Giant Clams in the Sustainable Development of the South Pacific The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (AClAR) was established in June 1982 by an Act of the Australian Parliarnent. Its rnandate is to help identify agricultural problerns in developing countries and to corn mission collaborative research between Australia and developing country researchers in fields where Australia has a special research competence. Where trade names are used this constitutes neither endorsement of nor discrimination against any product by the Centre. AClAR Monograph Series This peer-reviewed series contains the results of original research supported by AClAR, or material deemed relevant to AClAR's research objectives. The series is distributed internationally, with an emphasis on developing countries. © Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research G.P.O. Box 1571, Canberra, ACT, Australia 2601 Tisdell, C, ed. 1992. Giant clams in the sustainable development of the South Pacific: socioeconomic issues in mariculture and conservation. AClAR Monograph No. 18, 283p. ISBN 1 863200754 Technical editing, typesetting and layout by Arawang Information Bureau, Canberra Printed by Brown Prior Anderson, 5 Evans Street, Burwood, Victoria Giant Clams in the Sustainable Development of the South Pacific Socioeconomic Issues in M.ariculture and Conservation Editor C. Tisdell Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra, Australia, 1992 The Authors T'eo I.J. Fairbairn Consultant, 21 Highland Close, Charlestown, 2290, Australia, and Research Fellow, Centre for South Pacific Studies, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2033, Australia. Carunia Firdausy Research Fellow, National Centre for Economics and Development, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (PEP-L1PI), PO Box 310, Jakarta 10002, Indonesia. Kenneth M. Menz Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, GPO Box 1571, Canberra, ACT 2601. Nancy J. Pollock Department of Anthropology, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand. Luca Tacconi Department of Economics and Management, Australian Defence Force Academy, University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia. Contribution completed while at Department of Economics, University of Queensland. Clem Tisdell Department of Economics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 4072. Veikila Vuki Department of Oceanography, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton S09 5NH, England. On leave from the Institute Marine Resources, University of South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. Rene Wittenberg Berg Strasse 13, 7980 Ravensburg, Torkenweiler, Germany. Contribution completed while at the University of Queensland. Contents Preface vii Part I Background 1 Giant Clam Farming and Sustainable Development: an Overview 3 C. Tisdell and K. Menz Part 11 Giant Clam Farming at Village Level for Subsistence, Commercial Use and for Development 2 Giant Clams, Socioeconomics and Village Life in the 17 Lau Group, Fiji: Prospects for Farming Tridacnids V. Vuki, C. Tisdell, and L. Tacconi 3 Subsistence Economic Activities and Prospects for Clam 38 Farming in Ono-i-Lau, Fiji V. Vuki, C. Tisdell, and L. Tacconi 4 Mariculture of Giant Clams in Tuvalu: Prospects 52 for Development L. Tacconi and C. Tisdell 5 Giant Clams in Wallis: Prospects for Development 65 N.J. Pollock 6 Seafarming as Part of Indonesia's Economic Development 80 Strategy: Seaweed and Giant Clam Culture as Cases C. Firdausy and C. Tisdell 7 Demand for Giant Clams in Indonesia and Their Status: 101 A Survey of Four Coastal Villages in Bali and Java C. Firdausy and C. Tisdell Part III Institutional Factors and Marine Property Rights 8 Marine Property Rights in Relation to Giant Clam 119 Mariculture in the Kingdom of Tonga T. Fairbairn 9 Marine Property Rights in Fiji: Implications for the 134 Development of Giant Clam Mariculture T. Fairbairn 10 Reef and Lagoon Tenure in the Republic of Vanuatu 153 and Prospects for Mariculture Development T. Fairbairn v 11 Traditional Reef and Lagoon Tenure in Western Samoa 169 and Its Implications for Giant Clam Mariculture T. Fairbairn 12 Institutional Factors and Giant Clam Culture and 190 Conservation in Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa L. Tacconi and C. Tisdell Part IV Markets and Economics of Production in the Pacific Islands 13 Domestic Markets and Demand for Giant Clam Meat 205 in the South Pacific Islands: Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa L. Tacconi and C. Tisdell 14 Exports and Export Markets for Giant Clam Meat from 223 the South Pacific: Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa L. Tacconi and C. TisdelL 15 Economics of Giant Clam Production in the South Pacific: 233 Fiji as a Case Study L. Tacconi and C. TisdelL 16 Possible Demand for Giant Clam Meat by Tongans 245 and Their Descendants in Australia C. TisdelL and R. Wittenberg 17 The Market for Giant Clam Meat in New Zealand: 258 Results of Interviews with Pacific Island Immigrants C. TisdelL and R. Wittenberg vi Preface THIS monograph is based upon research undertaken over the period 1989- 1992 and financed primarily by the Australian Centre for International Agri­ cultural Research (AClAR) through its Research Project No. 8823, 'Economics of giant clam mariculture'. The University of Queensland was the commissioned organisation. The project for which I was the team leader involved considerable cooperation with those involved in ACIAR Project No. 8873, The culture of the giant clam (Tridacnidae) for food and restocking of tropical reefs, for which James Cook University was the commissioned organisation. I wish to thank all members involved in Project No. 8873 for their cooperation and assistance, particularly the team leader, Dr John Lucas. The contributions to this book are based principally on an edited selection of working papers that appeared in the series Economics of Giant Clam Mari­ culture between November 1989 and May 1992. The series was distributed by the Department of Economics of the University of Queensland. By presenting this selection in revised and edited form, it is hoped that these research contribu­ tions will be of more lasting and comprehensive value as reference material. The papers selected for inclusion here are only a portion of those completed. However, they are the papers which relate most directly to the southwestern Pacific. It is hoped to publish, at a later time, an additional monograph including papers with a different geographical focus. I wish to thank all those who have contributed to this volume for their support of the project. I am especially grateful to Dr Kenneth Menz, Economics and Farming Systems Coordinator with AClAR, for his encouragement with this project and all the staff of AClAR who have assisted with it, especially Peter Lynch, Publications Manager, for his contributions to the production of this book. Over a period of time, several typists assisted in the preparation of the typescript on which this book is based. These included Deborah Ford, Jeannine Fowler, and Susan Tooth. Thanks are due to them, as well as to my immediate family members, Mariel, Ann-Matie, and Christopher who had to get used to Clem's distraction by giant clams. I am also particularly grateful to all those Pacific islanders who through their contributions and cooperation have made this book possible. Clem Tisdell University of Queensland Brisbane vii Part I Background Giant Clam Farming and Sustainable Development: an Overview Cl em Tisdell Kenneth M. Menz Introduction Giant clams, or tridacnids, occur naturally in only the tropical or subtropical marine waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. However, they are confined to the western portion of the Pacific Ocean and do not, for example, occur on the western coast of the Americas or in Hawaii. They are well adapted to tropical clear waters such as those which favour the growth of corals, e.g. coral atolls. Eight species of tridacnids have been identified, one of which, Tridacna tevoroa, was officially classified only in the 1990s. Members of one species, Tridacna gigas, can grow to over one metre in length, making it the world's largest bivalve mollusc. This species is sometimes called the true giant clam, or the killer clam, the latter name arising from its repu­ tation (mostly unwarranted) for closing on divers so preventing them from returning to the surface. Members of the species Tridacna derasa are the second largest. The various species of giant clams, their natural distribution and general ecological requirements, have been described by Lucas (1988) with Tridacna tevoroa being described at a later time (Lucas et al. 1990). Within their natural range, many species of giant clams have become locally extinct, mainly a result of their overharvesting for human use. The flesh of giant clams is eaten by many communities and the shells are used either as ornaments or for utilitarian purposes. In recent times, giant clams have become significant specimens for the aquarium trade. 3 ----------------- GIANT CLAMS IN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC Because of the severe reduction in natural stocks, which resulted in giant clams being listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the 1980s, and the apparent economic advantages of producing meat from them for food in ecologically suitable areas, scientific attempts were made to develop techniques for their aquaculture. Efforts were already under way in this regard at the Micronesian Mariculture Demonstration Center (MMDC) , Palau, for the aquaculture