SciCOFish Steering Committee meeting Noumea March 2015 Coastal fisheries Provide 5090 of protein intake for coastal communities Very important for local incomes provides around 50 of coastal households with 1 ID: 546356
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Slide1
Highlights of SciCOFish Coastal Fisheries Finfish work
SciCOFish Steering Committee meeting
Noumea, March 2015Slide2
Coastal fisheries
Provide 50%–90
% of protein intake for coastal
communities
Very important for local incomes (provides around 50% of coastal households with 1st or 2nd source of income)Slide3
Fresh finfish key to food securitySlide4
SciCOFish key work areas (Finfish)
Increased capacity, better science, for more informed management
Multiple themes:
In-water assessments (including habitat surveys)
Creel and market surveys
Catch, effort, CPUE, prices, value etcBiological sampling and demographic assessmentsLength and age-based indicators, genetic population structure
CiguateraDevelopment of awareness/Information materials
Capacity buildingSlide5
In-water assessments - Highlights
Training conducted in
6
countries in UVC and habitat survey methods
FSM 2010 (Aquarium fish; 8 staff)
Kiribati 2011 (Environmental Impact Assessment; 9 staff)RMI 2011 (5 staff)Samoa 2011 (Spawning aggregations; 8 staff
)Tuvalu 2011 (4 staff)
Fiji 2013 (12 staff
)
General move by countries away from UVC
Costly and time consuming
Logistically difficult
Easily biased
More informative approaches for assessing fisheries availableSlide6
Creel and market surveys - Highlights
Trials and training conducted in
9 countries
Fiji
, FSM, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, PNG, RMI, Tonga, Tuvalu82 in-country staff trained
Assessment reports produced for 5 countriesProvide much-needed baseline data for future comparisonFinalised draft of Creel & Market survey manual
Developed, trialled and implemented new
database
Promotes standardisation of data and comparisons over space and time
Coming soon in 2015 - Waterproof ID cards (300 species)!!Slide7
Creel and market surveys – Highlights (2)
Ongoing survey programs established in 4 countries
PNG (18 people employed)
Tonga (1 person employed
) KiribatiNauru
Palau, RMI, Tuvalu planning to commence programs in 2015 Trainings regularly featured in national mediaPromotes project, reaffirms official nature & gets people used to surveyorsSlide8
Biological sampling - Highlights
Training conducted in 10 countries
Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, PNG
,
RMI, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu92 in-country staff trained
2 ageing workshops held in Noumea (collaboration with IRD)Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, PNG, RMI, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu
Ageing protocols developed for numerous coastal finfish species
Ages
estimated for
>
2500
fish
Demographic assessments completed for 7 countries
Length & age structures, growth rates, maturity schedules, mortality rates
Genetic population structure / connectivity examined for 10 species (collaboration with IRD)Slide9
Biological samplingSlide10
Fished population
Information on fishing mortality
Age-based Indicators
Low Fishing mortality
Moderate Fishing mortality
High Fishing mortality
Age (years)
Number of fishSlide11Slide12
Highlight - Combining creel surveys and biological sampling a powerful approach!
Joint survey between MFMRD & SPC at Abemama
Large fishery for bonefish
19 landings surveyed
1129 individual bonefish measuredCatch and gear documented for all landings
Maturity assessedResults used to guide Kiribati Coastal Fisheries Management PlanSlide13
Genetic connectivitySlide14
Genetic connectivity
?Slide15
Other highlights
Kept SPC at the forefront of ciguatera work in the Pacific and globally
Workshop on standardising field survey methods for ciguatera collection and detection, Hong Kong, 2012
Assisted Tuvalu with detection of ciguatera in fish and algae surveys
Co-facilitated training workshop on sampling methods and ID of
ciguatoxin
-causing algae, Suva, July 2013 (collaboration between UQ, USP, FAO, IFREMER; 21 participants)
Workshop on fish and shellfish poisoning held in Noumea, Nov 2014 (60+ participants)Slide16
Other highlights (2)
Trained and mentored 6 Pacific Island Young Professionals
Developed information/awareness materials
Developed collaboration with research groups in the region and globally (IRD, USP, UQ, USC, ZMT, SPC OFP)Slide17
Work plan for 2015 and beyond
SciCOFish project concludes in September 2015
Priorities for 2015
Process remaining genetic samples and otoliths
Finalise biological and genetic assessmentsExamine potential for otolith measurements to be used as proxies for age (cheaper, easier)Develop biological sampling guides for key speciesFinalise, print and distribute creel and market survey manual and ID cardsSlide18
Thank you