SPC Aquaculture Technical Papers ISSN: 0377-452X Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on the Management of Sustainable Fisheries for Giant Clams (Tridacnidae) and CITES Capacity Building SPC Aquaculture Technical Papers Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on the Management of Sustainable Fisheries for Giant Clams (Tridacnidae) and CITES Capacity Building 4–7 August 2009 Nadi, Fiji Jeff Kinch and Antoine Teitelbaum Secretariat of the Pacific Community Noumea, New Caledonia 2010 © Copyright Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) 2010 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 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 Cataloguing-in-publication data Kinch, Jeff Proceedings of the regional workshop on the management of sustainable fisheries for giant clams (Tridacnidae) and CITES capacity building (4–7 August 2009, Nadi, Fiji) / by Jeff Kinch and Antoine Teitelbaum (Report of meeting (Technical) / Secretariat of the Pacific Community) ISSN: 0377-452X Giant clams — Oceania — Congresses. Shellfish trade — Management — Oceania — Congresses. Clam fisheries — Management — Oceania — Congresses. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. I. Kinch, Jeff II. Teitelbaum, Antoine III. Title IV. Secretariat of the Pacific Community V. Series 333.955440995 AACR2 ISBN: 978-982-00-0406-1 Secretariat of the Pacific Community Coastal Fisheries Programme BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia Tel: +687 26 20 00 Fax: +687 26 38 18 Email: [email protected] http://www.spc.int/ Prepared for publication and printed at Secretariat of the Pacific Community headquarters Noumea, New Caledonia, 2010 Contents Acronyms 5 Acknowledgements 5 Disclaimer 5 Executive Summary 7 Report Structure 7 Part 1: Introduction to Giant Clams in the Pacific 9 1.1 Biology and Reproductive Ecology 10 1.2 History of Exploitation 12 1.3 Cultured Giant Clams 13 1.4 Cultured Giant Clam Exports 15 1.5 Giant Clam Stock Enhancement 16 1.6 Giant Clam Trans-Location 18 Part II: Country Profiles by Government Representatives 21 2.1 American Samoa 22 2.2 Cook Islands 22 2.3 Federated States of Micronesia 23 2.4 Fiji 23 2.5 French Polynesia 24 2.6 Kiribati 24 2.7 New Caledonia 25 2.8 Papua New Guinea 26 3 2.9 Palau 26 2.10 Republic of the Marshall Islands 26 2.11 Samoa 28 2.12 Solomon Islands 28 2.13 Tonga 29 2.14 Vanuatu 29 Part III: Organisations 31 3.1 Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 32 3.2 Species Management Specialists 32 3.3 Secretariat of the Pacific Community 33 3.4 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program 33 3.5 International Union for Conservation of Nature 34 3.6 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 34 Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on the Management of Sustainable Fisheries for Giant Clams (Tridacnidae) and CITES Capacity Building Part IV: Management 35 4.1 Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species 36 4.1.1 Introduction 36 4.1.2 Definitions 37 4.1.3 CITES Authorities 37 4.1.4 Permits and Certificates 37 4.1.5 Non-Detriment Findings 39 4.1.6 Quotas 39 4.1.7 Trade in Captive-Bred Species 39 4.2 Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species in the Pacific 40 4.3 International Union for Nature Conservation’s Red List 41 4.4 National Legislation for Giant Clam Management 41 PART V: Issues 43 5.1 Challenges Facing PICTs with Complying with CITES 44 5.2 Challenges Facing PICTs with Ensuring Sustainable Giant Clam Management 45 5.3 Suggested Solutions 46 Resource Materials 47 Resource Persons 49 Tables Table 1: Giant clam species found in the Pacific Region 10 Table 2: Total exports of clams for the aquarium market in 2007 and national export potential 15 Table 3: Giant clam aquaculture and/or restocking programmes 17 Table 4: Trans-location of giant clams by year and location 18 Table 5: Hatchery production of giant clams in the RMI 27 Table 6: CITES definitions 37 4 Table 7: CITES Permit and certificate types 38 Table 8: PICTs which are signatory to CITES 40 Table 9: Aquarium species listed on the CITES appendices 40 Table 10: Size limits imposed by PICTs on the harvest of giant clams 41 Table 11: Management measures adopted by PICTs for the harvest of giant clams 42 Table 12: Challenges facing PICTs with complying with the CITES convention 44 Table 13: Challenges facing PICTs with ensuring sustainable a giant clam management 45 Table 14: Suggested solutions by PICTs for enhancing CITES and giant clam management 46 Figures Figure 1: The basic stages in giant clams culture 15 Figure 2: Giant clam volume exported in the past ten years 16 Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on the Management of Sustainable Fisheries for Giant Clams (Tridacnidae) and CITES Capacity Building Acronyms AMRC Aitutaki Marine Research Centre CITES Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species CNMI Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas CoP Conference of the Parties DMWR Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources DoF Department of Fisheries FSM Federated States of Micronesia IUCN International Union for Conservation Network JCU James Cook University MFMR Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources MIMRA Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration OIE World Organisation for Animal Health PICTs Pacific slandI Countries and Territories PMDC Palau Maricultural Demonstration Center PNG Papua New Guinea RMI Republic of the Marshall Islands ROC Republic of China SMS Species Management Specialists SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community SPREP Secretariat of the Regional Environment Program U.S. United States of America Acknowledgements On behalf of the Secretariat of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, www.cites.org), the Species Management Specialists (SMS, www.speciesms.org), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC, www.spc.int), and the Secretariat of the Regional Environment 5 Program (SPREP, www.sprep.org), the editors would like to acknowledge and thank all the persons whom par- ticipated in the Regional workshop and/or have subsequently contributed to this workshop proceeding. The involvement of a wide range of interest groups involved in the management and trade of giant clams, including government representatives, business persons, and specialists has created an invaluable and timely opportunity for the Pacific Region to deliberate the key issues for this very important fishery. Disclaimer The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CITES Secretariat, SMS, SPC or SPREP. Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on the Management of Sustainable Fisheries for Giant Clams (Tridacnidae) and CITES Capacity Building Six species of giant clams © WorldFish Center Executive Summary At its 14th meeting held in the Hague, the Netherlands in June 2007, the Conference of the Parties to CITES adopted decision 14.80 that directed the CITES Secretariat to seek external funding to enable a workshop to be held in the Pacific, in collaboration with appropriate regional organizations, to initiate regional cooperation on the management of sustainable fisheries for giant clams (Tridacnidae). Subsequently, from the 4–7 August 2009, the Regional Workshop on the Management of Sustainable Fisheries for Giant Clams (Tridacnidae) and CITES Capacity Building was held to identify national and regional initia- tives that could ensure the long-term ecological, social and economic sustainability of this important fishery. This is particularly important as Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) have now been supplying the world’s aquarium industry for over 30 years with an increasingly diverse range of wild and cultured commodi- ties, in particular, giant clams. Culture methods are also continuing to evolve for commercial production giant clams for meat or the aquarium trade . The four-day workshop involved technical consultation between a wide range of stakeholders, including gov- ernment, private and public sectors; and specialists who are active in the production of giant clams for the global marine aquarium trade in the Pacific Region. Attendance included representatives from the American Samoa, Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), French Polynesia, Fiji, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. All species of giant clams have been listed in Appendix II of CITES since 1985 and international trade in live specimens, meat or shells is thus regulated. In accordance with Article IV of CITES, the export of any specimen requires the prior grant and presentation of a CITES export permit. Permits may only be issued after a non- detrimental finding has been made by Scientific Authority of the State of export. The proper implementation of Article IV is essential for the conservation and sustainable use of Appendix-II species. The IUCN also lists the giant clams as vulnerable. Currently, Fiji, Palau, PNG, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are the only sovereign countries in the Pacific that are signatories to CITES. RMI and Tonga are interested in joining because of the difficulties they are experiencing in exporting their cultured giant clams. Capacity issues experienced by PICTs are impacting on their ability to effectively implement and enforce CITES. They are also experiencing challenges in maintaining sustainable wild harvest fisheries for giant clams; and all would like to be able to promote the culture of giant clams further.