SUB-REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE PACIFIC ISLANDS TCP/RAS/3301 LESSONS FROM PAST AND CURRENT AQUACULTURE INITIATIVES IN SELECTED PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES Prepared by Pedro B. Bueno FAO Consultant ii Lessons learned from Pacific Islands Countries The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. © FAO, 2014 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www. fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through publi- [email protected]. Cover photos: Counterclockwise from top left — a coral nursery in Solomon Is, giant clams in Kiribati, a harvest of South Sea pearls in Savu Savu, Fiji (courtesy of J.Hunter Pearls), and tilapia for cage culture in Vanuatu Regional Synthesis iii Table of Contents SECTION A: REGIONAL SYNTHESIS SUMMARY I. INTRODUCTION 1 1. Objectives 2 2. Coverage 2 3. Process 2 II. LESSONS 3 1. Feasibility of species and systems 3 a. Biological feasibility 4 b. Technical feasibility 5 c. Economic viability 6 d. Social issues 8 2. Sector governance 9 a. Policy 10 b. Regulatory and management 11 c. Capacity building 12 d. Institutional development and linkages 12 III. OPPORTUNITIES FOR ASSISTANCE 14 1. National level 14 a. Farm management and technical skills 14 b. Extension and training 14 c. Project planning 14 d. The diversification of livelihood options 15 e. Development of appropriate industry development models 15 f. Reward to investments and protection from risks 15 g. Capacity for enforcement and compliance 15 h. Establishing an efficient input supply chain 16 i. Domestic market development and better market access 16 j. Product handling, transformation and marketing 16 k. Alliances 16 2. Regional level 16 a. Regional programme 16 b. Institutional capacity building 17 c. Catalytic assistance to facilitate technical cooperation 17 d. Statistics and information capacity building 17 e. Knowledge network 17 f. Best practices 17 g. Education and training 17 h. Trade 18 3. Projects and enterprises 18 iv Lessons learned from Pacific Islands Countries IV. CONCLUSIONS 19 References 20 Annexes 1. Terms of Reference of the Project 21 2. Questionnaire 22 3. A scheme to determine feasibilities of culture of species farming systems 24 Endnotes 25 Report of the Meeting: An evening on Pacific Aquaculture 28 Annex A. Participants 33 Annex B. Agenda 34 Annex C. Building on Progress 35 SECTION B: COUNTRY REPORTS 49 1. Palau 50 2. Marshall Islands 52 3. Kiribati 75 4. Vanuatu 86 5. Fiji 97 6. Tonga 112 7. Samoa 119 8. Cook Islands 127 Regional Synthesis 1 Building on Lessons: Areas for Assistance Regional Synthesis of the Lessons Learned from Past and Current Aquaculture Initiatives in Selected PICs TCP/RAS/3301 SUMMARY This report is a synthesis of the reviews of aquaculture development status and experiences of eight Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Seven PICs were covered during May-September 2010; the eighth was the subject of a separate project carried out in July 2009. The country reviews cover recent and current developments, supplemented by a comprehensive historical review of aquaculture in the Pacific conducted in 1984 by the Hawaiian-based Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP). The remit of this project (TCP/RAS/3301) was to identify areas for technical assistance that would further promote aquaculture development. This was accomplished by identifying issues in sector governance relating to the success of aquaculture enterprises and drawing lessons on what factors contributed to success and what led to the abandonment or termination of a farming enterprise and why. The screens used for success were biological feasibility, technical feasibility, economic viability and social acceptability. Sustainability would be the ultimate screen but no specific criteria were set up for this, and could only be inferred from the continued operation of an enterprise. Thus, the core of the lessons learned comprises the factors that enable economic viability of the farming of a species. This screening mechanism is explained in the report. The context for technical feasibility and economic viability is sector governance. In this connection, the various mechanisms of governance and its enabling elements that include capacity building and institutional development and linkages were reviewed and assessed as to how and what extent these have specifically influenced technical and economic success, and the management of aquaculture development. The assessments appear in detail in the country reviews (Section 2 of this report) and are categorized into strategic, management and technical lessons. The recommendations necessarily address the same issues associated with the governance mechanisms (command and control, market- based, voluntary, and social norms and traditions) and those associated with the weaknesses of the enabling mechanisms (including manpower development, institutional capacity building and linkages, stakeholder participation, and knowledge development and sharing). A general recommendation is to catalyse these through a regional cooperative arrangement such as a network based on technical cooperation, with its formation and initial stage of operation facilitated by a regional technical assistance. The informal meeting on aquaculture in the Pacific, held in conjunction with the recent Global Aquaculture Conference 2010 in September in Thailand, contributed to the development of this synthesis. The provisional findings of this project were incorporated in a briefing note for the meeting. Information and professional views that enriched the findings were provided by the presentations of FAO SAP and SPC and country statements of the delegates from five PICs. The discussions gave a more rounded perspective of the issues raised in the briefing note. Strategic actions to assist the region were recommended. The Report of the Meeting is part of this synthesis and appears as Annex 4. In addition, an article on the results of the informal meeting appears in the FAO Aquaculture Newsletter no. 46 (or FAN-46). I. INTRODUCTION Previous assessments of fisheries development in the Pacific region have noted the decreasing inshore fishery resources, which supply much of the fish in the diets of the people of the Pacific Island nations. In their meeting on 20-22 May 2009, in Niue when the world was barely out of a financial, fuel and food crisis, the agriculture ministers of several Pacific Island Countries (PICs) stressed the urgency of assuring the food security of the peoples of the Pacific region. They then requested FAO to provide 2 Lessons learned from Pacific Islands Countries the PIC governments and their private sectors clear guidelines for enhancing the role of small scale fishery and aquaculture as a sustainable supplier of food.1 Taking this request on board, the FAO Sub-regional Office of the Pacific Islands (SAP) formulated the regional project TCP/RAS/3301 (regional overview of aquaculture development in the Pacific). Its main purpose was to review the past and present aquaculture development initiatives in selected PICs, to learn important lessons from them, that could provide the guidelines governments and development assistance agencies needed. The initiatives reviewed included national development programmes, pilot projects and farming enterprises. The technically oriented review was complemented by a review of national policy and legal framework, as well as strategies and plans for aquaculture development. The recommendations address food security, income and improvement of livelihoods that are based on aquaculture. 1. Objectives The project objectives were to review national fisheries policies and legal frameworks, management, development and strategic plans, and past and current aquaculture projects and their results; assess broadly the economic impact of aquaculture development in countries; and document lessons learned from these past and current aquaculture development initiatives. The Terms of Reference of the project is Annex 1. 2. Coverage This report covers eight countries, two in the North Pacific and six in the South Pacific regions. Seven were reviewed under the regional project TCP/RAS/3301 and visited between May and September 2010. The eighth,