is receiving structure and development of increasing attention.There are a number of mariculture and brackish- rural aquaculture. water activities, mostly at the research and establishment phase. These include prawns (Penaeus monodon), milkfish (Chanos chanos), A concerted effort to develop seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii), pearls (Pinctada margarifera), giant aquaculture in Fiji began in the clam and trochus. Research on trochus is on stock enhancement, mid 1970s, through government while for giant clam it is for stocking as well as for culture for the programmes on freshwater thriving aquarium and sushi market in the US and Japan. Milkfish prawns, tilapia, carp and shrimp. research is targeting baitfish for the tuna longline industry, while The Naduruloulou Aquaculture prawn research is targeting the local market, estimated to be 600 Station was established near tonnes annually. Nausori, north of Suva, in 1975.

22 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 AQUACULTURE IN FIJI ISLANDS: FOCUS ON TRAINING ure of some aquaculture pro- of aquaculture has been grow-out farm. Of the 13 grammes in Fiji and the Pacific funded through the assis- staff, one has a Bachelor of can be traced to lack of neces- tance of UNDP/FAO, Japan Science degree, four have the sary expertise and trained per- International Cooperation Diploma in Tropical Fish- sonnel. While successful farms Agency (JICA) and the Fiji eries, and a majority of the cannot be developed through government. Most of the staff have attended short mere training, most of the theo- support staff have received courses and on-the-job train- retical as well as practical practical training on hatch- ing at overseas institutions. knowledge that an aquacultur- ery and grow-out methods Future needs in aquaculture ist needs can be imparted for specific tasks they are education through appropriate education assigned to. The Naduru- and training programmes. loulou Aquaculture Station offers a series of extension Aquaculture has been identified In general, aquaculture educa- courses to fish farmers. The in Fiji's Fisheries Plans; howev- tion in Fiji has been insufficient. farmers also maintain close er, the track record of aquacul- Most of the staff involved in contact with scientists from ture development has so far fall- aquaculture have received some the research station. en short of expectations. One level of training in fisheries. factor contributing to this is the Many are holders of a Diploma 2. Brackishwater culture. This lack of any course or regular of Tropical Fisheries certificate programme covers projects training programme on aqua- from the University of the South on shrimp and milkfish. At culture in Fiji. The training Pacific and some have also present there are 4 technical needs range from those at the attended short courses in aqua- staff with over 20 support community level to tertiary and culture at overseas institutions. staff. There are two commer- postgraduate levels. A course unit in Aquaculture in cial shrimp farms in opera- the Diploma in Tropical tion and a government An aquaculture industry requires Fisheries used to represent the demonstration milkfish the support of training and formal part of training in aqua- farm. Of the four technical research programmes if it is to culture. This diploma pro- staff, two have the Diploma succeed. There is a critical need gramme stopped in 1987. A in Tropical Fisheries and all for managers and technical staff. vocational school (Monfort have attended short courses In Fiji, the need for technical Boystown) was offering training at overseas institutions. staff is often recognised while in basic tilapia culture in the the key role of managerial staff early 1990s, but this too has 3. Mariculture. This pro- is generally disregarded. Most stopped due to a lack of staff to gramme includes research of the aquaculture installations teach the course. and extension work on sea- are managed by technical staff Current status of weed, pearl, trochus and who have had hardly any spe- aquaculture education giant clam projects. Currently cialised farm management or 13 technical staff are business management training. involved with over 40 sup- 1. Freshwater aquaculture. This port staff. There are over 500 As Fiji is now attempting large- programme covers projects individual seaweed farms, 2 scale aquaculture development on tilapia, polyculture, orna- experimental pearl farms projects, researchers need a high mental fishes and integrated and a government operated level of scientific training in the farming systems. Currently giant clam hatchery and principles of biology and in 4 technical staff and 20 sup- research methodology applica- port staff are involved in ble to their cultured species and research, development, exten- culture methods. Extension sion and training in aquacul- workers and technical support ture, with over 300 fish farms staff require more practical in operation. Of the four training in hatchery and grow- technical staff, two hold the out methods for specific com- Diploma in Tropical Fish- modities. eries and have attended Strategies for meeting the short courses in aquaculture future needs and the remaining two have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the Almost all the short-term train- South Pacific. Short course ing or courses have been carried training on various aspects out outside Fiji, and this has to

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 23 AQUACULTURE IN FIJI ISLANDS: FOCUS ON TRAINING some extent limited the value of tropics, remote from local farm and remains vital in providing some of the training given. Most situations. While training in higher qualifications for Fijian of it has been given outside the overseas institutions has been trainees, it is clear that more training should be done in contact with real farm situations in Fiji.

The University of the South Pacific has introduced a new course, Aquaculture in Pacific Island Countries, as an elective course for the Bachelor of Science degrees in biology and in marine science. The university also offers in-service short courses and community training, and is continuing with cur- riculum development of training materials. It is hoped that development of these courses and materials will contribute greatly towards the development of aquaculture in Fiji and also towards implementation of the Regional Aquaculture Strat- egy in the Pacific. Opportunities for regional cooperation in aquaculture education

The key to closing most of the gaps between training needs and opportunities is for the University of the South Pacific and institutions involved with aquaculture to continue to upgrade their research and teaching programmes, and ultimately for all technicians to be trained through graduate programmes and technical courses.

Another possibility is to develop new international aquaculture centres devoted to specific commodities, as has been successful for rice, wheat, maize etc. under the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system. Such centres have been shown to be very effective in concentrating research and training. As aqua-

Lime being applied to marine prawn ponds in Vanua Levu (top) Montfort Boys fish-duck farming system, Suva (middle) Black pearl farm at Savusavu Bay (bottom)

24 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 AQUACULTURE IN FIJI ISLANDS: FOCUS ON TRAINING culture follows the pattern of ties. Increased expenditure on tions and private sector in train- agriculture and focuses on the aquaculture research and devel- ing programmes should be few important commodities, we opment, including training pro- encouraged. may see similar developments. grammes, can only be justified by increased production. For In the end it all comes down to this reason, the cooperation of money, manpower and facili- smaller island nations, institu-

USP seaweed quarantine research

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 25 PRACTICAL HELP FOR THE ment, a French company. The overall aim of the project is to SEAWEED FARMERS increase the production of cottonii seaweed in Kiribati. A OF KIRIBATI large component of the project is dedicated to research, extension and development (RED) in The seaweed farming industry Antoine Teitelbaum, order to improve working con- in Kiribati has been provided Technical adviser, ditions of the farmers and the with new educational material, Oceanic Développement buying agents in the outer thanks to the financial support islands and also to avert envi- of the European Union and the ronmental damage on the farm- assistance of the SPC. A booklet ing sites in the lagoons of the titled "Farming seaweed in weed are illustrated. Taira and atolls. Kiribati: a practical guide for Teborou also show the reader seaweed farmers" has been pub- the different problems encoun- Extension officers and seaweed lished by SPC. The booklet was tered while farming, such as agents work in the field with the designed and compiled in rabbitfish grazing, epiphytes farmers. This book will help Kiribati by Antoine Teitelbaum and ice-ice disease. As this book them in extending their sea- (Technical Advisor with the inter- is designed for the farmers weed farming skills to as many national technical consultancy themselves, the illustrations are people as possible. The booklet company Oceanic Développement) very comprehensive and the will be of great support to the and staff from the Research, text is written in a humorous farmers and the agents in the Extension and Development way, avoiding long sentences outer islands, as there has been group of the Atoll Seaweed and complicated Latin names! little educational material avail- Company. It was translated into able to the farming communi- Gilbertese by Ienimoa Kiatoa This booklet plays a key role in ties in the last 20 years of the and Kamatiie Kautu from the the Kiribati Support to Seaweed industry. This booklet is the Kiribati Min-istry of Fisheries Industry Project (SSIP). The third educational tool since the and Marine Resource Develop- SSIP is a four-year project 1991 manual by James Uan from ment. The illustrations were financed by the European the Kiribati Fisheries Depart- done by Sebastien Lesire in Union and implemented with ment published with the FAO Noumea, for the SPC. Although the help of Oceanic Développe- entitled Aron Unikakin Te Tiwita the book is designed to suit Kiribati, it will be useful throughout the Pacific in islands where the seaweed industry is being developed, such as Fiji Islands or Solomon Islands.

The book is in cartoon style, showing the lagoons, the farms, the landscapes and the people of Kiribati and their traditions. We follow the story of Teborou, the wife, and Taira, the hus- band, who are a young farming couple keen to revive seaweed farming on their island. They take us on a trip in the lagoon of their atoll and demonstrate all the activities required to farm seaweed. Site selection, seedling handling, farm layout, plot construction and also harvesting, post-harvest, marketing of the dried products in the outer island station and all the other steps of farming cottonii sea-

26 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 PRACTICAL HELP FOR THE SEAWEED FARMERS OF KIRIBATI

("How to plant seaweed") and Développement Technical Adv- questions were asked. Particu- the 2001 video produced by SPC isor Antoine Teitelbaum and lar issues raised by the farmers titled Grow seaweed, grow your Atoll Seaweed Company RED included marine tenure in money. staff Ienimoa Kiatoa and Tealoa Nuotaea, seedstock supply in Sese led the theoretical and Abaiang and equipment pur- Atoll Seaweed Company and practical sessions with groups chase in Tabiteuea. the SSIP team have introduced of farmers. Between 10 and 40 the new booklet to farmers in people attended each work- Several attendees were so con- the outer islands seaweed farm- shop, both male and female vinced by the booklet and the ing communities of Kiribati and farmers (whether ex-farmers or workshop that they purchased the Line Islands. Two-day future farmers but all very their own farming equipment workshops were organised for keen!) as well as the unimwane after the sessions. farmers, who gathered in the and the unaine, the men and mwaneaba (the communal vill- women elders of the villages. With the increase of the sea- age house) at Nukamotu village The participatory learning weed price to AUD 0.60 and the in Nuotaea island, Borotiam in approach and games were arrival of the booklet, it is Abaiang, Tabiang in Abemama, employed to make the workshops expected that more and more Aiaki and Otoae in Onotoa and lively. All the steps of seaweed households of the Gilbert Buota in Tabiteuea North. More farming were demonstrated in Islands and the Line Islands workshops will be held in the the mwanaeba and in the field. groups of Kiribati will start their near future. own farms and contribute to Farmers who received the book- making the industry sustain- Extension officers Linh Nguyen let all seemed very excited to able. Surely, Teborou, the main Quoc and Vincent Potier (from recognise their islands, houses character of the booklet will the international volunteer devel- and boats and be offered their soon get her motorbike and her opment charity VSO), Oceanic first cartoon in I-Kiribati. Lots of store in the outer island!

Top left: Abemama elders having a look at the booklet Top right: Bringing seedlings ashore, Tabiteuea North Bottom left: Checking the seaweed plots, Tabiteuea North Bottom right: Tying lines, Onotoa

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 27 PRACTICAL HELP FOR THE SEAWEED FARMERS OF KIRIBATI

Seedlings, Tabiteuea North

© Copyright Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 2004 All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. SPC authorises the partial 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/or translate in whole, 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

28 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003