the seaweed farming industry in kiribati has been provided

ISSN 0248-076XNumber 107 (October–December 2003)

SPC activities Page 2

News from in andaround the region 5

Where’d you get that fish?Jeb Wyman Page 17

GPS Toolkit: specialised softwaredeveloped for PROCFishFranck Magron Page 20

Aquaculture in Fiji Islands: focus ontrainingSatya Nandlal Page 22

Practical help for the seaweedfarmers of KiribatiAntoine Teitelbaum Page 26

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

One of the objectives of the March 2002 meeting on “Building Capacity for Aqua-culture in the Pacific” was to make a list of the most interesting species for aqua-culture in the region and formulate action plans. Seaweed farming gained the atten-tion of the participants, who wanted it to because a sustainable, income-generatingactivity for isolated village communities.

One of the points raised was informing fishers about this activity through the pro-duction of educational materials.The manual presented by Antoine Teitelbaum in thisissue of the Fisheries Newsletter corresponds well to what was hoped for in the regionand undoubtedly will become a reference document for small-scale seaweed farming.

Jean-Paul GaudechouxFisheries Information Adviser ([email protected])

The seaweed farming industry in Kiribati has beenprovided with new educational material. A booklettitled Farming seaweed in Kiribati: a practical guidefor seaweed farmers will help local farmers to extendtheir seaweed farming skills.

FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT SECTION

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 20032

SPC ACTIVITIES

Solomon Islands rural enterprises

Fisheries Development OfficerWilliam Sokimi spent the monthof October completing his workwith the rural fisheries centresbeing established in SolomonIslands under the EU-fundedRural Fisheries Enterprise Project,Phase III (RFEP III). In the previ-ous months, William hadworked with fishermen in Seghe,Afio and Semeghe. Yandina wasthe last centre to be assisted.

The Yandina fisheries centrehad 11 fishermen who wereissued loans under the RFEP IIIloans scheme. Aside from the 11loan recipients, 22 other fisher-men were trained to crew theirfishing vessels. The crew werefamily members or villageacquaintances selected by theloan recipients. The fishermenhad only recently acquired theirequipment and were in theprocess of building up capital tofund their fishing trips.

The first day was spent address-ing the fishermen as a group todiscuss the type of activities thatwould be undertaken during theproject, and then meeting theindividual fishermen to obtaininformation on their fishingexperiences. A short workshopwas conducted on the secondday to discuss the gear (Figure 1)and the fishing methods thatwould be used during William'stime in Yandina: deep-bottomfishing using the FAO designSamoan handreels; vertical long-lining; and night fishing methodsusing pressure kerosene lamps toattract fish and handline jiggingfor bait and target species. Fromthe third day onwards, severalfishing ground assessment sur-veys were carried out using aportable GPS and echo soundingunit, followed by fishing opera-tions to gauge the potential of thefishing ground and to check thesize of fish in the area.

Since the fishermen were famil-iar with the deep-water fishingmethods and were good boat-handlers, more attention wasgiven to practising quick turn-around fishing methods usingfishing accessories that werepart of their gear. The fishermenwere encouraged to take note ofthe fishing months and thecatch patterns over the months,especially noting the areas inwhich different species werecaught and the sizes of fish in

these areas. Vessel cleanlinessand proper fish handling, pro-cessing and icing methods werepractised.

Sixteen fishing trips were con-ducted in 16 days, resulting in atotal catch of 549 kg of mixedspecies and a gross income ofSBD2959.85. The deep-bottomspecies that were caught weigheda total of 501 kg, with 44 kg offish taken during three verticallongline trial sets and 4 kg of

Figure 1 (top): Display of gear to be used during the workshopFigure 2 (top): Unloading a catch of good size deep-water snappers

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #107 - October/December 2003 3

SPC ACTIVITIES

fish taken during night fishing.Although only a small catchwas recorded for the night fish-ing method (a 4 kg barracuda),about 20 kg scads and 3 kg squidwere also caught and used forbait during the vertical longlinesets and on some of the deep-bottom fishing trips.

During the fishing trips fishcatches began very slowly, with

several of the first trips resultingin poor catches. Later fishingtrips resulted in catches of 80 to100 kg per trip. Several of thefishing trips were hampered byfuel shortage and poor weatherconditions compelling the fisher-men to fish only in the closer,sheltered fishing grounds. Fortu-nately, this situation improvedtowards the end of William'stime in Yandina. The eastern

fishing grounds had an abun-dance of fish but the fish sizeswere small and not marketable.However, bigger sized deep-water snapper (Figure 2) wereeventually found off the south-west and western side of RussellIsland.

Tuna fishery development planning in Marshall Islands

The Government of the MarshallIslands, through the MarshallIslands Marine ResourcesAuthority (MIMRA), has beendeveloping a tuna managementplan for the country in collabo-ration with the Forum FisheriesAgency. MIMRA has alsoembarked on the drafting of adomestic tuna fishery develop-ment strategy or policy. This wasa collaborative project betweenForum Fisheries Agency (FFA),MIMRA and SPC, with FFA tak-ing the lead in drafting the policy.

Fisheries Development AdviserLindsay Chapman travelled tothe Marshall Islands for twoweeks to provide input to this

process. Lindsay specificallylooked at infrastructure, train-ing needs and options, and con-straints to developing domestictuna fishing operations. TheMarshall Islands has substantialinfrastructure, although the cur-rent wharf space is well usedand there is little suitable landavailable for the construction ofa new wharf complex. This is anissue that MIMRA will need tolook at if domestic tuna fishingoperations are to develop.

Suitable domestic vessels fortuna longlining are scarce in theMarshall Islands, as are quali-fied skippers and engineers forfishing vessels. The Fisheries

and Nautical Training Centre inMajuro can run the necessarycourses for both fishing skip-pers and engineers, so there isscope to overcome the skillsshortage in the near future.However, the shortage of suit-able vessels will be an ongoingissue.

To raise awareness of tuna long-lining in the Marshall Islands,MIMRA conducted some tunalongline fishing trials and train-ing with assistance from theSPC Fisheries DevelopmentSection in 2003. This training isexpected to continue in 2004.

Technical assistance provided to Kiribati

Fisheries Development OfficerSteve Beverly has spent eightweeks on Kiritimati (ChristmasIsland) in the Line Islandsgroup of Kiribati conducting alongline fishing workshop andan assessment of Kiritimati'snew small-scale longliner. Earlyin 2003 Central Pacific ProducersLtd (CPPL), a Government ofKiribati enterprise, took deliv-ery of F/V Tekokona III, the latestdiesel powered outrigger canoetype longliner made by BetiraoiBoatbuilding in Tarawa (Figure3). Steve and Fisheries Develop-ment Officer William Sokimi

Figure 3: F/V Tekokona III


had both previously workedwith its predecessor, Tekokona II,in Tarawa (see Fisheries News-letter #88 and #92).

F/V Tekokona III is a 13 m woodoutrigger canoe powered by a 45HP inboard diesel engine. It isequipped with a Seamech long-line reel and a Lindgren-Pitmanline setter. Figure 4 shows theplan view with specificationsand deck layout.

Before any fishing trials tookplace the crew made up a wholenew set of longline gear. Theyrigged 800 branchlines, 40 float-lines, 40 floats, three radio buoys(Figure 5), and loaded 10 km ofnew 3.0 mm monofilament main-line on the longline reel. Theyalso made up several trollinglines with braided tuna leader,2.0 mm monofilament, and stain-less steel wire leaders. Theselines were used with hex headtuna jigs to troll for wahoo. Twotrolling trips were made duringthe workshop and each time 13wahoo were caught on the east-ern side of Kiritimati.

At the time, the market for wahooin Honolulu was reportedly bet-ter than the market for tuna.

Kiritimati is unique in Kiribati inthat there is a direct air link to themarket in Honolulu. Air Kiribaticharters a flight once a week fromAloha Airlines to ferry fly fisher-men to Kiritimati, who spendtheir leisure time catching andreleasing bonefish in the manyponds and lagoons. CPPL takesadvantage of the return flight toship fresh fish to Honolulu. Theymarket all of their fresh fish andfrozen lobster tails through FreshIsland Fish, Inc. in Honolulu.

In December, when the marketimproved for fresh tuna inHonolulu, three longline setswere made using the new long-line gear. It turned out thatTekokona III did not have to ven-ture far from Kiritimati to findgood catches. One set was madeabout eight miles northwest ofKiritimati and the other twowere made just five miles to thewest. A total of 1122 hooks wereset during the three sets in 25-hook baskets using milkfish baitcaught previously in the lagoonand frozen at CPPL. Longlinesetting and hauling techniqueswere mastered by the crew andthey became more proficientwith each subsequent day offishing (Figures 6 and 7). They

also learned some new skills inon-board fish handling and inicing the catch properly.

Mr Kazu Inakoshi of Fresh IslandFish, Inc. accompanied the crewon the second set and got to seefirst-hand how tuna are caughtand handled on a longliner. Beforethe fish were packed for shippingMr Inakoshi graded all of the fishby making a tail cut and examin-ing the flesh for colour, freshnessand fat content. In all, eight yel-lowfin tuna averaging over 50 kgand one bigeye tuna weighing30 kg were exported to Honolulu.The fish received grades rangingfrom 3+ to 2+.

Tekokona III, despite having a fewproblems, was a vast improve-ment over Tekokona II and shoulddo well as a multipurpose fishingvessel, trolling for wahoo whenthe season and market are goodfor wahoo and longline fishingfor yellowfin and bigeye whenthe market is good for fresh tuna.With their newly learned skillsand under the expertise ofTekokona III's captain, TebokoTarau, the crew are on their wayto becoming the leaders in thenewly developing domestic long-line fishery on Kiritimati.

SPC ACTIVITIES

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


SPC ACTIVITIES

Figure 5 (top): Tekokona IIIcrew rigging a radio buoyFigure 6 (middle): Setting the lineFigure 7 (bottom): Hauling the line

Indian Ocean longline workshop

Following an invitation by theDirector of INFOFISH (an inter-governmental organisation formarketing information andtechnical advisory services forfishery products in the AsiaPacific region), William attend-ed the "Workshop for theexploitation of large pelagic fishwith small/medium size long-liners and catch utilisation in theIndian Ocean" in Colombo, SriLanka, 16–19 December 2003, tohelp facilitate the workshop. Healso presented a paper on small-and medium-scale tuna longlin-ing development in the Pacific.

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


SPC ACTIVITIES

cal officers from relevant regionalorganisations, and manufacturersand suppliers of fishing equip-ment. The workshop examinedthe status of tuna resources inthe Indian Ocean region, the sta-tus and possibilities of techno-logical developments, and mar-ket opportunities for catch, withspecial focus on:

• the status of large pelagicresources, with emphasis ontuna;

• expectations and specificneeds of the participatingcountries;

• assessment of existing condi-tions in the countries in rela-tion to the development ofthe new fishery; availabilityand suitability of vessel, gearand equipment; supply ofbait and ice; fish handlingfacilities; credit avenues;marketing infrastructure;and existing fisheries man-agement structures;

• review of past or ongoingexperiences in longliningand tuna fishing, identifyingspecific constraints andproblems experienced;

• evaluation of market oppor-tunities for the large pelagicspecies;

• identification of potentialprivate sector partners forthe programme; and

• a strategy agreed on by allthe beneficiaries from theparticipating countries.

Participants at the workshopwere from Sri Lanka, Maldives,Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran,Thailand, Italy, Malaysia,Seychelles and India (Figure 9).Experience with the develop-ment of fishing using small- tomedium-sized tuna vessels wasshared by William who repre-sented the Western and CentralPacific region, Roland Baldeo for

the Caribbean and SamSimorangkir for Indonesia.

Recommendations by the partici-pants were used to develop anIndian Ocean regional projectdocument aimed at facilitatingthe development of fishing forlarge pelagics (especially tuna)with small- to medium-size long-liners and improved utilisationof the landings. Because of timeconstraints this document is stillbeing formulated and will be for-warded to the workshop partici-pants for comments before beingfinalised.

Figure 9: Workshop participants during one of the presentations

Small-scale deep-water fisheries workshop

A workshop on the manage-ment of small-scale deep-waterfisheries was held in Dunedin,New Zealand, 27–29 November2003. The workshop was a pre-liminary to the larger interna-tional "Deepsea 2003" confer-ence, which was held the fol-lowing week in Queenstown,New Zealand. Fisheries Devel-opment Adviser Lindsay Chapmanpresented a paper on the small-

scale and medium-scale fishingmethods used or trialled in thePacific to target deep-watersnappers. This covered every-thing from handreels to bottomlonglines and trotlines, to trapsto trawls.

The workshop participantscame from many countriesincluding Fiji Islands, Samoa,Papua New Guinea, Cook

Islands, Tonga, Australia, NewZealand, Peru, Indonesia,Philippines, East Timor, Hawaii,Azores and Malta. Each partici-pant presented the current stateof deep-water fisheries in theircountry, and it was interestingto note the different stages ofdevelopment and the basicgears that were being used inmost countries.


SPC ACTIVITIES

The main issues raised were inregard to information and datacollection, resource assessmentand estimation of resourceabundance, resource manage-

ment and the provision of har-vesting advice, regulations,enforcement and compliance,governance, biodiversity andbycatch, and quality control of

product, and these were com-piled into a paper presented atthe main conference the follow-ing week.

Assistance provided to Niue

In early December, Lindsaywent to Niue to work with theFisheries Department to identi-fy the infrastructure needs andgovernment processes to be fol-lowed to permit a foreign tunalongliner to commence fishingto a new processing facility onthe island. The processing facili-ty was under construction whileLindsay was in Niue (Figure10), with an expected comple-tion date of April to May 2004.

Niue has no harbour and only aconcrete wharf from which tobase fishing operations. Vessselswill need access to fuel, freshwater and electricity at thewharf. A crane will be needed tolift the fish off the vessels, andthe fish will be trucked to theprocessing facility several kilo-metres away. Once the vesselshave unloaded, they will needto move away from the wharf,so moorings will need to beinstalled for these vessels to tieup to. This will prevent damageto the reef from the vesselsusing their own anchor gear.

Under current arrangements, afishing vessel would need tohave contact with eight differ-ent government departments(fisheries, quarantine, police/immigration, customs, health,public works, telecom and envi-ronment) to be licensed andcleared to fish and land productin Niue.

The current processes in eachgovernment department wereexamined and suggestions onways to streamline these werepresented to the Minister forFisheries.

Figure 10: Construction ofthe new processing facility

on Niue

Update on FAD research projects

No FADs (fish aggregatingdevices) were reported missingover the fourth quarter of 2003:seven of the initial 15 FADswere still on station as of 1January 2004. This means theFADs off Niue have been in the

water from 22 to 23 months,while the FADs off the CookIslands have been on station for20 to 21 months.

More fishermen in Niue andRarotonga have been complet-

Note from the Editor

Niue was badly hit by cyclone Heta in early January 2004, andmost if not all of the project FADs (four initial and one

replacement) may have been lost as a result of the extremeweather conditions experienced during the cyclone.

ing catch and effort logbooks. Itis expected that the data will beanalysed in early 2004, and theresults sent back to the fisher-men.


COASTAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT SECTION

Niue community-based coastal fisheries management

SPC ACTIVITIES

SPC's Coastal Fisheries Manage-ment Section was requested bythe Fisheries Department ofNiue to conduct an assessmentof the possibilities for initiatingcommunity-based coastal fish-eries management. Initialgroundwork done on coastalfisheries management by theInternational Waters Programmeof SPREP in 2001 provided afoundation for the SPC model.Consultations with the FisheriesDepartment in Niue in 2003highlighted concerns about thedeclining state of the inshorefishery and the need for com-munity-based management.

Fishing activity in Niue

Niue sits on an uplifted coralatoll, with an elevated ruggedcoastline. The narrow fringingreef that surrounds the island isaccessible and is more utilisedfor fishing activities on thewestern coast. The eastern coastexperiences huge waves andswells, limiting fishing to thefew spells of calm weatherwhen fishing is feasible duringthe year. As a result of this, fish-ers from the eastern villages fishregularly within the fishingareas of the western villages.

Fishing is a mainstay of people'slifestyle, with women fishingwithin the narrow reef areasand men fishing from canoes,dinghies and powered boatsbeyond the immediate reefareas. Women's fishing activi-ties involve gleaning for shell-fish, collection of crabs andother seafood, and using rodsand line to catch reef fish alongthe reef edges. Men fish eitherfrom powered boats or fromcanoes, and mainly troll forpelagic fish, especially themigratory tuna species. Theinstallation of FADs has assistedmen's fishing activities beyondthe immediate reef areas.

Commercial fishing is mainlysmall-business operations byfishermen with boats, who fishand sell to shops, the restaurantsand hotels on the islands. Theindustrial fishing sector has notreally been developed. The EEZarea is currently fished by for-eign fishing vessels (NewZealand and Taiwan being themajor distant water fishingnations).

A fish-processing factory is cur-rently under construction inNiue and aims to sell frozentuna fish to New Zealand.

Customary management

Most natural resources areowned through customarytenure. Land is family owned,and cannot be bought or soldbut can be leased on long-termagreements. Fisheries resourcesare under general governmentjurisdiction, but there existunwritten rules of jurisdictionand use of the fisheries resourcethat people have utilised forgenerations. The coastal areadirectly beyond a village is con-sidered as "belonging to that vil-lage" and, under traditionalresource use understandings,people seek permission fromthe village elders or the villagecouncil to fish in village fishingareas. Such agreements by localvillages for access to local fish-ing areas are not specifiedunder any of the existing regu-lations. Management initiativeswould impinge on the village'sauthority and areas of jurisdic-tion, so there is need to defineboundaries for each village fish-ery, and draw up conditions forfishing access.

At a discussion with womenfrom a village on the westerncoast, concerns were expressedabout fishing activities by"other races". In Niue there are

migrant Tuvalu communitieswho were brought in under agovernment scheme to assist inresettling the island. Thereremain some differences andminor tensions between localsand the Tuvaluans on the use ofmarine resources, especiallyconcerning respect for custom-ary checks that are in place. Ifnot addressed at this stage, thiscould be an area of conflict inthe future for villages that havethe more accessible andfavourable fishing areas.

Village councils

Most of the work proposedunder this plan will depend sig-nificantly on the support of thepeople and the village councils.The village councils are respon-sible for environmental anddevelopment issues and pro-vide the link between the gov-ernment and the people.

The current powers of the vil-lage councils allow them tomake decisions on resource useand management. For example,when the striped goatfishkalowama is in season fromDecember through to February,village councils can impose banson swimming in certain areaswhen the fish is in their locality.Bans can be imposed on otherspecies or fishing methods. Bansare also placed on certain reef orfishing areas following thedeath of a prominent person.The imposition of a ban is usual-ly announced on the radio forthe general public's benefit.Thus, there already exist struc-tures and a governance systemto enhance community-basedmanagement initiatives.

Existing legislation

Niue's Domestic Fisheries Act1995 and the Domestic FishingRegulations cover most of the


SPC ACTIVITIES

areas of the inshore fishery. Theoffshore fishery is covered bythe Territorial Sea and ExclusiveEconomic Zone Act. Local areafisheries use and managementis generally regulated throughby-laws under the Niue VillageCouncils Ordinance of 1967.Village councils are allowed tomake by-laws under this ordi-nance "for the protection of fishresources" specific to each vil-lage. These by-laws can be spec-ified to cover quotas, licensing,fishing technology, prohibi-tions, and other such communi-ty-specific regulations.

Most of the existing regulationsare known to the people, but

enforcement of them andawareness education may beneeded if they are to be adaptedinto village management plansas village by-laws.

Application of the model

The Fisheries Department issmall, with limited capacity,and there is little scope for hir-ing extra staff to assist in com-munity management work. Thepeople who use and own theresources would be the bestpeople to be involved in man-agement of their resources.From discussions and consulta-tions, it was apparent that therewas a general consensus on the

need for community basedmanagement initiatives. Themanagement model developedby SPC provides a guidelinethat can be adapted and modi-fied to suit the different localcontexts in Niue.

Specific village-based discus-sions and further assessmentswill need to be conducted onthe factors contributing to thedecline of the inshore fishery, inorder to formulate the appropri-ate by-laws to protect theresources and to plan furthermonitoring. As well, there is aneed to educate young peopleon conservation and the valueof resources.

Marshall Islands gender and social study

The Coastal Fisheries Manage-ment Section conducted a genderand social study from 29November to 14 December 2003,as a component of the tuna devel-opment and management studybeing done for the NationalFisheries Authority in theRepublic of the Marshall Islands.

Consultations were held withpeople from both the public andprivate sectors to gauge generalviews on the development ofthe tuna industry. There werealso meetings with NGOs andchurch groups to get their views

on the industry and its socialimplications or benefits.

Visits and discussions coveredtrans-shipment and ships inport, the post-harvest sector andconditions of workers in the fishprocessing factories. There were

also visits to night spots fre-quented by crew members of theboats and visits to motels andaccommodation where crewmembers are usually accommo-dated while waiting for theirflight out of the country or whenarriving in the country.

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


SPC ACTIVITIES

Although the problems of sexworkers were present, as inother areas where shipping ves-sels regularly call into port,there was a general complacentattitude towards the issuesassociated with it. The policeexpressed concern that there are

no specific way of monitoringthese activities and that thereare still loopholes in mecha-nisms currently in place toaddress these issues.

While in the Marshalls for thiswork, SPC staff also visited pearl

and clam hatcheries on Majuroand adjacent islands, and alsomet with the Japanese Interna-tional Cooperation Agency (JICA)to discuss some planned work oncommunity-based managementin an outer island.

AQUACULTURE SECTION

Tilapia and freshwater prawn manuals

The Institute of MarineResources at the University ofthe South Pacific have collabo-rated with SPC to write manu-als on culture of tilapia andfreshwater prawns.

The manuals provide simpleguidelines on hatchery opera-

tion, pond construction, pondpreparation, feeding, fertilisa-tion and pond management forsmall-scale tilapia and prawnpond culture. Small-scale tilapiaand prawn farmers in thePacific, especially Fiji Islands,Samoa, American Samoa, CookIslands and Vanuatu, will bene-

fit from these manuals toincrease tilapia and prawn pro-duction and achieve higher eco-nomic returns.

The manuals will be pilot-testedin a training programme sched-uled for April–May 2004 beforebeing published.

Rural Fijian women learn hatchery operations

Lack of technical training hasbeen cited as a major reason forthe low outputs of fish ponds inFiji Islands. This lack has beenobserved at all levels—fromfarmers through to extensionagents working in the field.

A collaborative group made ofUniversity of the South Pacific,SPC, Fiji Fisheries Departmentand Fiji Ministry of Women,with funding from the Canada-South Pacific Ocean Develop-ment Program II, has decided tosupport groups of women inrural areas of Bua Province inFiji interested in learning tofarm tilapia more effectively intheir existing village ponds.

Raising fish will provide animportant source of protein tothe local community, as well asgenerate income which couldthen be used to fund villageprojects. A project in DritiVillage has been in operationsince late 1980s but productionhas been erratic due to lack oftilapia fingerlings and skills inmanaging fish ponds.

The support and assistance usesa two-pronged approach: pro-viding the women with neces-sary start-up materials for semi-intensive culture (fish seeds,feed and fertiliser) while pro-viding training to teach womenhow to manage the aquacultureactivities on their own.

Activities conducted so farinclude pond improvement workusing a excavator, constructionof a dam and piping, delivery oftilapia and prawn seeds as wellas tilapia brood fish, provision offish feed, a one-week workshopon fish farming for 35 women ofDriti village, and provision offertilisers, buckets, scales, scoopnets and seining nets.

In 2004, some of the women willtour the Naduruloulou tilapiahatchery near Nausori toobserve hatchery operationsand learn live fish marketingoperations. They will also learnto keep records and financialaccounts. Fisheries staff willmake regular visits to discussproblems and progress.

The only difficulty encounteredso far is that some of the pondsdo not have properly construct-ed inlets and outlets, whichcould be a problem duringrainy seasons. Repairing inletsand outlets is difficult whenwater is in the pond, and mustbe done during harvestingwhen pond is dry. In addition,the construction of a holdingtank (cement tank) has not beencompleted due insufficientmaterials. The construction ofthis tank is important, as tilapiahave to be kept live for 6–12hours before marketing.

The latest news received is thattilapia have been sold for a totalvalue of FJD 1000 from one ofthe five ponds. Now that thefish have been harvested fromthis pond, Fisheries OfficerMaleli Dawai plans to repair theinlets and outlets for this pond.He will follow through withrepairs to other ponds as theyare harvested.


SPC ACTIVITIES

Tilapia fingerling production in Vanuatu, Samoa and Fiji

In Vanuatu, a central issue fortilapia farming development isthat there is no tilapia hatchery.For Samoa, it is a shortage of fin-gerling supply. In Fiji Islands,farmers in remote places havereported difficulties in obtainingfingerlings from the only source,the Naduruloulou governmenthatchery. The hatchery is havingdifficulties due to increase indemand for fingerlings by exist-

ing and new commercial farm-ers. The few private producersof fingerlings in Fiji Islands aregenerally only geared to supplytheir own large-scale commer-cial operations.

SPC will provide technical andfinancial assistance so that theagencies involved can producetilapia fingerlings to stock theirown fish ponds and supply any

surplus to other farms. SPC willgive technical instruction inhow to operate a tilapia hatch-ery using floating holding netscalled hapas, will provide finan-cial support for essential equip-ment (hapa and related materi-als) and will carry out furthertechnical training. More news inthe next issue of Fisheries News-letter.

Vanuatu study on tilapia and prawns

The SPC Aquaculture Officerhas completed a feasibilitystudy on farming of tilapia andprawns in Vanuatu, with fund-ing support from FAO and SPC.During the field visits the

Aquaculture Officer assisted theVanuatu Fisheries Departmentwith the construction of twomedium sized ponds to use fordemonstration grow-out trialsof tilapia and freshwater

prawns. There are some excitingdevelopments planned forVanuatu in 2004. More news inthe next issue of the FisheriesNewsletter.

TRAINING SECTION

Farming seaweed in Kiribati: a practical guide for seaweed farmers

A large and growing globaldemand for carrageenan, theextract from kappaphycus sea-weed (also known by the tradenames cottonii and euchema)gives high hopes in aquaculture.

The need for regional trainingand extension services to sup-port the industry expansion andtransfer of technology stimulat-ed, both at SPC and in Kiribati,the idea of a practical guide.

In Kiribati, Antoine Teitelbaum(a Technical Adviser for OceanicDéveloppement) and staff fromthe Atoll Seaweed Companydesigned and compiled a car-toon-type booklet illustrated onfront page of this issue. SPC stafffrom the Fisheries TrainingSection and the AquacultureSection provided assistance toproduce this guide. The colourfulillustrations were done for SPCby Sebatien Lesire in Noumea.

Two versions (I-Kiribati andEnglish) have been published bySPC with the financial support ofthe EU. From this manual whichwas originally intended for localuse in the Kiribati language, SPCextended the intiative to theregional level. Since then, SPChas been requested by PNG toassist with the publication of asimilar booklet in local Pidginlanguage.

Demonstration freshwatershrimp ponds in Vanuatu


SPC ACTIVITIES

Expert consultation on sea safety in small fishing vessels

Fishing at sea is probably themost dangerous of occupations.Data from those countries thatcollect accurate accounts showthat occupational fatalities intheir fishing industries farexceed their national average.Typical fatality rates for fisher-men are as follows:

United States: 160 fatalities per100,000 (25 to 30 times the nation-al average)Australia: 143 fatalities per100,000 (8/100,000 is the nationalaverage)UK: 77 fatalities per 100,000(23/100,000 in next highest catego-ry—mining)

In some Pacific Island countriesthe accident rate for fishers isamong the highest in the world.Over the last four decades vari-ous UN agencies, regionalorganisations, donor agenciesand others have made efforts toaddress the situation. Therehave been several safety pro-grammes and initiatives duringthe past decade.

In 1991 FAO undertook aregional survey of sea safetyissues in 16 countries in thePacific. That work concludedthat “education through public-ity campaigns, repeated andreinforced over a long period oftime and backed up by a goodsupply of equipment and spareparts, and training seems tooffer the best chance forimproving safety at sea for arti-sanal fishers”.

This survey was followed byinitiatives of SPC’s FisheriesTraining Section, which devel-oped programmes in the areasof awareness raising and statu-tory training relating to smallvessel sea safety. AlthoughSPC’s Regional Maritime Pro-gramme is primarily focused onshipping legislation and provi-sion of maritime training, it alsohas some fisheries-oriented sea

safety activities. The SPC Fish-eries Development Section alsopromotes sea safety as part ofthe work assignments of itsFisheries Development Officers.

In a survey in early 2003, FAOfound that the majority of lossof life in Pacific Islands is asso-ciated with small fishingboats—which have received theleast attention in terms of legis-lation, construction standards,enforcement strategies, regionaldiscussions, training on properuse, and other schemes toimprove safety.

Issues include:

• appropriate sea safety regu-lations for small fishing ves-sels;

• improvements in the SPCsea safety awareness pro-gramme;

• mechanisms for generationof political will to improvesea safety;

• improving the safety offibreglass skiffs;

• enhancing systems of seaaccident data recording;

• considerations on improvingenforcement of sea safetyregulations in both urbanareas and remote locations;and

• achieving an appropriatebalance between legislationand awareness for improv-ing sea safety

These issues, although cruciallyimportant in improving seasafety, have no easy solution. Asa result, it was decided to con-vene an FAO/SPC RegionalExpert Consultation on SeaSafety in Small Fishing Vessels.

The purpose of the ExpertConsultation was two-fold:

1. To address and progress fourimportant issues in fisheriessea safety from the perspec-tives of several relevant dis-ciplines. These issues were:

• appropriate sea safety regula-tions for small fishing vessels;

• improvements in sea safetyawareness programmes;

• improving the safety of fibre-glass skiffs through construc-tion standards;

• enhancing systems of sea acci-dent data recording.

2. To formulate plans for futuresea safety programmes.

Artisanal fishers, legal special-ists, boat-builders, and govern-ment fisheries and maritimeworkers were the experts whogathered in Suva, Fiji Islands, 9-13 February 2004, to compilelessons learned from their ownexperiences. Their report will becirculated ahead of the nextmeeting of the Association ofPacific Islands Maritime Train-ing Institutions and MaritimeAuthorities (APIMTIMA) inMay, at which countries willreport on how they plan to devel-op and implement national seasafety strategies for small fishingvessels.

Later, in July, the Heads ofFisheries meeting will also con-sider the consultation outcomesand consider whether to formu-late a request to the donor com-munity for supporting nationalsea safety initiatives.

The expert consultation recom-mended that improved smallboat safety will best be achievedthrough the development andimplementation of coordinatednational strategies, which shouldinclude:

1. Provision of support to aconsultative national stake-


SPC ACTIVITIES

holder framework (e.g.national sea safety coordin-ating group) and motivatedpeople or "drivers".

2. Generation of commitmentand political will at a nation-al level to address small ves-sel sea safety.

3. Increasing the effectivenessof ongoing sea safety aware-ness programmes, with spe-cial emphasis on the develop-ment of channels for the effi-cient distribution of appro-priate and updated materials,and evaluation of impact.

4. Development, enactmentand implementation ofappropriate and sensitivelegislation for small fishingvessels, including the car-riage of safety equipment,training and certificationrequirements, and construc-tion standards.

5. Determination of minimummandatory requirements for

each class of small fishingvessel, with due regard tooperational circumstances.

6. Full use of existing institu-tions and community-basedstructures for increasingcompliance, data collection,training and awareness, tak-ing into account the time andresources required.

7. Development and phasedimplementation of appropri-ate enforcement proceduresto ensure compliance.

8. Development and mainte-nance of national sea acci-dent databases.

9. Support for the establishmentof an SPC special interestgroup on fishing vessel safetyat sea, with an associatednewsletter and the develop-ment of additional sea safetyawareness resource materials.

10. Investigation of the advan-tages and disadvantages of

the establishment of smallfishing vessel registrationand inspection schemes.

11. Formal and informal train-ing directed at fishers, fish-ing communities, govern-ment staff, NGOs, the pri-vate sector and other stake-holders.

12. Consideration of the inclu-sion of sea safety as an inte-gral part of fisheries man-agement and developmentinitiatives.

This is far too important a mat-ter to let die on the vine. Thefirst steps have been taken, andnow it is up to all of us to gener-ate the necessary interest,awareness, community supportand political awareness to makeit happen. SPC will keep read-ers up-to-date on future devel-opments in subsequent issues ofFisheries Newsletter.

REEF FISHERIES OBSERVATORY

Invitation to a scientific roundtable

A scientific roundtable will beheld to mark the completion ofthe DemEcoFish project, theMacArthur Foundation fundedproject implemented by theSecretariat of the Pacific Com-munity in cooperation with theInstitut de recherche pour ledéveloppement, which finishesin mid 2004. The workshop willbe held at SPC's headquarters inNoumea, New Caledonia, 2–4June 2004.

The goal of DemEcoFish was tofind ways of assessing how reeffishery resources interact withhuman population growth andfish harvesting. The roundtablewill give participants an oppor-tunity to summarise majorexperiences of the project along-

side with experience from else-where in the Pacific.

The DemEcoFish major objec-tives were to select methods andapproaches to reliably, effectivelyand quickly assess the status ofthe marine resource, using socio-economic survey data as indica-tors or proxies. Identification ofsuitable socio-economic indica-tors or proxies required jointanalysis of resource and socio-economic data. Selection of bestmethods and approaches demand-ed scientifically based compari-son of a range of options .

Taking the overall framework,the objectives and experiencesinto account, the roundtablewill have the following aims:

a) Present results of DemEcoFishto the wider regional andinternational audience fordiscussion and consideration.

b) Use the DemEcoFish outputas an opportunity to assessstate-of–the-art in amalga-mating socio-economic andecological data in pursuit ofa means to identify status ofcoastal resources and theirvalue for the livelihood ofcoastal people in the SouthPacific.

c) Assess the value of suchefforts in formulating effec-tive management strategiesaiming at sustainable andequitable use of marineresources.


SPC ACTIVITIES

d) Determine and prioritisegaps to be addressed in thefuture.

The roundtable meeting willalso provide an opportunity toidentify future needs andopportunities for workingtogether. Some questions to beconsidered will be:

• Socio-economic data—whatis it, what is needed andwhy?

• Marine resources—what toconsider and why?

• Methodological approachesand techniques used—whichworks best under which con-ditions and for what purpos-es?

• What information is avail-able for the South Pacificregion—is it comparative?

• Multidisciplinary and inter-disciplinary approaches—how to make ecological andsocio-economic data comple-mentary?

Persons interested in participat-ing in the roundtable arerequested to submit their appli-cation including name, title,institution/organisation, by 20February 2004 together with (a)the title and an informativesummary of their proposed con-tribution to the meeting, and (b)a short description of frame-work and background of theirwork and how this fits into theobjective of this roundtable, to

Dr Mecki Kronen, CommunityFisheries Scientist, PROCFish/C,Reef Fisheries Observaytory,email [email protected]. Furtherinformation is available fromthe same address.

Applicants should also indicatewhether or not funding isrequired. Funding will be avail-able under the MacArthurFoundation budget to enableparticipation of a selected num-ber of professionals from theregion. It is stipulated that pro-fessional staff from donor fund-ed projects and programmeswill provide their own funding.Observers are welcome on theirown funding.

Socio-economic survey, talking to reef fishers


COUNCIL VOTES FOR A MODEL SWORDFISH FISHERY

NEWS FROM IN AND AROUND THE REGION

The Western Pacific FisheryManagement Council (Council)took action on long-term man-agement of the Hawaii-basedlongline fishery and votedunanimously in favor of imple-menting a model swordfishfishery. The establishment of themodel fishery is an importantmilestone for the Council. Theswordfish component of thelongline fishery was closed bythe National Marine FisheriesService in 2001 because of itsimpacts to protected sea turtles.Restoring swordfish fishing willbenefit Hawaii's fishing indus-try and will serve as an exam-ple, to the much larger foreignlongline fleets in the Pacific, thatit is possible to have a viablelongline fishery that has mini-mal impacts on sea turtles.

The model fishery will consistof a total of 2,120 swordfish setsper year, or about half of theaverage annual number of long-line sets targeting swordfishprior to the 2001 ban. There willalso be a "hard limit" on thenumber of sea turtles that canbe taken by the fishery. Shouldthis limit be reached, the fisherywould close for the remainderof the year. Instead of J-hooksand squid bait, the fisherywould be required to use large(18/0) circle hooks and macker-el-type bait. These have beenshown to reduce captures of

leatherback and loggerhead tur-tles in the Atlantic by 67% and92% respectively.

The Council has also undertak-en a range of turtle conservationprojects at turtle nesting beachesand foraging grounds in part-nership with conservation organ-isations in Central America,Indonesia, Papua New Guineaand Japan. These measures willassist in reversing the decline ofthese sea turtle populations,which would offset any futurenegative impacts from the long-line fishery. Other requirementsof the new fishery include theuse of approved dehookingdevices to safely release sea tur-tles, and provisions governingshallow-setting above 23°N toavoid any potential interactionswith protected seabirds.

The closure of the swordfish ele-ment of the Hawaii longlinefishery stems from concernsabout the number of turtlestaken in the Hawaii-based fish-ery, particularly leatherbackand loggerhead turtles. Someestimates have suggested thatover 20,000 turtles are caughtannually in Pacific longline fish-eries, with perhaps half thisnumber being killed. Prior to2001, the Hawaii fishery wasestimated to annually catch 113leatherback and 418 loggerheadturtles. A biological opinion

published by the NationalMarine Fisheries Service in 2001concluded that the Hawaii long-line fishery represented a seri-ous risk to leatherbacks and log-gerheads. This opinion obligedthe Council to introduce a seriesof measures, chief of which wasa complete ban on shallow setswordfish longline fishing inthe North Pacific by the Hawaiibased fleet. While this and othermeasures reduced accidentalturtle catches significantly, ithad a severe negative impact onthe Hawaii fishing industrywhich, according to Jim Cook ofHawaii Longline Associationand Pacific Ocean Producers,has cost Hawaii about USD 100million and affected as many as500 jobs over the past two years.Cook also expressed optimismabout the new technology andthe opportunity it represents forthe Hawaii longline industry todemonstrate to other Pacificfleets that it is possible to fishresponsibly for swordfish andnot pose a threat to turtles.

For more information, contactthe Council at:

[email protected]://www.wpcouncil.org

(Source: Council Press Release,26 November 2003)

© SPCLes Hata


NEWS FROM IN AND AROUND THE REGION

FAO is implementing a projecton the management of worldtuna fishing capacity. As part ofthis project, a study was under-taken of non-industrial tunafisheries to describe what thesefisheries are, where they occur,and their relative importance.

Rationale for the study

Although fishing capacity spe-cialists generally feel that itwould be impractical to esti-mate the fishing capacity for amultitude of types of non-industrial tuna fishing, it is nec-essary to know at least the mag-nitude of non-industrial tunacatches in order to evaluate howimportant to the success of theoverall capacity study it wouldbe to not have the non-industri-al capacity estimates.

Tuna species covered

This study was concernedexclusively with the "principalmarket species of tuna": skip-jack tuna, yellowfin tuna, big-eye tuna, albacore, northernbluefin tuna, and southernbluefin tuna.

Categories of tuna fishingused in the report

Industrial-scale: Mechanised purseseining, conventional freezerlonglining, distant water fishing,and most baitboat fishing.

Very small-scale: Includes allhandlining, trolling from openvessels, rod/reel fishing, sport-fishing, all kinds of tuna fishing

from vessels which areundecked, unpowered, or useoutboard engines or sail andmostly "unclassified surfacegear".

Medium-scale: Operations of alarger scale that fall between thedefinitions of industrial-scale andvery small-scale given above.

Major output of the study

Estimates of the catches of tunaby non-industrial fishing weremade in 148 countries and acloser examination was under-taken of tuna fishing in thePhilippines and Indonesia.

Relative importance

The results of this study showthe amount of tuna caught inthe world by very small-scalefisheries is about 320,200 mt, orabout 8% of the global catch. Itwas not possible to make a sim-ilar compilation for the medi-um-scale tuna fisheries—inmost regions, the readily avail-able information did not allowcertain gear types to be brokendown into industrial and non-industrial components.

Further thoughts onclassifying tuna fishing

With the benefit of hindsight, itappears that the best option for a"clear division of scales" in thefuture would be to use a vessellength of 24 m to establish a divi-sion between the industrial andnon-industrial components, whileusing gear/vessel-based features

to define very small-scale andmedium-scale as subsets of non-industrial tuna fishing. Such ascheme would, however, requirecatch data partitioned by vesselslarger/smaller than 24 m, some-thing that was not available forthe present study.

Improving the estimates ofcatch by non-industrial tunafishing

The accuracy of the informationin the appendix tables could begreatly improved by scrutiny byspecialists with knowledge ofnational tuna fisheries. It is espe-cially important for those expertsto resolve the uncertainty associ-ated with whether certain cate-gories belong to medium-scale orto industrial-scale fisheries.

(Source: based on the work of BobGillett, Gillett, Preston and Associates,FAO, January 2004)

GLOBAL STUDY OF NON-INDUSTRIAL TUNA FISHERIES


WHERE’D YOU GETTHAT FISH?

Jeb Wyman(This article originally appeared inPacific Fishing, October 2003—reprinted with permission)

Starting in 2005, all seafood enter-ing Europe will require documenta-tion from boat to retailer. Will yoube ready?

Rocked by outbreaks of madcow disease and dioxin in chick-en feed, and keen to supportglobal stewardship of marineresources, a health- and eco-conscious Europe is taking stepsto ensure the integrity and ethi-cal nature of its food supply. ByJanuary 1, 2005, all fish andshellfish entering the EuropeanUnion must be fully traceable,from the waters out of whichthey are landed to the restau-rants or retailers that sell them,states Article 18 of Europe'sGeneral Food Law. The harvest,production, and distributionhistory of every seafood item—from cans of tuna to breaded fil-lets—must be documented andimmediately accessible at everypoint in the chain.

"There are increasing demandsfor detailed information on thenature and origin of food prod-ucts," says Tracefish, the consor-tium of 24 entities within gov-ernment, industry and researchsectors that developed theguidelines for Europe's pro-gram. "Traceability is becominga legal and commercial necessi-ty."

The U.S. Food and DrugAdministration and the Depart-ment of Agriculture remain offi-cially opposed to full traceabili-ty, arguing that existing regula-tions adequately guarantee foodsafety. Yet Europe's declarationto enforce traceability require-ments promises to change theway U.S. fisheries operate.

While the Pacific fisheries havelong regarded Japan as the fore-most destination for their catch,Europe has become an increas-ingly vital market. Considerthat, in 2002, Germany import-ed 41,371 metric tons of pollockfillets; France, over 8,300 mt ofsurimi; Britain, 620,000 cases(48-tall) of canned sockeye;Spain, 3,429 mt of albacore; andGreece, 2.2 million kilos ofCalifornia squid—among manyother examples.

Europe's new regulation willrequire full traceability of allseafood not only destined forEurope but also trans-shippedthrough Europe to places likeNorth Africa and the Baltic. AllU.S. seafood exported to a pro-cessing country such as Chinathat eventually finds its way toEurope must be traceable to itsU.S. origins. Moreover, Japanappears to be embracing thetraceability concept as well, andhas instituted a traceability pro-gram for its beef industry.Despite opposition by the U.S.government, segments of indus-try and influential organiza-tions such as the NationalFisheries Institute, traceabilitywill almost certainly becomepart and parcel of the U.S. fish-ing industry. "It will definitelyhave a major impact on theworld's fisheries," says ChrisBjerregaard, the U.S. managerfor Scanvaegt, which is offeringtechnical solutions to complywith the new E.U. mandate.

The key to seafood traceabilityis the marriage of barcode tech-nology from the 1970s withdatabases and the Internet. Aseafood producer will create a

unique barcode ID for eachindividual seafood product,affixing it to a box—or, in thecase of whole frozen fish, possi-bly a fin. The producer recordsand stores a series of productspecifications accessed via thebarcode ID, before shipping itoff. From that point on, everyfreight forwarder, distributor,wholesaler, caterer—any entitythat handles the product—willscan the product, recording andstoring data on its handling ofthe product. In concept, all thiscrucial information is stored indatabases which can beaccessed by authorities.

What to record

What information would fisher-men and processors need toprovide? In the case of wholefrozen albacore shipped directlyto Spain, for example, theTracefish process is fairlystraightforward. Every box offish would receive a barcode IDthat was keyed to these manda-tory data:

• Name and address of the com-pany that owns the vessel;

• Nationality, name and regis-tration number of vessel;

• Seafood unit (single fish,box, block etc.), net weight,and species;

• Where caught;

• Product form (fillet, H&G,etc.), condition (live, chilled,frozen);

• Date of capture or sailing;

• Name and address of thenext business to receive theproduct;

• Location and date of thattransaction.

What about a tenderload ofsalmon, where dozens of gill-netters offload their hauls into a


WHERE’D YOU GET THAT FISH?

common tank? How about abox of breaded halibut fillets,which might have come fromany of a hundred longliners?Thankfully, the current Tracefishscheme “does not demand per-fect traceability”. Instead it rec-ognizes that batches of fish getmixed up all the time duringreprocessing operations, auc-tions, and tendering. In thesesituations, any business doingthe mixing records the IDs ofthe fish that constitute a mixedlot. They also create a new IDfor the new product. That prod-uct—cases of canned sockeye,perhaps—is then traceable backto "a finite number of vessels orfarms".

Tracefish has also identifiedother data it considers advisableor optional to include in eachproduct's documentation: atemperature log during storage;fishing gear type; trawl or soaktime; refrigeration method; andany food safety schemesemployed aboard the vessel.

Perhaps more importantly,Tracefish recommends alsorecording of "the names of sus-tainable fishing schemes bywhich the fishery is certified,and specific environmental ben-efits of fishing gear" such as dol-phin-friendly seine panels. Theprime example of sustainablecertification is, of course, theMarine Stewardship Council,which was founded by Unileverand World Wildlife Fund in1997. While Brussels is baringits regulatory teeth on traceabil-ity, gargantuan market playerslike Unilever may be the reasonwhy U.S. seafood producerswill ultimately embrace the con-cept. Unilever has declared itsintent to buy fish only fromdemonstrably sustainable stocksby 2005 and is "working withsuppliers to meet this target". Ifyou're going to use Unilever asa conduit to your markets, beready to flash your products'sustain ability credentials. AndTracefish is jockeying to become

the official vehicle for provingthe eco-friendly pedigree ofyour fish.

Food businesses are often waryof releasing information abouttheir ingredients and processes.Here the Tracefish scheme runsheadlong into serious propri-etary issues.

In the event of a food safetyincident, processors must beable to produce a full list ofingredients used in their prod-ucts. But companies that haveinvested a king's ransom intoR&D to develop their salmonburger or special sauce will beloath to release those secrets—possibly to a foreign authori-ty—without good reasons tocompel them and solid guaran-tees that the corporate files aren'tleaked to their competitors.

Tracefish is encouraging indus-try members to make their infor-mation "visible" at the variouspoints along the chain, so awholesaler can research stockhe's purchasing, or so a con-sumer can learn the origins of apound of swordfish. Again, thescheme comes perilously closeto violating the privacy of infor-mation. No Tracefish mecha-nism appears to protect produc-ers from the risk that "links inthe chain" above them mightshare their information. Youmight not want competitors toknow where your reprocessingoperations are located, for exam-ple, or what freight routes youuse. A brand's success and repu-tation is on the line, yet freightforwarders, distributors, whole-salers, traders, and others don'thave the same investment in thebrand that owners want to pro-tect. At some level, Tracefishopens up the traditional wilder-ness between producer and cus-tomer. That can be good for foodsafety, but it can make seafoodbusinesses vulnerable.

The U.S. fishing industry is infact already adopting traceabili-

ty concepts, both government-and industry-driven. The U.S.Bio-terrorism and Response Actof 2002, for example, requires allforeign and domestic food facil-ities supplying food to the U.S.to register themselves. The lawalso mandates "one step for-ward, one step back" documen-tation of all food products:every link in the chain mustrecord who they got the foodfrom and who they're selling itto. It's tantamount to Tracefish'straceability, but without obliga-tory, systematized barcode IDson every product.

In fact, barcodes are fast enter-ing the seafood business, butthat's due to industry, not gov-ernment, demands. While Uni-lever is imposing traceability onsuppliers so it can market sus-tainable seafood, other largecompanies like SYSCO, the lead-ing U.S. food service provider,are imposing barcodes to sim-plify inventory management."We now put barcode labels onpollock boxes," says an execu-tive in the Bering Sea pollockindustry. "Some U.S. distribu-tors wanted the barcode. They'redealing with huge numbers ofproducts, and they wanted toread cartons as they went throughconveyor lines." They said, "Wehave thousands of productsgoing through our buildings. Ifyou want to sell to us, you gottahave it."

Tools for traceability

A host of software companiesnow offer tools to the seafoodindustry so they can manageinventory, generate barcodes,and account for traceability.Wisefish, with offices inNorway, Iceland, Canada, andEngland, has been in theseafood software business for 15years, and is adapting its prod-ucts for full compatibility withthe Tracefish scheme; the com-pany's product FarmControl isdesigned for aquaculture com-pliance with the pending E.U.


WHERE’D YOU GET THAT FISH?

rules. Both Astra InformationSystems and Disc Design &Data, whose signature productis Fishmonger software, tailortheir products to the seafoodindustry, coordinating digitalweighing systems, inventoryand shipping information, bar-code labeling, and other opera-tions. C-Trace, based inScotland, has created Trace 2000,a shipboard traceability pro-gram. Using Trace 2000, a vesselsends its data to shore fullyencrypted; via an Internet portalcalled Webtrace, the home officeand potential customers canaccess real-time traceabilityinformation. Net-Yield, whichbegan in 1987 as a softwareeffort for an East Coast seafoodproducer, now claims 2,200users in 270 seafood companies,including Ocean Beauty. Withadvances in hand-held wirelesscomputers and portable print-ers, Net-Yield says its Net-Yield2003 system facilitates on-sitebar code scanning and printing"for even small companies".

Scanvaegt not only offers soft-ware systems, but also weigh-ing and processing equipmentthat integrates with their soft-ware. The company's principalsoftware product, ScanFish, has

been on the market since 1993and has been expanded toaddress all requirements ofTracefish. ScanFish Logistic willbuild a database that includesall mandatory and optionalinformation specified byTracefish. "All the things youneed to comply with Tracefishare already considered in thesystem," says Scanvaegt's ChrisBjerregaard. "It is much morecomprehensive than other sys-tems, but it is extremely easy touse. You can go back two yearsand see where you caught fishand what the temperature of thewater was. It is unlike any othersystem in the world."

Still, major software productstypically cost USD10,000 andup. How can small boat ownerswho can't come up with thatinvestment comply withTracefish? Fortunately, smalloperators have an advocate inMichael Thompson, a graduatestudent at Oregon StateUniversity. Working withMichael Morrissey, director ofOSU's Seafood Laboratory,Thompson has taken on thetraceability issue with an eye tofinding solutions for small busi-ness owners, in particular alba-core fishermen.

"We're looking at this in terms ofbeing proactive," says Thompson."A lot of albacore is shipped tothe E.U. each year, and in orderfor them to sell their product,they will have to institute a pro-gram of traceability. We're tryingto look at ways to make a systemthat is relatively inexpensive thatmeets the standards. We're tryingto use standard, ordinary soft-ware that they can purchase andsend in a data format."

"More and more countries aregravitating towards traceabili-ty," says Thompson. "Whetheror not the U.S. makes it manda-tory, many companies are goingto require it. If we can develop asystem that brings costs downand makes it affordable to boatowners and smaller processors,we can help them stay competi-tive. It might be a boon to themto offer certain information toconsumers. They might be ableto get better prices in Europe,but if they aren't prepared tomeet the traceability require-ments, that's obviously going tohave a big impact on their busi-ness. It's going to affect fisher-men in the near future."


One of the traditional challengesof doing field research was accu-rately locating one's fieldresearch sites on maps andcharts. With the advent of thesatellite-based global positioningsystem (GPS), part of this prob-lem was solved, as GPS technol-ogy makes it possible to deter-mine one's location anywhere inthe world at the push of a but-ton, using a handheld receiverno larger than a mobile phone.The increasing sophistication ofcomputer-based mapping pro-grams was a separate develop-ment that greatly enhanced theability of researchers to analyseand conduct comparativeresearch utilising geographicdata. But even with theseadvances considerable room forerror remained, as coordinates(latitude and longitude) of loca-tions had to be manuallyretrieved from the GPS receiverand entered into spreadsheets.This is a tedious task prone toerrors, and data checking andverification are often difficult.

Combining GPS andMapInfo for thePROCFish project

Franck Magron (Reef FisheriesInformation Manager for thePROCFish project) has devel-oped a software to assistPROCFish scientists transfertheir data from handheld GPSreceivers to geographic informa-tion system (GIS) software, suchas MapInfo®, a GIS productcommonly used in the Pacificregion by Fisheries and Landsand Surveys departments.

Scientists working in the fielduse their handheld GPS toestablish and store in memorythe position of each samplingstation by entering a waypoint

for each transect. Any biologicaldata they subsequently collect isconsequently geo-referenced;both raw data and results can beplotted on charts, or spatiallyanalysed using GIS software.

Adaptability

PROCFish scientists and theirpartners in various organisa-tions and Pacific Island coun-tries use different types ofGarmin® handheld GPSreceivers, so the code developedby Franck had to be compatiblewith different models (it hasbeen successfully tested on 10models to date). The code thustook the form of a "communica-

tion library", which enablescommunication between differ-ent types of Garmin receiversand the various software pro-grammes developed for theproject. The data is downloadedfrom the GPS receiver using theappropriate data cable (thiscable is often sold separately),once the communication proto-col has been set to "Garmin" onthe receiver (the default one isoften NMEA).

The SPC programmes that usethis communication libraryinclude React (used for under-water census taking) and GPSToolkit (described below).

GPS Toolkit

GPS Toolkit was first developedto serve as a test base for thecommunication library, butFranck soon realised that itwould useful if developed intoa stand-alone tool. GPS Toolkitnow includes a graphic userinterface that facilitates theexport of GPS waypoints andtracks in a format (MIF) that isreadable by MapInfo.

GPS TOOLKIT:SPECIALISED SOFTWARE

DEVELOPED FOR PROCFISH

Franck Magron,Reef Fisheries Information Manager,

SPC, Noumea, New Caledonia([email protected])

GPS communication protocols

NMEA 0183 is a communication standard supported by variousbrands of GPS, but is more adapted to real-time acquisition of data bychart plotters because data is sent continuously as an uninterruptedflow of NMEA packets called sentences. A device connected to aNMEA-enabled GPS receives continuously sentences correspondingto different kinds of data (time, position, number of satellites in sightetc.), discards the corrupted or unnecessary ones and extracts datafrom the remaining sentences.

The constraints of PROCFish field surveys are a little bit differentfrom navigation constraints: only positions of a limited number ofsampling stations have to be stored, but the data must be retrievableat later time to avoid exposing computer equipment to the harsh saltyenvironment of fishing boats.The solution was to enter a waypoint ateach sampling station and download the waypoint's location straightinto the database and GIS using a communication protocol that allowsretrieval on-demand of data stored in the GPS. Most GPS manufactur-ers have developed a proprietary, partially documented, communica-tion protocol to handle these kinds of tasks. Garmin, for example,provides such a protocol and the communication library developed byPROCFish/C acts as a standard proxy for applications to retrieve way-points and tracks from the various supported devices.


The software is available inFrench and English, and can bedownloaded from the SPC web-site at:

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

Earlier versions of the softwarehave been provided to Fisheriesand Lands departments of somecountries during PROCFish siteselection field trips. Additionalfeatures have been added to thesoftware during these trips, atthe request of users.

GPS Toolkit in use

Once the waypoints have beendownloaded from the GPS it isstill possible to modify theirlabel or manually add new way-points. The labels will beexported along with the loca-tions and so can be displayedunder MapInfo after exportingto MIF file format and import-ing under MapInfo.

On exporting the waypoints toMapInfo Interchange Format,you can select which waypointsyou want to export, and givethem a default shape andcolour. You can also set the set-tings (datum) that were usedduring acquisition of way-points.

The MIF file can be importedunder MapInfo and displayedon top of existing layers, such asreef or coast outline.

Future developments

Future plans call for extensionof the communication library,enabling the transfer of way-points and routes to the GPS; agraphic interface will be incor-porated into GPS Toolkit for thisfunction. Franck is also waitingfor additional feedback fromusers, so that he can addresstheir needs in future releases ofGPS Toolkit.

GPS TOOLKIT: SPECIALISED SOFTWARE DEVELOPED FOR PROCFISH


AQUACULTURE INFIJI ISLANDS: FOCUS

ON TRAINING

Satya Nandlal,Aquaculture Officer,

SPC, Noumea, New Caledonia([email protected])

Introduction

While there had been some for-mal training in aquaculture inthe past, at present there ishardly any training offered tomeet the needs of Fiji's aquacul-ture industry. This low level offormal training is affecting thedevelopment of the aquaculturesector in Fiji. Some strategies formeeting the future needs andopportunities for regional coop-eration in aquaculture are pro-vided.

Historically, aquaculture in Fijidates back to 1940 but it was notuntil 1962 that the Governmentof Fiji introduced the InlandFisheries Programme, whichincluded fish culture. In 1970,the UNDP-sponsored projectknown as the South PacificIslands Fisheries DevelopmentAgency (SPIFDA) had as anobjective, among others, toassess the potential of aquacul-ture in Fiji.

Although fish culture was apromising enterprise at that time,development was limited by lackof expertise, experience, and suit-able technology. From the mid1970s, development accelerated.Several projects were implement-ed in the framework of variousprogrammes with focus on dif-ferent fields of freshwater aqua-culture—introduction of newspecies, improvement of infra-structure and development ofrural aquaculture.

A concerted effort to developaquaculture in Fiji began in themid 1970s, through governmentprogrammes on freshwaterprawns, tilapia, carp and shrimp.The Naduruloulou AquacultureStation was established nearNausori, north of Suva, in 1975.

It was mainly involved withbreeding of carp for biologicalweed control in rivers. Later, inthe early 1980, it added breed-ing and distribution of tilapiafingerlings to subsistence farm-ers, and also prawns.

A marine aquaculture stationwas built on Makogai Island inthe mid 1980s. It conductedresearch and extension on giantclams, trochus, beche-de-merand turtles.

Contribution of aquacultureto the national economy

At present, almost all of the edi-ble aquaculture products(tilapia, carp, prawns andshrimps) are sold locally, whileseaweed, aquarium-sized giantclams and pearls are exported.

In 1999, the Fisheries Divisionrecorded production of 300tonnes of tilapia valued at FJD1 million, some carp, 2.2 tonnes

of Macrobrachium prawns and300 tonnes of seaweed valued atFJD 150,000. No information isavailable on production ofpearls.

Aquaculture production in Fijiis therefore still very small but isexpected to increase greatlywithin the next 2 or 3 years.

Aquaculture education in Fiji

Since the late 1980s, aquacultureeducation has received increas-ing attention and hence fish-eries officials have been giventhe opportunity to participate invarious training programmes.These trained staff now formthe core staff tasked to imple-ment the research and extensionprogrammes, although they stillneed training to get acquaintedwith latest developments.

Successful aquaculture involvesskilful management of the stockand the environment in which itis raised. This calls for soundknowledge of the requirementsand habits of the cultivatedorganisms and expertise in themethods of maintaining condi-tions favourable to their rapidgrowth and high survival.

Infinite patience and attentionto detail are considered essen-tial for successful farming.Whether this is really so or not,it certainly is true that the fail-

Aquaculture in Fiji is dominated by small- to medium-scale productionof tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) by semi-intensive culture methods. In1999, a total of 296 tonnes of tilapia valued at FJD1,000,000 was pro-duced (Fisheries Division 1999 Annual Report) and sold domestically.Apart from O. niloticus culture, freshwater prawn culture is receivingincreasing attention.There are a number of mariculture and brackish-water activities, mostly at the research and establishment phase.These include prawns (Penaeus monodon), milkfish (Chanos chanos),seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii), pearls (Pinctada margarifera), giantclam and trochus. Research on trochus is on stock enhancement,while for giant clam it is for stocking as well as for culture for thethriving aquarium and sushi market in the US and Japan. Milkfishresearch is targeting baitfish for the tuna longline industry, whileprawn research is targeting the local market, estimated to be 600tonnes annually.


AQUACULTURE IN FIJI ISLANDS: FOCUS ON TRAINING

ure of some aquaculture pro-grammes in Fiji and the Pacificcan be traced to lack of neces-sary expertise and trained per-sonnel. While successful farmscannot be developed throughmere training, most of the theo-retical as well as practicalknowledge that an aquacultur-ist needs can be impartedthrough appropriate educationand training programmes.

In general, aquaculture educa-tion in Fiji has been insufficient.Most of the staff involved inaquaculture have received somelevel of training in fisheries.Many are holders of a Diplomaof Tropical Fisheries certificatefrom the University of the SouthPacific and some have alsoattended short courses in aqua-culture at overseas institutions.A course unit in Aquaculture inthe Diploma in TropicalFisheries used to represent theformal part of training in aqua-culture. This diploma pro-gramme stopped in 1987. Avocational school (MonfortBoystown) was offering trainingin basic tilapia culture in theearly 1990s, but this too hasstopped due to a lack of staff toteach the course.

Current status ofaquaculture education

1. Freshwater aquaculture. Thisprogramme covers projectson tilapia, polyculture, orna-mental fishes and integratedfarming systems. Currently4 technical staff and 20 sup-port staff are involved inresearch, development, exten-sion and training in aquacul-ture, with over 300 fish farmsin operation. Of the fourtechnical staff, two hold theDiploma in Tropical Fish-eries and have attendedshort courses in aquacultureand the remaining two havea Bachelor of Science degreefrom the University of theSouth Pacific. Short coursetraining on various aspects

of aquaculture has beenfunded through the assis-tance of UNDP/FAO, JapanInternational CooperationAgency (JICA) and the Fijigovernment. Most of thesupport staff have receivedpractical training on hatch-ery and grow-out methodsfor specific tasks they areassigned to. The Naduru-loulou Aquaculture Stationoffers a series of extensioncourses to fish farmers. Thefarmers also maintain closecontact with scientists fromthe research station.

2. Brackishwater culture. Thisprogramme covers projectson shrimp and milkfish. Atpresent there are 4 technicalstaff with over 20 supportstaff. There are two commer-cial shrimp farms in opera-tion and a governmentdemonstration milkfishfarm. Of the four technicalstaff, two have the Diplomain Tropical Fisheries and allhave attended short coursesat overseas institutions.

3. Mariculture. This pro-gramme includes researchand extension work on sea-weed, pearl, trochus andgiant clam projects. Currently13 technical staff areinvolved with over 40 sup-port staff. There are over 500individual seaweed farms, 2experimental pearl farmsand a government operatedgiant clam hatchery and

grow-out farm. Of the 13staff, one has a Bachelor ofScience degree, four have theDiploma in Tropical Fish-eries, and a majority of thestaff have attended shortcourses and on-the-job train-ing at overseas institutions.

Future needs in aquacultureeducation

Aquaculture has been identifiedin Fiji's Fisheries Plans; howev-er, the track record of aquacul-ture development has so far fall-en short of expectations. Onefactor contributing to this is thelack of any course or regulartraining programme on aqua-culture in Fiji. The trainingneeds range from those at thecommunity level to tertiary andpostgraduate levels.

An aquaculture industry requiresthe support of training andresearch programmes if it is tosucceed. There is a critical needfor managers and technical staff.In Fiji, the need for technicalstaff is often recognised whilethe key role of managerial staffis generally disregarded. Mostof the aquaculture installationsare managed by technical staffwho have had hardly any spe-cialised farm management orbusiness management training.

As Fiji is now attempting large-scale aquaculture developmentprojects, researchers need a highlevel of scientific training in theprinciples of biology and inresearch methodology applica-ble to their cultured species andculture methods. Extensionworkers and technical supportstaff require more practicaltraining in hatchery and grow-out methods for specific com-modities.

Strategies for meeting thefuture needs

Almost all the short-term train-ing or courses have been carriedout outside Fiji, and this has to


some extent limited the value ofsome of the training given. Mostof it has been given outside the

tropics, remote from local farmsituations. While training inoverseas institutions has been

and remains vital in providinghigher qualifications for Fijiantrainees, it is clear that more train-ing should be done in contactwith real farm situations in Fiji.

The University of the SouthPacific has introduced a newcourse, Aquaculture in PacificIsland Countries, as an electivecourse for the Bachelor ofScience degrees in biology andin marine science. The universi-ty also offers in-service shortcourses and community train-ing, and is continuing with cur-riculum development of train-ing materials. It is hoped thatdevelopment of these coursesand materials will contributegreatly towards the develop-ment of aquaculture in Fiji andalso towards implementation ofthe Regional Aquaculture Strat-egy in the Pacific.

Opportunities for regionalcooperation in aquacultureeducation

The key to closing most of thegaps between training needsand opportunities is for theUniversity of the South Pacificand institutions involved withaquaculture to continue toupgrade their research andteaching programmes, and ulti-mately for all technicians to betrained through graduate pro-grammes and technical courses.

Another possibility is to dev-elop new international aquacul-ture centres devoted to specificcommodities, as has been suc-cessful for rice, wheat, maize etc.under the Consultative Groupfor International AgriculturalResearch (CGIAR) system. Suchcentres have been shown to bevery effective in concentratingresearch and training. As aqua-


Lime being applied to marine prawnponds in Vanua Levu (top)Montfort Boys fish-duck farmingsystem, Suva (middle)Black pearl farmat Savusavu Bay (bottom)



culture follows the pattern ofagriculture and focuses on thefew important commodities, wemay see similar developments.

In the end it all comes down tomoney, manpower and facili-

ties. Increased expenditure onaquaculture research and devel-opment, including training pro-grammes, can only be justifiedby increased production. Forthis reason, the cooperation ofsmaller island nations, institu-

tions and private sector in train-ing programmes should beencouraged.

USP seaweed quarantine research


PRACTICAL HELP FOR THESEAWEED FARMERS

OF KIRIBATI

Antoine Teitelbaum,Technical adviser,

Oceanic Développement

The seaweed farming industryin Kiribati has been providedwith new educational material,thanks to the financial supportof the European Union and theassistance of the SPC. A booklettitled "Farming seaweed inKiribati: a practical guide forseaweed farmers" has been pub-lished by SPC. The booklet wasdesigned and compiled inKiribati by Antoine Teitelbaum(Technical Advisor with the inter-national technical consultancycompany Oceanic Développement)and staff from the Research,Extension and Developmentgroup of the Atoll SeaweedCompany. It was translated intoGilbertese by Ienimoa Kiatoaand Kamatiie Kautu from theKiribati Min-istry of Fisheriesand Marine Resource Develop-ment. The illustrations weredone by Sebastien Lesire inNoumea, for the SPC. Althoughthe book is designed to suitKiribati, it will be usefulthroughout the Pacific inislands where the seaweedindustry is being developed,such as Fiji Islands or SolomonIslands.

The book is in cartoon style,showing the lagoons, the farms,the landscapes and the peopleof Kiribati and their traditions.We follow the story of Teborou,the wife, and Taira, the hus-band, who are a young farmingcouple keen to revive seaweedfarming on their island. Theytake us on a trip in the lagoon oftheir atoll and demonstrate allthe activities required to farmseaweed. Site selection, seedlinghandling, farm layout, plot con-struction and also harvesting,post-harvest, marketing of thedried products in the outerisland station and all the othersteps of farming cottonii sea-

weed are illustrated. Taira andTeborou also show the readerthe different problems encoun-tered while farming, such asrabbitfish grazing, epiphytesand ice-ice disease. As this bookis designed for the farmersthemselves, the illustrations arevery comprehensive and thetext is written in a humorousway, avoiding long sentencesand complicated Latin names!

This booklet plays a key role inthe Kiribati Support to SeaweedIndustry Project (SSIP). TheSSIP is a four-year projectfinanced by the EuropeanUnion and implemented withthe help of Oceanic Développe-

ment, a French company. Theoverall aim of the project is toincrease the production of cot-tonii seaweed in Kiribati. Alarge component of the projectis dedicated to research, exten-sion and development (RED) inorder to improve working con-ditions of the farmers and thebuying agents in the outerislands and also to avert envi-ronmental damage on the farm-ing sites in the lagoons of theatolls.

Extension officers and seaweedagents work in the field with thefarmers. This book will helpthem in extending their sea-weed farming skills to as manypeople as possible. The bookletwill be of great support to thefarmers and the agents in theouter islands, as there has beenlittle educational material avail-able to the farming communi-ties in the last 20 years of theindustry. This booklet is thethird educational tool since the1991 manual by James Uan fromthe Kiribati Fisheries Depart-ment published with the FAOentitled Aron Unikakin Te Tiwita


PRACTICAL HELP FOR THE SEAWEED FARMERS OF KIRIBATI

("How to plant seaweed") andthe 2001 video produced by SPCtitled Grow seaweed, grow yourmoney.

Atoll Seaweed Company andthe SSIP team have introducedthe new booklet to farmers inthe outer islands seaweed farm-ing communities of Kiribati andthe Line Islands. Two-dayworkshops were organised forfarmers, who gathered in themwaneaba (the communal vill-age house) at Nukamotu villagein Nuotaea island, Borotiam inAbaiang, Tabiang in Abemama,Aiaki and Otoae in Onotoa andBuota in Tabiteuea North. Moreworkshops will be held in thenear future.

Extension officers Linh NguyenQuoc and Vincent Potier (fromthe international volunteer devel-opment charity VSO), Oceanic

Développement Technical Adv-isor Antoine Teitelbaum andAtoll Seaweed Company REDstaff Ienimoa Kiatoa and TealoaSese led the theoretical andpractical sessions with groupsof farmers. Between 10 and 40people attended each work-shop, both male and femalefarmers (whether ex-farmers orfuture farmers but all verykeen!) as well as the unimwaneand the unaine, the men andwomen elders of the villages.The participatory learningapproach and games wereemployed to make the workshopslively. All the steps of seaweedfarming were demonstrated inthe mwanaeba and in the field.

Farmers who received the book-let all seemed very excited torecognise their islands, housesand boats and be offered theirfirst cartoon in I-Kiribati. Lots of

questions were asked. Particu-lar issues raised by the farmersincluded marine tenure inNuotaea, seedstock supply inAbaiang and equipment pur-chase in Tabiteuea.

Several attendees were so con-vinced by the booklet and theworkshop that they purchasedtheir own farming equipmentafter the sessions.

With the increase of the sea-weed price to AUD 0.60 and thearrival of the booklet, it isexpected that more and morehouseholds of the GilbertIslands and the Line Islandsgroups of Kiribati will start theirown farms and contribute tomaking the industry sustain-able. Surely, Teborou, the maincharacter of the booklet willsoon get her motorbike and herstore in the outer island!

Top left: Abemama elders having a look at the bookletTop right: Bringing seedlings ashore, Tabiteuea North

Bottom left: Checking the seaweed plots, Tabiteuea NorthBottom right: Tying lines, Onotoa


© Copyright Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 2004

All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. SPC authorises the partialreproduction 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

PRACTICAL HELP FOR THE SEAWEED FARMERS OF KIRIBATI

Seedlings, Tabiteuea North

the seaweed farming industry in kiribati has been provided

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