SOUTH PACIFIC COMMISSION UNPUBLISHED REPORT No. 20 REPORT ON THIRD VISIT TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA 14 January – 10 July 1984 by Lindsay Chapman Masterfisherman South Pacific Commission Noumea, New Caledonia 1998 ii The South Pacific Commission authorises the reproduction of this material, whole or in part, in any form, provided appropriate acknowledgment is given. This unpublished report forms part of a series compiled by the Capture Section of the South Pacific Commission’s Coastal Fisheries Programme. These reports have been produced as a record of individual project activities and country assignments, from materials held within the Section, with the aim of making this valuable information readily accessible. Each report in this series has been compiled within the Capture Section to a technical standard acceptable for release into the public arena. However, they have not been through the full South Pacific Commission editorial process. South Pacific Commission BP D5 98848 Noumea Cedex New Caledonia Tel.: (687) 26 20 00 Fax: (687) 26 38 18 e-mail: [email protected] http://www.spc.org.nc/ Prepared at South Pacific Commission headquarters, Noumea, New Caledonia, 1998 iii SUMMARY The South Pacific Commission's Deep Sea Fisheries Development Project (DSFDP) visited Papua New Guinea for the third time between 14 January and 10 July 1984, under the supervision of SPC Masterfisherman Lindsay Chapman. The Project operated in West New Britain Province, Manus Province and East Sepik Province, conducting a survey and training programme in deep-bottom dropline fishing and trolling for coastal pelagic species. The Masterfisherman also assisted with the rigging and deployment of fish aggregation devices (FADs) while in East Sepik Province and conducted experimental fishing trials in their vicinity. Most fishing effort was devoted to deep-bottom droplining in depths to 300 m, principal target species being deep-water snappers of the family Lutjanidae. A major project objective of trolling to assess coastal stocks of Spanish mackerel (Scomberamorus commerson) was curtailed due to this species seasonal scarcity at the time of the visit. Fishing operations were most often conducted in association with village fisheries development programmes and a total of 20 Fisheries Division personnel and 29 local fishermen participated in trips and underwent training in the various fishing techniques employed. The catch from all areas totaled 1,527 fish with a combined weight of 5,044.1 kg, of which better than 80 per cent was locally saleable. The deep-bottom catch included an adequate proportion of high- value species and no ciguatoxicity was noted. Catch rates recorded for deep-bottom fishing ranged from 10.8 kg/reel hour in West New Britain Province, and 7.0 kg/reel hour in East Sepik Province, to 6.4 kg/reel hour in Manus Province. The overall deep-bottom catch rate was 7.8 kg/reel hour. These catch rates compare well with results recorded by the DSFDP elsewhere in the Pacific and indicate the presence of profitably exploitable deep-bottom stocks. The commercial development of the fishery appears likely to be hampered by a number of logistical, marketing and geographic restraints. This report includes an analysis of the economics of a small scale fishing operation, based on the Project's experience in the Wewak area, and some recommendations considered important for the successful progress of provincial fisheries development programmes. v RÉSUMÉ Sous la direction du maître de pêche Lindsay Chapman, les agents de la Commission du Pacifique Sud ont séjourné, pour la troisième fois, entre le 14 janvier et le 10 juillet 1984, en Papouasie- Nouvelle-Guinée, dans le cadre du projet de développement de la pêche au demi-large. Les activités menées au titre du projet, en particulier une campagne d'évaluation et un programme de formation à la pêche à la ligne à main et à la traîne par grandes profondeurs, se sont déroulées dans les provinces de la Nouvelle-Bretagne occidentale, de Manus et du Sepik oriental. Le maître de pêche a également contribué au montage et au déploiement de dispositifs de concentration du poisson (DCP) et a réalisé des essais de pêche à proximité de ces engins. Les opérations ont consisté pour l'essentiel à pêcher à la ligne à main par des fonds pouvant atteindre 300 mètres, en ciblant surtout les lutjanidés profonds. Il a fallu abandonner l'un des principaux objectifs des activités de pêche à la traîne, qui était d'évaluer les stocks côtiers de tazards du lagon (Scomberamorus commerson), cette espèce faisant défaut à cette saison. Les activités de pêche se sont souvent déroulées parallèlement à la mise en œuvre des programmes de développement des pêches locales et, au total, 20 membres du service des pêches et 29 pêcheurs locaux ont pris part aux sorties et ont bénéficié de la formation aux différentes techniques de pêche utilisées. En tout et toutes zones de pêche confondues, 1 527 poissons, d'un poids total de 5 044,1 kg, ont été capturés, dont plus de 80 pour cent étaient commercialisables sur le marché local. Au nombre de ces prises, figurait une proportion non négligeable d'espèces à valeur marchande élevée et aucun cas de ciguatera n'a été relevé. Les taux de prises enregistrés pour la pêche au grand fond ont varié entre 10,8 kg/moulinet/heure dans la province de Nouvelle-Bretagne occidentale, 7 kg/moulinet/heure dans la province du Sepik oriental et 6,4 kg/moulinet/heure dans la province de Manus. Le taux de prises global correspondant à ces opérations de pêche au grand fond a été de 7,8 kg/moulinet/heure. Ces taux de capture soutiennent favorablement la comparaison avec les résultats enregistrés ailleurs dans le Pacifique dans le cadre du projet; en outre, ils démontrent la présence de stocks de poissons de grand fond qui peuvent faire l'objet d'une exploitation rentable. Toutefois, le développement de la pêche commerciale risque, semble-t-il, de se heurter à un certain nombre de difficultés liées à la logistique, à la commercialisation et à la géographie. Ce rapport contient une analyse des activités des petites entreprises de pêche qui se fonde sur l'expérience menée dans la région de Wewak au titre du projet, et certaines recommandations considérées comme importantes pour la réussite de la mise en œuvre des programmes de développement de la pêche dans les provinces. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The South Pacific Commission acknowledges with gratitude the friendly support afforded the Deep Sea Fisheries Development Project during its stay in Papua New Guinea. Particular thanks are due to Mr David Cook, Senior Fisheries Scientist for the Department of Primary Industry's Fisheries Division, who co-ordinated the visit. In the provincial centres Mr Chris Mee, Manager of the Kimbe Coastal Fisheries Station, Mr Trevor Bell, Manager of the Lorengau Coastal Fisheries Station, and Mr Stewart Frusher, Fisheries Biologist at Wewak's Fisheries Resource Centre, all devoted a good deal of their time and energy in support of the Project. Thanks are due also to boat skippers at each location and to the fishermen of Papua New Guinea whose co-operation and enthusiasm played a large part in the Project's success. ix CONTENTS Page 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. BACKGROUND 2 2.1 General 2 2.2 Existing fisheries 3 3. PROJECT OPERATIONS 4 3.1 General 4 3.2 Boats and equipment 4 3.3 Fishing techniques employed 7 3.4 Data Collection 8 3.5 Training activities 8 3.6 Disposal of the catch 9 4. FISHING ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS 9 4.1 General 9 4.2 Deep-bottom droplining 9 4.3 Trolling 13 4.4 Vertical longlining and mid-water shark fishing 15 5. FISHING AREAS 17 5.1 West New Britain Province (Kimbe) 17 5.2 Manus Province (Lorengau) 18 5.3 East Sepik Province (Wewak) 19 6. DISCUSSIONS 21 6.1 General 21 6.2 Commercial potential 21 6.3 Development restraints 22 7. RECOMMENDATIONS 23 7.1 Fishing rights 23 7.2 Boats and equipment 23 7.3 Financial support 23 7.4 Fish handling and marketing 24 7.5 Diversification of fisheries 24 7.6 Specific recommendations for West New Britain 24 7.7 Specific recommendations for the Wewak area 25 8. CONCLUSION 25 9. REFERENCES 25 x APPENDICES 1. Standard form for data collection 27 2A Species composition of the deep-bottom catch at each location 29 2B Species composition of the troll catch at each location 35 2C Species composition of the remaining catch at each location 37 3A Trip records for West New Britain 39 3B Trip records for Manus 41 3C Trip records for East Sepik 43 1 1. INTRODUCTION The South Pacific Commission's Deep Sea Fisheries Development (DSFD) Project is a mobile village-level rural development project which operates in Pacific Island nations at specific Government request, and which has the following broad objectives: – To promote the development or expansion of artisanal fisheries throughout the region, based on fishery resources which are at present under-utilised, in particular the deep bottom resources of the outer reef slope; – To develop and evaluate new simple technology, fishing gear and techniques suitable for use by village fishermen, which will enable fishermen to substantially increase catches while reducing dependence on costly imported fuels; and – To provide practical training in appropriate fishing techniques to local fishermen and government fisheries extension workers. The Project has operated in Papua New Guinea on two previous occasions. A 1979 visit was based at Kimbe, West New Britain (Fusimalohi and Crossland, 1980) and a second visit, during 1982, operated at Port Moresby, at Samarai and Manus Islands (Chapman & Fusimalohi, 1998). Each of these visits involved the surveying and assessment of deep-bottom fish resources along the outer reef slopes, and the demonstration of appropriate gear and fishing techniques to promote the artisanal exploitation of this resource.