Insights into Coastal Fisheries and Finfish Work of SciCOFish
Discover the crucial role of coastal fisheries in providing protein intake for communities, supporting local incomes, and ensuring food security in Pacific countries like Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Kiribati. Explore the key focus areas of SciCOFish in enhancing capacity and science for informed fisheries management, including in-water assessments and creel and market surveys. Gain insights into training conducted in various countries and the shift towards more informative approaches for evaluating fisheries. Stay updated on the latest highlights and developments in coastal fisheries and finfish work.
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Presentation Transcript
Highlights of SciCOFish Coastal Fisheries Finfish work SciCOFish Steering Committee meeting Noumea, March 2015
Coastal fisheries Provide 50% 90% of protein intake for coastal communities Very important for local incomes (provides around 50% of coastal households with 1stor 2ndsource of income)
Fresh finfish key to food security Solomon Islands (115 kg) Fiji (84 kg) Cook Islands (55 kg) 6% 9% 12% Fish (kg/person/year) Inverts (kg/person/year) 88% 91% 94% Kiribati (110 kg) Marshall Islands (112 kg) 2% 6% 98% 94%
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 etc Biological sampling and demographic assessments Length and age-based indicators, genetic population structure Ciguatera Development of awareness/Information materials Capacity building
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 available
Creel and market surveys - Highlights Trials and training conducted in 9 countries Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, PNG, RMI, Tonga, Tuvalu 82 in-country staff trained Assessment reports produced for 5 countries Provide much-needed baseline data for future comparison Finalised 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)!!
Creel and market surveys Highlights (2) Ongoing survey programs established in 4 countries PNG (18 people employed) Tonga (1 person employed) Kiribati Nauru Palau, RMI, Tuvalu planning to commence programs in 2015 Trainings regularly featured in national media Promotes project, reaffirms official nature & gets people used to surveyors
Biological sampling - Highlights Training conducted in 10 countries Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, PNG, RMI, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu 92 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)
Age-based Indicators 100 100 100 100 Fished population 90 90 90 90 80 80 80 80 Information on fishing mortality 70 70 70 70 Number of fish 60 60 60 60 50 50 50 50 40 40 40 40 30 30 30 30 20 20 20 20 10 10 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 Age (years) 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 Low Fishing mortality High Fishing mortality Moderate Fishing mortality
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 measured Catch and gear documented for all landings Maturity assessed Results used to guide Kiribati Coastal Fisheries Management Plan 30 2-3 inch mesh Frequency (%) 25 20 15 10 5 0 30 2.5-3 inch mesh Frequency (%) 25 20 15 10 5 0 30 3 inch mesh 25 Frequency (%) 20 15 10 5 0 Fork length (cm)
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)
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)
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 assessments Examine potential for otolith measurements to be used as proxies for age (cheaper, easier) Develop biological sampling guides for key species Finalise, print and distribute creel and market survey manual and ID cards 0.20 0.40 0.35 0.30 Otolith weight (g) 0.25 0.15 R = 0.9672 0.10 0.05 0.00 0 10 20 30 40 Age (years)
