Number 93 (April–June 2000) ISSN 0248-076X

ISSN 0248-076XNumber 93 (April–June 2000)

SPC activities Page 2

News from in and aroundthe region Page 20

Fishing, turtles and the law:recent events in theHawaii-based longline fisheryby P. Dalzell Page 23

New skills for fishers in theBank Islandsby A. Fred & N. Wolu Page 28

In this issue of the Fisheries Newsletter, our readers will find areport on the activities carried out by the various sections of theMarine Resources Division. William Sokimi, Fisheries Develop-ment Officer, began another round of duty travel to Samoa. Thefisheries service of that country had asked SPC to provide tech-nical assistance in evaluating the performance of new super alia-type longliners.

In May, the Training Section organised a workshop on seaweedfarming in Vanuatu. There is currently growing interest in theregion for this type of farming, mainly with regards to the speciesEucheuma cottonii.The existence of a profitable market, the rapidmaturation of this species (6 weeks) and the shelf life of the driedseaweed makes farming this plant very worthwhile for islandcountries in the region.

As for our friends in Oceanic Fisheries, the four on-boardobservers of the SPRTRAMP Programme have finally put away theirslide callipers and forms after five and a half years of faithful service.All objectives were reached after 2,570 days at sea.

Finally, to close, Paul Dalzell of the Western Pacific Regional FisheryManagement Council explains recent developments in longlining inHawaii.The expansion of this fishery over the last few years, espe-cially that targeting swordfish, has led to incidental catches of cer-tain species protected by the Endangered Species Act.

I hope all this whets your appetite and that you are going to divestraight into this Fisheries Newsletter. As always, your commentson its contents are more than welcome.

Jean-Paul GaudechouxFisheries Information [email protected]

Gaffing albacore in Samoan waters, on board F/V Ulimasao

SPC Fisheries Newsletter #93 — April/June 20002

SPC ACTIVITIES

FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT SECTION

FAD work in FSM

Figure 1: F/V Merwel, recently acquired by Yap Fresh Tuna, Inc.

The second quarter of 2000 commenced with Fisheries Development Officer, William Sokimi, assisting theFisheries Training Section with the running of the second regional course for fishing vessel skippers in Nelson,New Zealand. Twelve fishing vessel skippers from throughout the region attended this course, which focused onelectronics for fishing operations and fishing vessel management.

Fisheries Development Adviser, Lindsay Chapman, travelled to Hawaii in early April for a series of meetings,which included the annual SPC/FFA colloquium, the Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC) 43 and some sessions ofMultilateral High Level Consultation (MHLC 6). Lindsay took this opportunity to meet many Pacific Island rep-resentatives, to look at work programmes for upcoming projects and have discussions on other areas where possi-ble technical assistance is needed. Lindsay also met with some local fish processors and gear suppliers in Hawaii.

Fisheries Development Officer,Steve Beverly, spent two monthsin the Federated States ofMicronesia conducting FAD sitesurveys and FAD deployments.Three FAD site surveys wereconducted in Yap State, using YapFresh Tuna’s newly acquiredsecond-hand Japanese longlin-er, F/V Merwel (Figure 1).

FAD site surveys and FAD siteselections were done on theeastern side of Yap proper, nearPeelack Pass, Goofnu Pass, andsouth of Tamil Harbour. Contourdrawings were left with coun-

terpart fisheries officers at YapFishing Authority, who shouldnow be able to conduct FADdeployments in the three posi-tions.

The majority of Steve’s time wasspent in Kosrae, where two FADsite surveys and two FADdeployments were carried out.Close to ideal FAD sites werefound west of Okat Harbourand south of Utwe Harbour.Areas of flat bottom were dis-covered that had previouslybeen unknown to Kosrae’sFisheries Development Division.

FAD site surveys and FADdeployments were done usingthe division’s vessel, F/VMutunte (Figure 2), which wasequipped with SPC’s echosounder and GPS plotter.

Indian Ocean type FADs, fol-lowing guidelines in SPC’s FADManual volume II, were deployedin both locations (Figure 3). Theecho sounder and plotter wereleft on board F/V Mutunte sothat Fisheries Division counter-parts, trained in FAD site surveytechniques, could complete sur-vey work for all of Kosrae. Steve

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SPC Fisheries Newsletter #93 — April/June 2000 3

SPC ACTIVITIES

will return to Kosrae later in theyear to conduct a FAD fishingtechnique workshop, using theOkat and Utwe FADs.

Steve also spent a brief time inPohnpei conducting an on-board fish handling workshop

Figure 2: F/V Mutunte, the Kosrae Fisheries Development Division’s vessel

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Figure 3: Indian Ocean type FADs were deployed

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for the Indonesian crew ofMicronesian Longline FishingCompany’s longline vessels.The workshop was held onboard one of the boats after itreturned from a successful fish-ing trip. The captain of the ves-sel translated from English into

Indonesian. Most crew mem-bers on Micronesian LonglineFishing Company Inc’s (MLFC)twelve longliners, operating outof Pohnpei, are Indonesian.


SPC ACTIVITIES

Technical assistance to Samoa

William commenced a newassignment in Samoa in lateApril, following a request forassistance in assessing the per-formance of a new super aliatuna longline vessel, and famil-iarising the crew with the vesseland its equipment. The conceptof the super alia was developedby the Samoa Fisheries Division,to try to overcome some of theproblems encountered by fisher-men using the small 9 m classoutboard-powered alias (Figure 1).

The 9 m alias are the backboneof the tuna longline fishery inSamoa. However, with thedevelopment of the industrycomes associated problems ofsea safety, fish quality control,and crew comfort. Because ofthe increased number of 9 malias, these vessels must nowtravel farther offshore to avoidcongesting the immediatewaters surrounding the islands,and achieve catches that willmake their trip worthwhile.

Several mishaps have takenplace in the past years prompt-ing the Fisheries Division toplay a leading role in guidingand assisting the industry.

To overcome these problems,the Fisheries Division hired aconsultant to design and buildlocally a cost-effective vesselsuitable for Samoan waters. Theresult was the super alia, a 12.2 maluminium catamaran withtwin diesel inboard engines,

insulated fish holds, andthe latest amenities forsafely fishing and navi-gating. The super alia wasdesigned by Arild Overaof Overa MaritimeTrading Ltd and built byMr. Roy Peters at theHillbuilt boatyard atVaitele, Apia. Table 1summarises the specifi-cations of the newlydesigned and built superalia, F/V Ulimasao(Figure 2).

William’s initial workincluded setting up thehydraulic reel and lineshooter for fishing opera-tions, positioning settingand hauling blocks,installing the RadioDirection Finder and

antenna, installing the marineradio, preparing fishing gear,and general preparing of stor-age space for fishing gears.

Mainline reel andhydraulic system on F/VUlimasao

The hydraulic system on F/VUlimasao is run off the portengine. The hydraulic pump(Vickers VTM 42 06) is mountedon a bracket connected to thesleeve rails that are an extensionof the engine bed. The hydraulichoses run from the pumpthrough a brand control valve,through a flow control valve

Item Specification

Length overall 12.2 m

Beam (each hull) 1.90 m

Beam overall 5.05 m

Tonnage 11.13 t

Fish Hold Volume 8 m3

Ice Capacity 4 t

Engine Power 2 x 48 HP Yanmar 4LM

Speed Range 7–11 knots

Fuel Capacity 1,500 l (diesel)

Range Up to 7 days steaming

Table 1: Specifications of the new super alia,F/V Ulimasao

Figure 1: The 9 m class outboard-powered alias

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SPC ACTIVITIES

onto the reel and shooter. Thereare drain back hoses to the tankfrom the brand control valve,the reel and the shooter. A cablecontrol is set up in the wheel-house to control and operate thelever on the brand control valvefrom there.

The reel has a capacity of 20nautical miles of 3.5 mmmonofilament line, capable ofsupporting up to 750 hooks perset. During the second set of thefirst trip the hub on the star-board side of the reel split thewelds and pushed outwards.

Repairing the reel took over aweek, as it had to be strength-ened as well. The FisheriesDivision decided to order a newreel from SeaMech Limited inFiji, as there was no guaranteethat the original reel would holdup given the problems encoun-tered after only two sets. Thenew reel needed to built in Fijiand was expected towards theend of July, so the repaired reelwas used to continue the seaand fishing trials on F/VUlimasao.

Catch and initialassessment

On the first trip, William andthe crew of F/V Ulimasao land-ed 196 saleable fish weighingaround three tonnes, with onlytwo sets and a total effort of1,250 hooks per set. The catchconsisted of 118 yellowfin tuna,64 albacore tuna, 4 bigeye tuna,1 wahoo, 2 blue marlin, and 7skipjack tuna. This catch repre-sented a successful start to seaand fishing trials of the newvessel, especially as the weatherwas marginal with 15–20 knotwinds and moderate to roughseas.

Up until mid-July, six full fishingtrips were carried out resultingin a total catch of 670 fish, themajority of which were albacoreand yellowfin tuna. (Figure 3)

Figure 2: The newly designed and built super alia, F/V Ulimasao

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Figure 3: Albacore and yellowfin tuna were the majority of the catch

William concluded that the ves-sel was an improvement on theoriginal 9 m class alia catamarandesign. F/V Ulimasao has a clearworking deck area, properaccommodation for crew, stabil-ity, insulated fish holds, propernavigation and fishing equip-ment, and twin engines that areeconomic to run.

The new super alia looks to bemeeting the objectives set by theFisheries Division. William willdo a full assessment of the ves-sel and its fishing capabilities atthe conclusion of this project atthe end of August.

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SPC ACTIVITIES

Fisheries Development Section acquires safety grab bagsfor Fisheries Development Officers

The Fisheries DevelopmentSection recently received a grantfrom New Zealand’s PacificRegional Head of Mission Fundto purchase three sea safety kits.

The kits were supplied byNavstation Ltd, New Zealand.Each kit contains a personal 406kHz emergency position indi-cating radio beacon (EPIRB), ahand-held water-proof VHFradio, a water-proof torch, aninflatable life jacket, and an all-purpose tool (Figure 1). Theitems are stored in a water-proof “grab bag” (Figure 2).

The idea of a safety grab bagwas developed independentlyby fishermen and tugboat crewswho spend a lot of time at sea.In an emergency situation it isoften essential to have safety

gear in one easily accessiblespot that each crew memberknows about.

Convenient locations are thewheelhouse or in a cabin. Themost important piece of equip-ment in the grab bag is theEPIRB, which gives out a signalthat is received by a satellite andthen transmitted to Rescue Co-ordinating Centres such as theone in Nadi, Fiji. Rescuers knowexactly where to search andknow the identity of the personin trouble when a 406 EPIRB isactivated.

The VHF radio can be used tocontact search and rescue air-planes or other vessels in thearea. The other items in the grabbag serve as a supplement tothe equipment and provisions

usually found packed with liferafts. Aside from the basic con-tents listed above, grab bags canbe personalised by the additionof a first aid kit, a fishing kit,and spare food and water.

SPC’s Fisheries DevelopmentOfficers will carry a safety grabbag on all future sea duty travel.The section has one spare kitavailable to other SPC staff whomay venture out in boats in thecourse of their work.

Sea safety grab bags are avail-able from the following sources:

NavstationBill Boon

PO Box Box 90-141Westhaven, Auckland,

New ZealandTel: +64 9 3099942Fax: +64 9 3661734

E-mail: [email protected]

Figure 1: The safety kit

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Figure 2: The “grab bag”

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SPC ACTIVITIES

RFD New Zealand LtdWayne ViallPO Box 2386Auckland,

New ZealandTel: +64 9 3732019Fax: +64 9 3071012

Pains Wessex (Australia) Pty LtdPO Box 25 Glen Iris,

Victoria 3146,Australia

Tel: +61 3 98850444Fax: +61 3 98855530

E-mail:[email protected]

Ocean Producers InternationalTony Costa

965 B North Nimitz HwyHonolulu, Hawaii 96817, USA

Tel: 1-808-5372905Fax: 1-808-5363225

E-mail: [email protected]

Other project activities

Lindsay went to Tonga in Mayto provide input to the NationalTuna Management Plan beingdeveloped in conjunction withFFA. His role was to look atdevelopment options fordomestic involvement in thetuna fishery, especially small-scale options. Lindsay visitedHa’apai and Vava’u to meetwith local fishermen to canvastheir ideas, find out their prob-lems, and to see what was cur-rently in place.

Securing affordable finance isone of the main obstacles forsmall-scale operators. Havingan active FAD programmewould greatly assist small-scaleoperators, and the charter fish-ing operations out of Vava’u areheavily reliant on the threeFADs there. Small-scale longlin-ing is another developmentoption, and the Fisheries Depart-ment in Tonga is looking atways to fund such a project.

For medium-scale tuna longlin-ing operations, the training ofskippers and engineers to attaintheir qualifications is important.There is also a need for trainingwithin the Fisheries Depart-ment, especially for the imple-mentation of the National TunaManagement Plan. One large

constraint to fishery develop-ment in Tonga – high fuel prices– has been removed by theFisheries Department. Duty-free fuel is now available tocommercial tuna fishermen whoapply and meet the data provi-sion and other requirements set.

During June and the first part ofJuly, Steve spent four weeksworking with trainees from theSPC/Nelson Polytechnic PacificIslands Fisheries OfficersCourse in the Practical FishingModule. The first part of themodule was held in Goro inProvince Sud. The trainees andtutors stayed in a local hotel inGoro run by the chief, MCharles Attiti. They used a vari-ety of methods on three boats,F/V Dar Mad, F/V Pop, and acharter vessel, F/V Danse avecles Maquereaux.

The three boats also fished offthe west coast. The highlights ofthe training sessions includeddeploying a FAD at Passe StVincent and catching eightmoonfish (totalling approxi-mately 300 kg) while longliningoff Passe de Dumbea. ThePractical Module will be report-ed separately in more detail inthe next issue of the SPCFisheries Newsletter.

Lindsay gave comment onVanuatu’s National TunaManagement Plan, which isbeing developed in conjunctionwith FFA. Input was requiredon infrastructure and trainingneeds, and development optionsfor the involvement of ni-Vanuatu in the tuna fishery.Currently, participation in tunafishing by ni-Vanuatu is crew-ing on foreign tuna fishing ves-sels, charter fishing operationsand some small-scale trollingactivity around the one FAD offPort Vila.

There is potential for domesticparticipation in tuna fishing,especially if there is an ongoingFAD programme for local fish-ermen. This would need to becoupled with a marketing cam-paign to promote more con-sumption of tunas such as skip-jack and small yellowfin, alongwith a campaign to improvefish quality. There is also poten-tial for development in tunalonglining, with several fisher-men looking to convert theirvessels in the next 12 to 18months. Training for fishermen,trades people and fisheries staffwill also be needed as develop-ment occurs.


SPC ACTIVITIES

COMMUNITY FISHERIES SECTION

In 1999, FSM requested theassistance of the CommunityFisheries Section in assessing,documenting and subsequentlytraining women involved insmall-scale fisheries. Due to dif-ferences in traditional and mod-ern fishing practices betweenthe four states, the FSM NationalFisheries Section requested thatthe situation in each state beexamined independently.

In July and August 1999 theCommunity Fisheries Officer(CFO) travelled to Pohnpei to

participate in the Fifth FSMWomen’s Conference and toundertake the first part of theSPC Community FisheriesSection work in FSM – anassessment and report of the sit-uation in Pohnpei. One of therecommendations resulting fromthis visit was that the SPCCommunity Fisheries Sectionassist in a training workshop forwomen involved in small-scalefisheries activities.

This workshop was held from 1to 5 May 2000 and was attended

by eleven women involved insmall-scale fisheries activities inPohnpei State. Around half theparticipants were involved inrunning small seafood marketswhile the remainder wereinvolved mainly in subsistencefisheries activities.

The workshop covered a num-ber of topics: processing, quali-ty, and control of fish spoilage;fish smoking, drying and salt-ing; small business skills; con-servation and management; andnutrition and healthy lifestyles.During the workshop the par-ticipants built a simple drumsmoker and tried differentmethods of brining and smok-ing fish.

The session on conservationand management included anintroduction to coral reefs andthe importance of marineresources; sustainable harvestingand the management of renew-able resources; destructive fish-ing methods; community man-agement of marine resources;marine protected areas; com-munity conservation measures;and the reasons behind presentand potential regulations.

At the beginning of the work-shop the women were asked tolist the workshop topics inorder of priority. Conservationand management of marineresources were listed last by themajority of the women – but bythe end of the workshop, eachparticipant listed conservationand management as the topic’sof most use to them!

Pohnpei Workshop

Brining the fish before smoking

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SPC ACTIVITIES

Kosrae, Chuuk and Yap fieldwork

Following the Pohnpei work-shop, the CFO travelled toKosrae, Chuuk and Yap toundertake the fieldwork andproduce reports for the remain-ing states of FSM. First stop, forone week, was Kosrae wherethe CFO, with the assistance ofRoosten Abraham of the Fish-eries Division, met with peopleof Tafunsak, Walung, Lelu,Malem and Utwe municipali-ties. The work also benefitedfrom the assistance of Ropina D.Aloka, the Coordinator of theWomen’s Affairs Program.

Preliminary findings for Kosraeindicate a high interest in train-ing for subsistence and artisanalfishermen and women, specifi-cally in the areas of seafoodhandling, quality control, smallbusiness management andmarine conservation. Most peo-ple are keen on exploring fish-eries management and conser-vation issues and there is a highlevel of awareness and concernat the grassroots level, especial-ly in Walung. Some work isunderway in the area of com-

munity resource managementbut most of that work is notdirectly tackling fisheries issues.There is also strong support forcommunity fisheries manage-ment from within the FisheriesDivision.

There is good potential for apilot aquaculture project (for analternative food fish), particu-larly for Malem municipality –the area of greatest need for analternative fish source due tothe lack of reef resources anddifficult access to outer reef fish-ing areas.

Next stop was Chuuk, where theCFO worked with the Conserva-tion and Management Officer ofthe National Fisheries Section,Estephan Santiago, and KichyJoseph, Research Assistant forChuuk Marine Resources. Mostof the meetings were concen-trated on Weno (Moen) themain island of Chuuk lagoon,but visits were also made toTonoas, Fefan and Parem to talkwith people involved in small-scale fisheries activities.

Preliminary findings for Chuukindicate a high level of interestin including women in fisheriestraining, especially for thosewho are currently involved insmall-scale marketing activitieson Weno.

Both Kosrae and Chuuk haverequested workshops for bothmen and women who areinvolved in fisheries activities –to be run concurrently but sepa-rately, with perhaps a joint dis-cussion at the end. In otherwords, two workshops run atthe same time, one attended bywomen and the other attendedby men, with the two groupscoming together for a joint dis-cussion at the end.

This is in recognition of the factthat, although men and womenare both involved in various,and nowadays sometimes simi-lar, fisheries activities, theywould feel more comfortable inseparate training sessions. Dueto the traditional, separate rolesof men and women in manyparts of the Pacific, women are

usually quiet andunassertive when ina mixed group. Agroup of women ontheir own howevercan be a differentstory. . .

The final stop on theFSM journey wasYap, known inMicronesia for thestrength of its tradi-tions and culture.Traditionally, fishingand the use of marineresources in Yap wassubject to a complexstructure of authoritythat determinedownership of geo-graphical areas, habi-tat sites, gears,species, and fishingmethods.A new fish market run by a fisherman in Utwe, Kosrae

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SPC ACTIVITIES

In addition, Yapese socialorganisation regulated the dis-tribution of the catch accordingto the rank or prestige of thefishing method, species of fish,people or villages involved.Strong taboos against womengoing fishing or having any-thing to do with men’s fishinggear or boats were in place.

Women and children were, onthe whole, restricted to the col-lection of invertebrates fromnearshore areas and handlininginside the reef. In general, fish-

ing done farther from land wasmore prestigious. Men involvedin certain fishing methods weresubject to social restrictions andspiritual rituals associated withthat fishing method. Somemethods required fishermen toisolate themselves at the men’shouse for periods of time beforeand after fishing.

Reef ownership, fishing rights,catch distribution, dispute reso-lution and punishment are stillwell-defined in Yap but thereare very few elements that are

actually observed in practice.What remains is a strong reluc-tance to consider that womenare active in fisheries in any way– despite their involvement inreef gleaning, inshore fishing,processing, customary distribu-tion and, more recently, small-scale marketing. At a meetingwith the Yap Women’s Associa-tion it was decided that trainingwas needed to ensure that thosewomen who are involved in fish-eries activities are recognised andassisted in their activities.

Many people from the islands in Chuuk lagoon travel to Wenodaily by boat to sell fish and other produce

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Future work

Finalising the reports forKosrae, Chuuk and Yap will behigh on the work agenda of thesection in the second half of2000. The second fisheries mod-ule for the SPC CommunityEducation and Training Centreprogramme was due to run inJuly in Fiji. This unfortunatelywas postponed as studentswere sent home following thecoup.

Hopefully the module, devel-oped by the University of theSouth Pacific’s Post Harvest

Fisheries Development Projectand the SPC CommunityFisheries Section, will be run inAugust or September.

A French version of the CFSmanual, Fisheries Managementby Communities, should beready for distribution by theend of the year. The SouthPacific Forum Secretariat ispublishing the three back-ground reports on gender issuesfor the tuna industry manage-ment plans of Solomon Islands,Palau and Vanuatu.

These reports were completedby the Gender Issues Adviser ofthe Forum Secretariat and theSPC Community FisheriesSection.

Two reports, An Assessment ofthe Role of Women in Fisheriesin Niue and An Assessment ofthe Role of Women withinFishing Communities in Tuvalu,will be distributed in the secondhalf of 2000.


SPC ACTIVITIES

TRAINING SECTIONInstructor from Vanuatu updates his skills in New Caledonia

In November 1999, the VanuatuMaritime College (VMC) andNew Caledonia’s Ecole des Mé-tiers de la Mer (EMM) agreed towork together to improve thevariety and quality of trainingavailable to seafarers and fish-ers in both countries.

As a result of this agreement,VMC Engineering Instructor,August Fred, was attached toEMM in May and June this yearto gain new experience andupdate his skills.

In May, August joined traineesfrom the Northern Province at

Touho on a community fishingcourse, concentrating on basicseamanship (ropework), andoutboard engine maintenanceand repair. The knots, splicesand whippings he learnt atTouho stood him in good steadwhen, in July, he went toVanuatu’s northernmost provinceof Torba to teach ropework.

August has considerable engi-neering experience, but recentlyconcentrated on larger, diesel-powered engines. The trainingin maintenance and repair ofoutboards revived his interest insmaller motors. He was interest-

ed to find that like VMC, EMMis concentrating on Yamahaengines, and he particularlyliked the EMM POP sheet(Protection, Organisation, Preven-tion), which he used as an addi-tional teaching resource inTorba.

August also took a course inpersonal survival and fire-fight-ing. He found the personal sur-vival training almost identicalto VMC’s own training.

However, the fire-fighting was atotally new experience, as it wasdone using the fire-fighting sim-ulator at Chaleix Naval Base.Wearing protective suits andhelmets, trainees crawled into asmoke-filled room, holding onto each other so as not to get lost.

They learnt how to approach aroom with a fire inside – cau-tiously, cooling the door downfirst – and then put out the fireby spraying foam inside.Outside the simulator theypractised using high-pressurespray nozzles and foam-makingbranch pipes.

VMC is in the process of build-ing its own fire-fighting simula-tor and, once completed,August will be able to teachothers.

August’s visit to EMM wasfunded by the SPC FisheriesTraining Section. VMC is grate-ful to both SPC and EMM fortheir kind assistance.Outboard engine training at Touho

Sefti materiel blong Vanuatu mo Solomon

In the early 1990s, the TrainingSection launched a safety-at-seacampaign aimed at reducing thenumber of small-boat distressincidents in the region, through

the distribution of resourcematerials to fisheries adminis-trations, training institutions,NGOs and private operators.Starting in 1995, Section staff

have developed a campaignlogo, four posters, two trainingvideos, a safety equipmentcheck-list (available as a stickerand as a laminated card), a


SPC ACTIVITIES

teaching manual for trainers, anaudio-tape programme forradio stations and eight videoclips for TV stations. Morerecently, the English version of athird video (Rambo Goes DeepSea) was produced and a new acourse (Basic Sea Safety certifi-cate) was developed for mar-itime training institutions.

Following a request from theVanuatu Maritime College(VMC) and the maritime author-ity in the Solomon Islands, theSection undertook the transla-tion of some of the above mate-rials in pidgin English.

The safety equipment and five-minute checklists were translat-

ed by Caroline Nalo (VMCOffice Manager) and, after aquick formatting job by SPCGraphic Artist, Jipé LeBars,hundreds of copies were print-ed as posters, stickers and lami-nated cards.

The materials were shipped toSanto and Honiara, where localadministrations will distributethem to the numerous and scat-tered islands in both countries.In Vanuatu, staff of the VMCwill use and distribute the SPCmaterials during fisheries work-shops (see article page 28),while in Solomon Islands, theFisheries Division will take careof distribution using its exten-sion network.

At a recent regional workshop,Solomon Islands Director ofMarine, Michael Ahikau, gavethe training section a boost ofoptimism when, commentingon SPC safety materials, he said:“. . . the number of accidents inthe Solomons has dropped sig-nificantly following a series ofworkshops on safety-at-sea.”Let’s hope that with the pidginmaterials, future workshopswill have an even greaterimpact!

The Fisheries Training Section isnow awaiting a translation of itsmaterials in PNG pidgin.

Fisheries training on the web

August 2000 is an importantdate for staff of the SPC FisheriesTraining Section. After severalweeks of fine-tuning, theSection’s website is finallyavailable on the Internet. If you

want to find out what we looklike and, more importantly,what the Training Section does,www.spc.int/coastfish/sections/training is the website to visit!

Although still in the develop-ment stage, the Section’s web-site is a good source of informa-tion and resource materials. Inaddition to a short presentationof the Section and its staff, the


SPC ACTIVITIES

site provides three links ofpotential interest to fisheriespersonnel in the Pacific. UnderMeeting Announcement, youwill find the latest course adver-tisements and correspondingnomination forms. For instance,the link contains documents inrelation to the forthcomingregional course for women man-agers of seafood enterprises.

The link to Training Material isprobably the most interestingbecause it offers the possibilityof downloading the Section’s

most recent resource materials.Have you lost the recently dis-tributed SPC Vessel Economicssoftware and need to assess theprofitability of a longliner youare about to purchase? Do youwant additional copies of theOn-Board Handling of SashimiGrade Tuna manual for newcrew on your fishing vessel?Will you soon run a safety-at-sea workshop and are desper-ately looking for resource mate-rials? Easy! Just click onTraining Material and down-load what you need!

Lastly, the section News will beregularly filled with trainingmatters of interest to fisheriespersonnel, companies and train-ing institutions. In there, youwill find brief progress reportson the Section’s activities as wellas interesting news from othertraining providers in the region.Yes, our website is open to otherinstitutions wishing to advertisetheir training activities but do notyet have the ability to developtheir own website!

First SPC seaweed training workshop in Vanuatu

Between 16 May and 6 June2000, seven fisheries officersfrom the Vanuatu FisheriesDepartment attended a trainingcourse on seaweed farming. Thecourse was funded by theGovernment of Taiwan/ROCthrough its annual small-grantscheme to the region.

This particular training wasorganised by the SPC FisheriesTraining Section. As mentionedin our previous article, thecourse was a train-the-trainercourse and was designed forpersons (mainly fisheries andextension officers) who willintroduce and promote seaweedfarming among coastal vil-lagers. For Vanuatu, the sevenparticipants consisted of threeresearch officers and four fish-eries extension officers. Theseofficers will become trainers atthe end of the workshop. Thetraining was held in Port Vila onEfate Island.

Esaromea Ledua was contractedby SPC Fisheries TrainingSection to design and deliverthe course programme.

The course covered areas suchas seaweed farm maintenanceand monitoring; proper postharvest handling and process-ing; packing and storage; mar-keting; establishing the proce-dures of selecting possible farm-ing sites; and developing proce-dures of farm management. Thetraining arrangement was dis-

cussed with the Director ofFisheries, Moses Amos and SPCFisheries Training Specialist, MrTeriihauroa Luciani.

Overall, this first SPC course onseaweed farming was a success.The seven participants gainedknowledge of and skills on sea-weed farming. Their challengewill be to assist in the develop-ment of seaweed farming inVanuatu. Additional funding isavailable.

Seaweed status in the region

Currently there is a growing interest within the South Pacific islandstates towards the farming of the seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii orknown by many as Eucheuma cottonii. The availability of the exportmarket, coupled by the short-term nature of the crop (six weeks) andthe life-span (two years) of the dried product, makes this particularcommodity attractive to many small island states.

Like neighbouring island states, the Vanuatu Government is intendingto venture into seaweed farming as a means of creating employmentin rural coastal areas. Furthermore seaweed farming is envisaged toattract fishers as a means of reducing fishing pressure exerted on thealready over-fished inshore resources. These were some of the rea-sons why the Vanuatu Government sought the assistance of theSecretariat of the Pacific Community for training the trainers in sea-weed farming.

(Source: Esaroma Ledua, Fisheries Principal Officer, Fisheries Division of theMinistry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Fiji Islands)


SPC ACTIVITIES

Skipjack handling workshop on hold

Following a request for assis-tance from the seafood compa-ny Ocean Trader, TrainingSection staff made arrange-ments for a workshop to be heldin June, at Pacific Harbour, FijiIslands but because of the coup,the workshop was postponed.

The workshop will be conduct-ed by consultant/tutor, Mr KenHarada from the Sydney FishMarket, the same person whoassisted SPC with several sashi-mi-tuna handling and gradingworkshops in the mid-1990s.The purpose will be to safely

increase the efficiency andspeed of Ocean Trader’s fillet-ing staff. Using a slide show, amanual specifically developedby the Section for that work-shop, and practical demonstra-tions, the tutor will teach thetrainees how to quarter-loin

Small skipjack sale at secondary wholesaler at around 400 yen/kgK

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Preparing tataki in a supermarket

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SPC ACTIVITIES

Quarter fillets for tataki

Tataki is displayed on the shelffor immediate consumption

(center of the photo)

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skipjack tunas to be processedas tataki for the very demand-ing Japanese consumers. Tataki,a traditional Japanese dish alsoknown as “sashimi of the poor”,consists of fresh quarter-loin ofskipjack that is lightly seared onthe outside and raw in the mid-dle. Because of the Asian eco-nomic recession, the consump-tion of tataki in Japan is rising tothe detriment of the highest-value sashimi tuna species.

As part of its efforts to supportthe revival of the Fiji skipjackfishery, the innovative man-agers of Ocean Trader haveentered a joint venture with aJapanese company to exportfrozen tataki to Japan. After justa few weeks of experience inthis new process, Ocean Traderwas processing two to threetonnes of raw product daily, forapproximately one ton of fin-ished product. But the Japanesewant more and Ocean Trader is

attempting to double its pro-duction to 50 tonnes of tatakiexported each month! This willmean buying more fish from thelocal FAD fishers and employ-ing more filleting staff in theprocessing plant. A substantialboost for the local fishing sector!The Fiji Fisheries Division playsan important role in this successstory as the coordinator of anongoing FAD programme thathelps Ocean Trader to obtain aregular fish supply.

In brief

• The second regional courseon seafood enterprise opera-tions and management forPacific Island women will beheld in Nelson, New Zealandfrom 6 to 24 November. Thedeadline for nominations isSeptember 15 and applica-

tion forms can be obtainedfrom the Section’s website(www.spc.int/coastfish/sec-tions/training)

• The 1999 Fisheries TrainingDirectory is now available onthe same website. Training

providers are invited to for-ward their updates on cours-es for the new version of theDirectory, scheduled for dis-tribution by the end of 2000.


SPC ACTIVITIES

• In June, the SPC FisheriesTraining Adviser visitedTonga to assist with the devel-opment of a pre-sea fishingcourse aimed at building apool trained crew in supportof the local tuna industry. Ashort safety course, followedby an exposure to real fish-ing conditions was recom-mended. The course, ifimplemented, will involvethe Ministry of Fisheries andTonga Maritime PolytechnicInstitute. A survey of thelocal fishing companies indi-cate that by mid-2001, 11new longliners would beoperating, creating an addi-tional crew requirement of80 to 90 fishing deckhands.

• A draft Safe OperationalPlan for small fishing vesselswas developed by Sectionstaff in June. Operators areadvised to obtain a copy ofthis document.

• A pilot SPC/AustralianFisheries Academy Trainee-ship Programme for PacificIsland Fishers will be imple-mented from October toDecember. Six carefully select-ed deckhands will attend thisprogramme that will combinefour weeks of shore-basedtraining with two months ofsea training onboard com-mercial fishing vessels.

• An awareness poster on thedangers of alcohol at sea isbeing produced for Niue.French and English versionsof the poster will be printedand samples distributed toother SPC member countriesand territories.

Consultancy funds available

The AusAID financial assistance to SPC’s Coastal FisheriesProgramme includes a component for consultancy work in the areaof seafood technology.This fund, although limited, would enable SPCto contract experts to assist seafood companies through short-termassignments. Four or five one-week consultancies can be funded in2000.

If you own a seafood company and require assistance in the followingareas, contact SPC:

☞ Quality Management System development or review;

☞ HACCP plan development or review;

☞ HACCP training;

☞ Staff training in seafood handling (including sashimi tuna handlingand grading);

☞ Product costing and marketing;

☞ Product development and alternative value-adding processes;

☞ Seafood safety.

If you have expertise and experience in one or more of the followingareas, and are available to undertake short-term consultancies in SPCmember countries and territories, send your CV to the SPC FisheriesTraining Adviser at [email protected]

• August Fred, engineeringinstructor at the VanuatuMaritime College attendedtwo, one-week trainingattachments at the NewCaledonia School of Maritimeand Fisheries Studies. Bothattachments were organisedand funded by the Section.

• Josese Rakuita, lecturer atthe Fiji School of Maritimeand Fisheries Studies attend-ed a three-week trainingattachment at Nelson Poly-technic in July. Josese willplay a major role in the intro-duction of the Pacific IslandsQualified Fishing Deckhandcourse in Fiji Islands.

• French versions of the “SPCVessel Economics” softwareand “Rambo Goes Deep Sea”video are being produced.Completion and distributionare expected for the secondhalf of 2000.

• A boat building training pro-gramme for staff of the Santoboatyard in Vanuatu isscheduled for October. Atrainer from the NewCaledonia School of Maritimeand Fisheries Studies willintroduce a new boat designusing the West System build-ing technique.


SPC ACTIVITIES

REEF FISHERIES ASSESSMENTAND MANAGEMENT SECTION

The Reef Fisheries ManagementAdvisor, Pierre Labrosse, tookpart in the regional workingmeeting on the sustainabledevelopment of marine aqua-culture and grouper farmingorganised by the IndonesianGovernment with the Bay ofBengal Programme, the Asia-Pacific Economic CooperationCouncil (APEC) and the Networkof Aquaculture Centres in Asiaand Pacific Region (NACA) inMedan, North Sumatra.

This meeting was a follow-up totwo other workshops inThailand, which were mainlyconcerned with establishing aregional research co-ordinationnetwork on grouper aquacul-ture at the Asia-Pacific level.

This new workshop was divid-ed into three sessions*:

1. A technical session ongrouper farming techniquesand production alternativesin terms of species and farm-ing systems;

2. A special session on thesocial and economic aspectsof aquaculture for grouperor other marine fish in con-nection with coastal commu-nities’ sources of income;

3. A discussion session withthree working groups thatdealt with the following top-ics:

Group 1: Social and eco-nomic problems;

Group 2: Marketing and cer-tification;

Group 3: Technology andmanagement.

Three of the presentationsinvolved subjects of concern toPacific island countries:

Cathy Hair (ICLARM) present-ed the initial results of herexperiments in Solomon Islandson collecting juveniles in a nat-ural setting for aquaculture pur-poses by means of light traps or

reef crest nets. This work wasmainly based on species ofinterest to the live fish market(human food and the aquariumtrade).

Michelle Lam reviewed man-agement options for live reeffish fisheries in SolomonIslands.

Finally, Sudari Pawiro’s(INFOFISH) paper highlightedcertain important issues linkedto the sea food market inSoutheast Asia, in particular theunlikely possibily for expand-ing the live or fresh reef foodfish market, which probablycannot absorb any significantincrease in production.

In Indonesia

* Documents related to various presentations for all sessions are available in the Reef Fisheries Assessment and Management Section (e-mailcontact: [email protected])

In the Philippines

Pierre Labrosse and BeingYeeting attended ICLARM’sFishBase Co-ordinators meetingand participated in a Train theTrainers workshop at theFishBase office in Los Baños,Laguna, Philippines.

The main goals of the meetingwere to allow regional node (i.e.focal point) co-ordinators to:

• Provide standardised updatesand debriefings on regionalnode activities during 2000.

• Discuss the 2000 WorkProgramme and developspecific regional ActionPlans for each node with afocus on networking.

• Learn how to developnational information speciesprofiles related to biodiversi-ty and fisheries managementusing structured remote dataentry features in FishBase.

• Learn new rapid assessmenttechniques for conservation-

oriented fishery analysisusing FishBase (“Key Facts”and Length FrequencyAnalysis).

• Learn how to develop practi-cal websites using MS-WORD and FrontPageExpress for each FishBaseparticipating country.

• Identify areas of develop-ment in FishBase 2000 (Betaversion) for future ACPtraining.


SPC ACTIVITIES

• Interact technically with pro-ject staff and exchange infor-mation.

Pierre Labrosse gave a presenta-tion of the Pacific node progressreport as well as proposed activ-ities from June 2000 andbeyond. ACP countries involvedin the project will be visited bythe end of this year.

The main purposes of these visitswill be to:

• identify permanent andvalid contact points;

• give an update of FishBaseand more generally of theproject of “stregthenening offisheries and biodiversitymanagement in ACP coun-tries”;

• discuss the outline of a sec-ond phase beyond 2000; and

• research and recover datafrom “grey literature” andcollect information on ver-nacular names.

OCEANIC FISHERIES PROGRAMME

Recently Wade Whitelaw (SPCbillfish biologist) attended theRecreational Fishing Symposiumin San Diego where he made apresentation on ‘Gamefishing inthe Southwestern Pacific – ADeveloping Industry’.

The symposium, which wasjointly organised by theNational Marine Fisheries Ser-vice and the National Sea GrantCollege Program, focussed onseveral themes: management,resource conservation and allo-cation (between commercialand recreational fisheries), catchand release, and education.Held over four days, there were

interesting discussions, espe-cially on the issue of resourceallocation with major pushesoccurring in the US by recre-ational fishing and boat ownerassociations (mainly tacklegroups) and environmentalgroups. This issue is slowlyspreading westward from theUS and eastward fromAustralia.

Wade is also implementing agame-fish data collection pro-gramme for SPC member coun-tries to be used by scientists,managers and the industry tosustainably manage the fishery.Without accurate catch and

effort data it is impossible tounderstand or manage thedevelopment of game fisheries.Gamefish catch and effort dataprovides information on sea-sonal/inter-annual variations ofgamefish species; fisheriesinteractions; and stocks. Thedata also helps to make deci-sions regarding allocation ofresources and the developmentof the gamefish industry.

For further information pleasecontact Wade at [email protected] the OFP web site:

http://www.spc.int/oceanfish

Recreational Fishing Symposium

It’s over! Five and a half yearslater, the four SPRTRAMPobservers have finally hung uptheir callipers, washed the lastof the fish scales off and are gen-tly returning to life on dry land— life without copious quanti-ties of raw fish and plain rice.

A motley crew with nothingmore than their EU/ACP pass-ports and previous observer/tuna experience to bind them,they embarked on a mammothtask: providing the baselinedata on catch and by-catch forall fishing fleets, gear types andnationalities that sail the Pacific.

SPRTRAMP Observers

Cultural and culinary chal-lenges aside, they had theirwork to do. And once settledinto their bunk (or floor-space!),flicking the cockroaches aside,they prepared themselves forthe daily challenges. Knowingwhat the day would bring waslike pulling straws.

A short straw day was one on aJapanese longliner, or any otherlongliner that was brazenenough to set over 3,000 hooksin Pacific waters. Those dayswere long—20 consecutivehours were often insufficient tomonitor all hooks. On a Chinese

vessel, where less than 1,000hooks are set, the challenge wasto keep oneself stimulated andhealthy on a fleet that interferedwith more observer immunesystems than any other. Butlong straws came about too.How about a day’s steam acrossa calm sea, onboard an Ameri-can purse seiner, with nothingmore to do except prepare for alate afternoon high ball? Thesewere the days everybodywished for.

All objectives were met. It took2,570 sea days and 151 trips tocomplete. During that time they


SPC ACTIVITIES

monitored over 1.3 million long-line hooks and 26,000 metrictonnes of purse seine tuna land-ings. With this work they haveprovided valuable insight intoboth the type and the amount ofby-catch species landed bythese vessels, their discardingpractices and their fishing tech-niques. Additional agendas, theother bits and bobs, meant justas much; interpreting how ves-sels filled in their log sheets,providing feedback for thedevelopment of the new observ-er data forms and even justadding to the photographalbum of SPC. Who knew thatthey would find soapfish inNew Caledonia, frostfish inTonga and gemfish every-where? But now we do.

The all star line up was SiosifaFukofuka (Tonga), Filipe Viala(Fiji), Juan Jose Areso (Spain),Deirdre Brogan (Ireland) andManasseh Avicks (SolomonIslands). Siosifa thunderedahead, with day after day spentat sea, on one vessel after anoth-er. His consistent, easy-goingstyle paid off in the end, whenhe topped the number of daysspent at sea. The rest struggledto keep up but despite all themoans, completed sea daysmounted, initially into the hun-

dreds and finally into the thou-sands.

The world is a better place withall of Filipe’s efforts. Neverloosing his mischievous Fijiansmile, he brought good cheerand God’s word to many a ves-sel. Loaded down with give-away bibles his excess baggagereceipts were legendary. Andnow as the project winds down,rumour has it that Filipe is giv-ing up neither his love of Godnor the sea. We wish him luckwith that. While Filipe wasloaded down with bibles, hisSpanish colleague, Juanjo pre-ferred dictionaries. He hadthem all, Spanish–English,French–Spanish, English– Japan-ese, English-Chinese. In thebeginning he thought theAussies, Kiwis and Yanks wereall speaking different languages,but he finally got the hang of theEnglish language—even if hedoes speak with a quaint Asiantwang “you me go disco now”.In October 1999, Spain decidedthey wanted Juanjo back, re-installing him on another idyllictropical island—Mahe, in themiddle of the Indian Ocean, towork with the Spanish purse fleet.

Some eyebrows were raised anddisbelief expressed when the

only female observer, Deirdre,came onboard. The vessel cap-tains often flapped their armsand were heard to say “Wheresleep” or even “ No lucky”.Despite all the noise, however,all her trips were successful onesand three vessels actually brokepersonal catch records withDeirdre onboard. It does seempolite though, to forget that onevessel actually went aground ona reef! In January 2000, a fifthobserver Manasseh Avicks fromthe Solomon Islands joined theteam, replacing Juanjo. As wewrite, Manasseh is still unpack-ing from his first adventures atsea under the SPC flag. His com-puter smells like a fish, his lug-gage is still somewhere betweenVanuatu and New Caledonia,but he is content to have com-pleted the work.

Although their work is done,there continues to be a need forexperienced observers in theregion. SPC and FFA are nowlooking at ways to increase thepool of experienced observers inthe region. No funding for fur-ther training has been locatedyet, but one thing’s for sure – thetitle of ‘experienced observer’ isa well-earned honour.

The “dream team”:from left to right,Filipe Viala (Fiji),Juan Jose Areso(Spain),Deirdre Brogan(Ireland), and SiosifaFukofuka (Tonga)


NEWS FROM IN AND AROUND THE REGION

CTSA PROJECT TACKLES MARINE ORNAMENTALSA new CTSA project will use amulti-institutional approach inan attempt to resolve the barri-ers to cultivating several popu-lar marine ornamental species.

Approved by the USDA as partof the CTSA Year 13 Plan ofWork, the project titled Aqua-culture of Marine OrnamentalSpecies - Year One will tap intothe talents of researchers fromThe Oceanic Institute (OI), theGuam Aquaculture Developmentand Training Center (GADTC),the University of Hawaii (UH)and the University of HawaiiSea Grant Extension Service(UHSGES).

The growing popularity ofmarine aquariums creates excit-ing potential for expanding thissegment of the aquacultureindustry. Although advances inmarine hatchery technologieshave helped increase the num-ber of species commercially pro-duced, attempts to culture high-er-value species have been moredifficult. The first challenge is tospawn these desirable species.Once larvae are produced, thenext problem stems from thesmall mouths of these marinecreatures, which creates chal-lenges in identifying and massculturing appropriate live feedsfor larval rearing.

Using several approaches, theproject participants will work toidentify appropriate first feedsand refine culture techniquesfor the following species: theclown coris (Coris gaimard), yel-low tang (Zebrasoma flavescens),flame angelfish (Centropygeloriculus), and feather-dusterworm (Sabellastarte sancti-josephi).

Dr Anthony Ostrowski of TheOceanic Institute will serve asthe project director and coordi-nator for the various activitiesof the project. “Currently, only

five percent of tropical marineorganisms traded are producedthrough aquaculture,” he said.“The CTSA project will helpidentify and resolve bottlenecksin rearing marine ornamentals,helping to pave the way toexpanding aquaculture’s stakein the marine ornamentalsindustry.”

The Oceanic Institute’s portionof the project will focus on mat-uration and spawning tech-niques for the yellow tang andthe flame angelfish and exam-ine a variety of novel feed itemsand approaches to rearing thelarvae. Stocking yellow tangsbegan in November 1999 forfuture spawning and larvalrearing research.

The first challenge is to establishreproductively active brood-stock. A few of the tangs arequite large and tests haveshown at least one of them ismature and ready to spawn.Once larvae are obtained, theproject will focus on resolvingthe elusive question of what tofeed them. The OceanicInstitute’s work with the flameangelfish is moving closer tothat stage. Flame angels at OIhave been spawning daily sinceDecember 1999, producing anaverage 120,000 larvae eachmonth.

The research conducted by theUniversity of Hawaii and UHS-GES will focus on invertebratesas well as finfish. Efforts include

establishing colonies of feather-duster worms at chosen farmfacilities. Studies will be con-ducted on these colonies anddetailed descriptions will bedeveloped to include hus-bandry and egg collection meth-ods, the worm’s larval stages,preliminary growth estimates,and comparisons of varioussubstrates for settlement.

The UHSGES project activitieswill focus on the use of standardrotifer/algae production sys-tems in an effort to identifyspecies that can be culturedusing currently available meth-ods. By using this complemen-tary approach, more species canbe identified to initiate thetransfer of technology to thecommercial sector.

The project extends across theCTSAregion to include researchersat GADTC. The GADTC is amulti-species tropical hatcheryand research facility operatedby the Guam Department ofCommerce since 1986. GADTCalready has several otherresearch efforts underwayinvolving the culture of marineornamental fish, including thelyretail blenny (Meiacanthusatrodorsalis) being cultured forthe first time by GADTC staff.

Research conducted at theGADTC will focus on establish-ing broodstock populations ofthe clown coris, a highly prizedornamental wrasse. The GADTCapproach will also collect wildzooplankton from nearshoreareas, which will be used to con-duct short-term feeding trials ofspawned clown coris larvae andhelp identify the food thesespecies eat in the wild.

With the combined talents andexperience of the researchers atOI, GADTC, UH, and UHSGES,the chances are very good thatthe objectives of this project will



be met. The successful cultiva-tion of these popular marinespecies will not only createexciting growth opportunitiesfor the aquaculture industry, itwill also reduce pressures on

wild populations by providinga more sustainable alternativeto collection practices. This willhelp ensure that these beautifulocean creatures will be enjoyedin their native habitat—as well

as aquariums—for generationsto come.

(Source: CTSA Regional Notes, Vol.11, No. 3, Spring 2000)

DUTCH COMPANY TO PURCHASESTARKIST SAMOA’S CAN PLANT

Starkist Samoa’s can-makingplant is to be sold off by H JHeinz, the cannery’s mothercompany, to Europe’s second-largest metal can producer, theDutch firm of Impress MetalPackaging Holdings B V. Thesale of the plant will not affectcannery operations as the twoare separate entities, accordingto Starkist official MekiSolomona.

However, it is not clear whetherthe sale will have an immediateor future impact on COS SamoaPacking, the other cannery,which is a steady customer ofStarkist’s Satala-based canplant. Taeaoafua also revealedthat can plant manager MikeShelhamer will becomeImpress’ local representative.

Though terms have not beendisclosed, the agreement withHeinz allows Impress to buy

and operate all five of Heinz’sNorth American can-makingoperations located withinHeinz’s food processing plantsin Bloomsburg, Pennyslvania,Terminal Island California,American Samoa and PuertoRico. The fifth plant is inWeirton, West Virginia and doesnot process food products.

Under the agreement, Impresswill have an initial 10-year sup-ply agreement for all Heinzmetal food can requirements atits StarKist Seafood and HeinzPet Products facilities through-out North America.

“The supply agreement wouldallow us to provide innovativepackaging solutions, total sup-ply chain management andeconomies of scale to addressHeinz goals and strategies forits tuna brands and pet foods,”Impress chief executive officer

Dominique Damon said in apress statement.

“The two companies will worktogether to ensure a smoothtransition process from both anemployee and operationalbasis,” he added.

Impress expects to complete itspurchase in early August 2000.The agreement remains subjectto various conditions, includingreceipt of necessary consents,final negotiation of relatedagreements and financing.

When finalised, the agreementwill allow the two manufacturersto form “a global strategic rela-tionship,” according to a pressstatement from Impress, the pri-vately-held Dutch company.

(Source: Samoa News, Tuesday, 20June 2000)

MAJOR CHANGES IN THE US TUNA MARKET

Twenty years from today, chil-dren may never know what atuna cannery is. On 15 June2000, Star Kist, the No. 1 brandin the United States, unveiled“tuna in a pouch” scheduled toappear in retail stores sometimein September 2000.

The 7-ounce (≈200 g) pouch of“Light Tuna in Sunflower Oil—Rich in Vitamin E and Low inSaturated Fat” opens a wholenew world of possibilities to theindustry.

In the 21st century, the tradition-al tuna cannery might become athing of the past.

The Managing Director of StarKist Seafood said “selling “tunain a pouch” is the biggest inno-vation in the industry sincecanned tuna was introduced inthe 1920s.

Based on the strong consumerpreference for our pouch,Starkist Seafood expects thepouch to expand the US tuna

category by 4 to 6 points overthe next two years with thisexciting product launch.

The 7-ounce packages will besold in three varieties: premiumalbacore in water; chunk lighttuna in water, and chunk lighttuna in sunflower oil, which islow in saturated fat and high invitamin E.

The suggested retail price isUS$ 1.99 for the chunk lightvarieties and US$ 2.79 for the



albacore. The pouch is designedfor families and providesenough tuna for four sandwich-es. Star Kist said its “tuna in apouch” is firmer and fresher-taster than the canned varietybecause it requires less cookingand processing. Starkist is thefirst to sell retail 7-ounces pack-ages. As early as last year “tunain a pouch” was introduced inpouches by Chicken of the Seaand Forman Industries. Chickenof the Sea pouch is an institu-tional 1 kilo pouch. It is packedby Thai Union in Bangkok forChicken of the Sea.

Star Kist also plans to investmore than US$ 20 million in anational (US) advertising andmarketing campaign to pro-

mote “tuna in a pouch” toinclude television and printadvertising featuring “Charliethe Tuna”. This is a radicaltransformation that the industryneeded quite badly.

Mr Christopher Leschewski inhis INFOFISH presentation inMay 2000 reported that “since1990, the three major tunabrands have spent a total of US$14 million on television, radio,print and outdoor media. This isan average of less than US$ 1.5million per year.”

Mr Leschewski compared thisto the US chicken industryspending US$ 86.5 million andthe US beef industry advertis-ing which is US$ 25 million.

Mr Paul Krampe, United TunaCooperative Executive Directorwarned that: “If actions are nottaken to improve the appear-ance of a can of chunk light tunaand if more creative marketingof the product does not takeplace soon, we will never seeimprovements in the business.We will continue the same cur-rent game of beating up eachother trying to squeeze moreprofits out of a mature and rela-tively stagnant market.”

(Source: Crow’s Nest, July 2000)


FISHING, TURTLES ANDTHE LAW: RECENT EVENTS

IN THE HAWAII-BASEDLONGLINE FISHERY

by Paul Dalzell,Western Pacific Regional Fishery

Management Council,Honolulu, Hawaii

On Thursday 3 August 2000, afederal judge imposed severeconstraints on US longline ves-sels based in Hawaii. The judge’sorder, effective 4 August 2000:

1. closes a large area of ocean tolongline fishing, apart from alimited number of sets (370per year) that may be con-ducted for scientific purposeswith 100% observer coverage;

2. establishes a larger area ofocean where unlimited fish-ing can be conductedbetween 1 June and 14 March;

3. requires observer coverageto rise from at present <5%to 20% within three monthsof the order date;

4. requires that any “profits”from swordfish sales bedonated to charity; and

5. will remain in effect until thecompletion of an Environ-mental Impact Statement (EIS),scheduled for 1 April 2001.

The judge’s order was the cul-mination of nearly 12 months oflitigation brought against theNational Marine FisheriesService by an environmentallaw firm, Earthjustice, on behalfof plaintiffs, the Center forMarine Conservation and TurtleIsland Restoration Network.

This action will have seriousconsequences for what is theUSA’s most valuable domestic

fishery in the Pacific Ocean. Awell managed fishery, more-over, without any serious stockproblems. How and why didthis happen?

Longlining in Hawaii

Longline fishing in Hawaii hadbeen conducted for manydecades prior to the expansionof the fishery in the late 1980s.Hawaii longline vessels evolvedfrom wooden pole-and-line tunasampans, employing longlinesmade from rope and fishingmainly within 2–20 nm of thecoast.

By the 1930s the longline fisherywas second only to the pole-and-line fishery in landed vol-ume of fish, and accounted formost of the yellowfin (Thunnusalbacares), bigeye (Thunnus obe-sus) and albacore (Thunnusalalunga) landed in Hawaii. Thefishery peaked in the mid 1950s,with landings exceeding 2000 t,and then declined steadilythrough lack of investment inboats and gear until the late1980s.

The revitalization of the Hawaiilongline fishery was due to thedevelopment of local andexport markets for fresh tuna tothe US mainland and Japan, and

the discovery of swordfishstocks around Hawaii. Partici-pation in the Hawaii longlinefishery increased from 37 ves-sels in 1987, to 156 vessels in1991. Further entry to the fish-ery was halted by a moratoriumin 1991, later formalized as alimited entry program with acap of 164 vessels.

These management measureswere imposed by the WesternPacific Fishery ManagementCouncil, which has the authori-ty to manage fisheries in federal(3–200 nm) waters around theUS islands in the Central andWestern Pacific*.

The Council, has a number ofmanagement plans for differentfishery resources and managesfisheries for tunas and tuna-likespecies under the Pelagics Fish-ery Management Plan (PFMP)that was implemented in 1986.

Landings increased rapidly andby 1991, had reached 8,165 t, ofwhich 3,992 t was swordfish. Thenewer vessels in the fishery werecharacterized by a greater relianceon sophisticated electronic gearfor navigation and finding fish.These newer vessels also tendedto be larger in size.

The majority of vessels operat-ing in the Hawaii longline fish-ery are between 56 and 74 ft(17–22 m) in length, with thelarger vessels fishing to thenortheast of the HawaiianIslands and targeting a mixtureof swordfish (Xiphias gladius)and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obe-sus). The revitalized fleet alsoadopted more modern longlinegear, using continuous nylonmono-filament main linesstored on spools, with snap onmonofilament gear.

Monofilament longline gear ismore flexible in configuration

* Eight Regional Management Councils were established by the promulgation of the Magnuson Act in1976, five off the east coast and threeoff the west coast, to manage fisheries in US federal waters


FISHING, TURTLES AND THE LAW: RECENT EVENTS IN THE HAWAII-BASED LONGLINE FISHERY

and can be used to target variousdepths more easily than tradi-tional tar-coated rope longlines.

Both daytime and nighttimefishing are practiced using thesame monofilament system.Depth of a longline set irrespec-tive of mainline material is prin-cipally a function of the lengthof mainline between adjacentfloats and the number of hooksbetween floats (HBF). In target-ing deep dwelling bigeye tuna,12–25 HBF are deployed withenough sag to reach depths of400 m. Only three to six HBF aredeployed when targeting sword-fish and the line is kept relative-ly taut so that it stays within thefirst 30–90 m of the water col-umn.

Night-time fishing employsluminescent light sticks toattract swordfish and their preyto the baited hooks. Longlinesdeployed for swordfish are bait-ed with large squid (Illex spp).Tuna-targeting longlines tend tobe set during the day and usesaury (Cololabis saira) as bait.Saury bait tends to sink fasterthan squid, which often has

pockets of air trapped within themantle. Currently, the Hawaiifishery represents about 2.7% ofthe longline hooks deployed inthe entire Pacific each year.

Protected speciesinteractions

Early on in the re-expansion ofthe Hawaii longline fishery itbecame apparent that the ves-sels fishing close to theNorthwestern Hawaiian Islands(NWHI) would on occasioncatch animals protected underthe Endangered Species Act,namely the Hawaiian monk sealand the green sea turtle.

Longline vessels were alsoknown to be catching andkilling substantial numbers ofalbatross that nest in the NWHI.This led the Council to imple-ment the mandatory deploy-ment of federal observers on thelongline vessels and the imposi-tion of a closed areas or cordonsanitaire extending for 50 nmaround the NWHI.

A similar area closed to longlinefishing was also imposed by the

Council around the mainHawaiian Islands in response tocomplaints from small vesselcommercial and recreationalpelagic fishermen that longlin-ers were fishing too close toshore and competing with them.

They argued that the longlineboats could range over wideareas of the ocean to find fish,while they, the small vesselsfishermen were ate the mercy ofprevailing weather and sea con-ditions and did not want theadditional competition fromlongliners. The development ofclosed areas around the entireHawaiian archipelago also ledthe Council to implement a ves-sel monitoring system, where aradio beacon reports vesselposition at regular intervals to amonitoring post.

The displacement of the long-line fishery from shore solvedthe problem of interactionsbetween monk seals, green tur-tles and small boat fishermen.

However, longline vessels con-tinued to interact with othermarine turtles (Loggerheads,

The F/V Kaimi is one of the longliners operating from Hawaii

Ste

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Leatherbacks, Olive Ridleys)and to catch and kill albatrosses.In the USA, all marine turtlesare protected under the Endan-gered Species Act (ESA) and theprovisions of the ESA requirethe agency responsible for tur-tles, in this instance the NationalMarine Fisheries Service(NMFS), to produce a biologicalopinion (BO) where there isinteraction and mortality froman enterprise such as fishing.

Under the BO, the agency mustdetermine the level of interac-tions and mortalities and com-pare these with populationdynamics of the affected popu-lations. The BO can then set lim-its on the volume of interactionsand mortalities, which, ifexceeded, require a fresh BO.

NMFS has produced estimatesof the turtle takes and kills fromthe Hawaii fishery over a num-ber of years and on occasion thethreshold values were exceededrequiring fresh consultations togenerate a new BO.

All migratory seabirds are pro-tected under the Migratory Bird

Treaty Act, including theLaysan and Black-footed alba-trosses, which have the largestnesting populations in theNWHI. Also present in theNWHI are two to three speciesof Short-tailed albatross that arepart of a global population of1,000, and are protected underthe ESA.

For these reasons the Councilimplemeted further measures inlate 1999 to minimize seabirdinteractions through additionalregulations. These include themandatory use of at least two ofa range of measures to reduceseabird interactions, and makesattendance at a annual protect-ed species training workshopcompulsory for longline vesselowners and skippers.

The research addressing theseinteractions with turtles andalbatrosses also revealed thatthe majority of incidents wereassociated with vessels fishingprimarily for swordfish.

Interactions between turtles andalbatrosses, and vessels target-ing primarily bigeye tuna, were

one or more orders of magni-tude less than those withswordfish. Further, vessels tar-geting swordfish tend to fish tothe north of Hawaii, along theconvergence zone of warm trop-ical water and cooler waterfrom the northern Pacific, whilevessels fishing for tuna are pre-dominantly in the warmerwaters to the south of Hawaii.

Litigation

In February 1999, Earthjusticefiled a law suit on behalf of thethe Center for Marine Conserva-tion and Turtle Island Restora-tion Network against theNational Marine FisheriesService, accusing NMFS of neg-ligence in its duty to protectendangered sea turtles. Theplaintiffs were concerned aboutall marine turtles but focused onthe Leatherback turtle, as popu-lations in the Pacific havedeclined considerably over thepast two decades.

During the hearing inNovember 1999, federal courtjudge David Ezra, found infavor of the defendants (NMFS)

Setting the longline on board F/V Mary M, longliner operating in Hawaiian waters

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with respect to their ESA biolog-ical opinion on the marine-tur-tle and Hawaii-based longlinefishery interactions. This meantthat while interactions andsome mortalities occurred, thejudge agreed with the defen-dants that this had little influ-ence on turtle populations.

However, the judge agreed withthe plaintiffs that NMFS wasdelinquent under another gov-ernment statute, the NationalEnvironmental Policy Act (NEPA).Under NEPA, federal policies,laws and regulations must beassessed with respect to theirimpact on the environment.

This includes an analysis of theimpacts of a proposed actionand of alternatives to a pro-posed action. The basic purposeof NEPA is to ensure that feder-al officials give appropriate con-sideration to environmental val-ues in policy formulation, deci-sion-making and administrativeactions, and that the public isprovided adequate opportunityto review and comment onmajor federal actions.

The document generatedthrough the NEPA process is theenvironmental impact state-ment (EIS). The draft documentis published and made availablefor public comment and noticesare posted in the USGovernment’s Federal Registerannouncing availability.

Following the draft EIS publica-tion, meetings are convened totake comment from the public.Where a measure was notdeemed to have a major envi-

ronmental impact, an environ-mental assessment is producedand reviewed for a finding of nosignificant impact.

At the time that litigation com-menced, the most recent EIS forthe pelagics produced by NMFSand Western Pacific Councilwas part of the document con-taining amendment 7 to thePFMP. This was published in1994, and the judge agreed withthe plaintiffs that this was out ofdate. Further, he agreed thatthere was no evidence thateither NMFS or the Hawaii-based longline fishery had madeany attempt to reduce interac-tions with and mortalities ofturtles caught by longliners.

As such he was inclined to pro-vide a temporary measure ofrelief until an up-to-date EIShad been produced. Based ondata provided by NMFS it wasapparent that the majority ofturtle interactions, particularlywith Loggerheads and Leather-backs, occurred to the north ofHawaii, and were possibly asso-ciated with the oceanic conver-gence zone.

The judge therefore closed offan area of ocean north of 28° Nand between 150° and 168° W.The judge also ordered all ves-sels to carry clippers and dipnets to untangle any hookedturtles.

The judge’s order also requestedNMFS to conduct an analysis ofthe best combination of time-areaclosures and for the parties in thecase to review the results andmake their own recommenda-

tions. Three scientists represent-ing the plaintiffs, the defendantsand the defendant intervener, theHawaii Longline Association(HLA) reviewed NMFS’s analy-sis in April this year.

Each then filed a report with thejudge. As might be expected thevarious options presented bythe three parties ranged fromwidespread closures both to thesouth and north of Hawaii, tono closures and increasedobserver coverage.

On June 23, Judge Ezraannounced his order for thefishery. This included a closureof all waters between 30° to44 °N and bounded by 137°Wand 173°E latitude, with fishingsouth of 30°N to 6°N reducedby 95 % of average annual effortand with 100% observer cover-age, and closure of this area inApril and May. The judge’s rul-ing included waters to the southof Hawaii as a few Leatherbackinteractions were recordedsouth of the Hawaiian chain.

The judge’s order would effec-tively have meant the end of alllongline fishing in Hawaii.Following an intense period ofprotests and TV and press cam-paigns launched by the HLA astay was placed on the executionof the order and Judge Ezraagreed to work with the parties toseek a reasonable compromise.

The compromise solutionacknowledges that the Hawaiilongline fishery is not homoge-nous and that vessels targetingswordfish are responsible forthe majority of interactions withturtles and other protectedspecies.

It maintains more or less thesame area coordinates, but thesouthern boundary is now atthe equator. Fishing north of 30°N is banned except for a limitednumber of sets for scientificobservations which must all be



accompanied by observers. Thetwo-month closure from mid-March to May will also have aserious effect on the fishery, butthe completion of the EIS by 1April 2001 may negate this partof the judgement.

Consequences

About one third of the Hawaiilongline fleet targets swordfishor a mix of swordfish and tuna,and accounts for about half ofthe annual US domestic sword-fish production. Given theterms of the judge’s order,swordfish fishing is effectivelystopped in Hawaii until the EISis published.

However, there is no guaranteethat there may be any relaxationof these measures once an EIShas been published. Indeed,even stricter measures could beimplemented by the court if itsees fit. Swordfish prices in theUS will likely rise as a conse-quence of the shortfall in themarket and more swordfish willlikely be imported; ironicallycaught by fleets not as well reg-ulated as US longliners.

Longline fishermen will befaced with a choice, either tomove to another US port andcontinue to fish for swordfish,or to convert to fishing for tuna.This requires re-rigging thelongline and fitting a linethrower to set line in deepercatenary curves in the ocean.The cost of a line thrower isabout US$ 6,000.

Many swordfish vessels in thefleet re-locate for part of theyear to California to fish closerto the US mainland, leaving

Hawaii usually around Octoberand returning early the follow-ing year.

In 2000, there may be an earliermigration to California withmore vessels electing to home-port there rather than inHawaii, at least until the issue isfinally resolved with the publi-cation of the EIS in April 2001.As much as one third of the 115vessel longline fleet may even-tually home-port elsewhere,which will clearly have a nega-tive effect on the businesseswhich supply these vessels.

Hawaiian fish dealers will alsofeel the loss of fish if a largefraction of the fleet moves else-where and no swordfish pro-duction. Further, the knock-oneffects will be felt through theHawaiian economy, includingbusinesses such as the airlinesthat used to ship most of theswordfish catch to the US main-land. Even if swordfish fishingrecommences in the future,Hawaii fish dealers may not beable to win back old markets.

Even the eventual production ofan EIS is no guarantee to an endto litigation. It is possible thatthe plaintiffs will continue to lit-igate, arguing that the EIS isinadequate and that Leather-back populations are in so per-ilous a state that the loss of evenone animal to the Hawaii long-line fishery is unacceptable.

Further, a notice of intent to sueunder the ESA litigation wasbrought against NMFS byEarthjustice in May this year fornot taking sufficient action withrespect to putative interactionsbetween the Hawaii longline

fishery and Short-tailed alba-trosses. Some in the UnitedStates are concerned that fisherymanagement is increasinglybeing conducted by the courtsas a result of litigation, ratherthan through the Councilprocess as mandated by theMagnuson Act.

The actual impacts on turtlepopulations brought aboutthrough the restrictions on theHawaii longline fishery will benegligible. Major threats tomarine turtles such as theLeatherback include the loss ofnesting habitat through shore-line development for tourismand harvesting of eggs.

Further some fisheries such asthe Peru and Chilean gillnetfisheries are thought to repre-sent the major threats toLeatherback populations, whichhave declined in proportion tothe expansion of these fisheriesthrough the 1980s and 90s. Onlyconcerted international actionwill save turtles, through estab-lishing the level of danger toturtles by various coastal andhigh seas fisheries and by devel-oping mitigation measurers andstrategies to reduce interactionsand mortalities.

Not surprisingly, the 20thAnnual Symposium on SeaTurtle Biology and Conservationheld in February and March thisyear recommended an interna-tional plan of action (IPOA) forturtles taken by longline fish-eries, comparable to the UnitedNations IPOAfor seabirds and forsharks. The Symposium alsoadopted a broader resolutioncovering reduction of turtle inter-actions with all fisheries.


NEW SKILLS FOR FISHERS INTHE BANKS ISLANDS

by August Fred & Nare Wolu,Vanuatu Maritime College,

Luganville, Santo,Vanuatu

How do I keep my outboard motorrunning well? What’s the best wayto catch freshwater prawns? Howdo I look after my boat? What do Ido if I catch so many fish that wecan’t eat them all now? How do Ifind my way back to a good fishingground?

Thirty-one people from theBanks Islands spent ten days atSola on Vanualava Island inJuly, learning the answers tothese and many other questionswhile they attended two cours-es run by instructors from theVanuatu Maritime College.

The College’s EngineeringInstructor, August Fred, concen-trated on engine and boat main-tenance and repair, safety at sea,ropework used by seafarers andconstruction of a fishing reel.Thirteen people from all islandsin the Banks Group attended.Some were fishermen, otherswere taxi-boat operators.

Nare Wolu, the Fishing Instruc-tor, taught 16 fishers (12 menand 4 women) about fishingtechniques, fish handling andpreservation, fish poisoning,net-making and repair, and careof resources. All islands in theBanks except Mota were repre-sented in this group.

The courses were officiallyopened on 5 July by the Vice-President of Torba Province,Edmond Hillary.

Training

Engine maintenance

Fishers and taxi-boat operatorsin the Banks all use outboard-powered boats, with engines of25 HP (sometimes two on oneboat) and over. Teaching was

based on a Bislama version ofSPC’s Outboard Motors forPacific Island Mariners –Learner’s Guide. Trainees spentthree days learning how tomaintain and repair the engines,with classroom sessions in themornings and early afternoonsand the rest of the day focusedon practical work. As part oftheir training, they overhauledengines belonging to theProvince, Arep Junior Sec-ondary School, the EducationDepartment, the Island Courtand a private operator. All werebadly in need of servicing andmaintenance.

Many of the trainees alreadyknew some maintenance proce-dures, but hadn’t put theirknowledge into practice becausethey did not understand the rea-sons underlying the procedures.For example, the trainees dis-covered that washing theirengines and tanks regularly,would make them last longer.They were also interested tolearn practical aspects of out-board engine use, such asavoiding major damage to theirengine by keeping the shift lockunlocked when running, andavoiding damage to their boatby not over-powering it.

Boat maintenance andrepair

Many of the boats in the BanksIslands are made from plywoodand built by the Santo Boat-building yard. Others are fibre-glass. Some are used for fishing.The taxi-boats carry passengers,

food supplies and other cargo.After a short session in theclassroom, trainees pulled fourboats ashore, using coconut logsas rollers, and shored them up.They cleaned them thoroughly,using coconut husks as brushes,to remove all traces of algae,fish debris and soil from food.

Once they were brushed, thetimbers of the wooden boatswere checked; all were sound.In the classroom, the traineeslearnt how to prepare boats forre-painting, but they could notput this knowledge into practiceas no paint was available.

They also checked a 7 m fibre-glass boat built in Port Vila. Thiswas in poor condition. It hadbeen holed in several places,had a broken transom caused byuse of a too-powerful engine,and (after being moored in aswamp) was full of algae. Thedamage was so extensive thatthe trainees had neither the timenor the materials to repair it.After cleaning this boat thor-oughly, they turned it upsidedown so that it could dry prop-erly while awaiting transport tothe Santo Boatbuilding Yard forrepair.

Safety at sea

Torba Province is striving toensure that all taxi-boats followsafety principles, but this is notalways an easy task, as it can behard to obtain even basic safetyequipment. Many boats do nothave flares, fire extinguishers,fire blankets or radios. Not allhave life-jackets. And the boatsare often over-loaded. Some ofthe boats make long trips (forexample the journey fromVanualava to Merelava takes afull day), and some of these aremade at night without lights.

Safety at sea was therefore anessential part of the training.August discussed precautionsthat should be taken before


NEW SKILLS FOR FISHERS IN THE BANK ISLANDS

going to sea and safety equip-ment and engine checks, usingthe SPC safety-at-sea materialsas a basis for his teaching. (TheMaritime College has translatedthese materials into Bislama andSPC has arranged their printing)

Some trainees had never usedlife-jackets. Using those ownedby the Province, they learnt howto put them on and the properway to jump into the sea wear-ing them. They also learnt howto make an emergency sail thatcan be hoisted if the engine fails.And they pondered the ques-tion: “Who pays the price whenyou get lost at sea and expen-sive air and sea searches aremade?”– realising that it is bet-ter to be well prepared beforeyou go.

Nare also emphasised safety atsea, as well as basic First Aid,during the fishing trips that hemade with his group.

Knots, splices andwhipping

Practical ropework was a usefulpart of both courses. Sometrainees already knew aboutknots, splices and whippingand just needed to refresh theirmemories. For others, this was anew topic, and they were espe-cially interested in the differentways of whipping rope.

Fishing reel construction

The “Samoan” fishing reel isvery popular among Vanuatufishermen for both bottom fish-ing and trolling. Using tem-plates provided by the SantoBoatbuilding Yard, Augustshowed trainees how to maketheir own reels and fit them totheir fishing craft.

Unfortunately this was one ofthe few lessons where the train-ing was “classroom-only” – nosuitable wood was available atSola at the time of the course. A

copy of the template was left atTorba Province Headquartersand the same type of reel wasused in practical fishing exercis-es.

Introduction to ruralfishing

Nare asked his trainees, “Whydo we fish? What is fishing?What skills do we need?” Theylearnt that fish is a valuablesource of protein for their fami-lies, as well as providing workand, maybe, the chance to earnsome money. Most traineesthought “fishing” meant “tak-ing a boat to go trolling or bot-tom fishing”.

But the Maritime College’s defi-nition is much wider andincludes: “any kind of activitythat involves catching foodfrom the sea or in fresh water”.Trainees were also surprised atthe multitude of skills a reallygood fisher needs: managementof resources; money and busi-ness; maintenance and repair ofboats and engines; fishing gearand techniques; fish handlingand preservation; and use ofsafety equipment. This sessionhad them really thinking aboutfishing.

Fishing techniques

The two main techniques taughtwere bottom fishing andtrolling. Trainees learnt whatmaterials they need to put theirown fishing gear together, andthe different kinds of knots andsplices they can use for differentpurposes. At the end of thecourse each one had a trollingrig with lures and a wire rigwith tuna circle hooks. Theyalso learnt what other tools andgear they need to successfullybottom fish and troll.

Bottom fishing and trollingwere new to the four women onthe course – traditionallyVanuatu women practise shore

fishing, but do not go out fish-ing in boats. These four did goout, because Nare made threeshort night-fishing trips withhis trainees, during which theypractised both trolling and bot-tom fishing.

Before going fishing, Nareemphasised the importance ofpreparing the boat properly -checking that boat and engineare in good order, that safetyand fishing gear are all there,that preparations are made forkeeping fish properly, and thatthere is enough food and wateron board.

Trainees learnt how to cut baitand bait their hooks correctly,how to use the reels and how tocontrol a big fish without prob-lems. Sola has no facilities formaking large quantities of ice,but the trainees learnt theimportance of keeping fish intop condition. This they did bycovering the fish with coprabags and keeping the bags con-stantly soaked in cool seawater.The fish returned to Sola inprime condition, well beforerigor mortis set in, and werekept for the rest of the night inice in a freezer whose powersupply had been turned off.

The first group were out from6.30 to 11 pm. They caught 6white poulet (Pristipomoidesflavipinnis), 10 sea perch(Lutjanus malabaricus), 4 loches(groupers, Epinephelus sp.), 2dogtooth tuna (Gymnosarda uni-color) and 15 pink fish (hump-back snappers, Lutjanus gibbus).

The next day, the trainees usedthese fish in the fish preserva-tion session. The second groupmade a shorter trip, from 6 to8.30 pm, and only caught twosnappers (Etelis sp.). The thirdgroup were out from 5 to 9.30pm and caught 10 pink fish, akarong (trevally, Caranxmelampygus), a red mouth(Lethrinus sp.) and 7 snappers.



In the classroom, trainees learntto use transits of two or threelandmarks to find their way backto productive fishing grounds.This was a completely new ideafor them. They also learnt to usetheir bottom lines to discover thedepths at which they are fishing,the kinds of fish found at differ-ent depths, and the importanceof tides and currents.

Other fishing techniques brieflycovered during the course werefishing (with traps) for lobstersand freshwater prawns. BanksIslanders traditionally makevery beautiful lobster andprawn traps, but they learntsome new ideas about how touse them and how to maintainthe quality of the lobsters andprawns they catch.

Fish handling and fishpreservation

“Treat your fish like a baby” isNare’s watchword. Trainees dis-covered how poor handling canincrease the risk of damagecaused by bacteria and enzymes.They discussed fish quality, andthe proper way to gut and gillthe fish, clean them with theleast possible damage to theirskin and flesh, and fillet them.

Then it was time for fish preser-vation. This was a popular ses-sion. In the classroom, fourtechniques were discussed: bot-tling, smoking, salting and sun-drying. It was only possible todo practical work on the firsttwo, mainly because the sun(needed for the others) refusedto show its face.

The trainees made bottled fish,flavoured with tomato sauce,soy sauce, oil, onion, salt and(for those who liked it) chili.The results were pronounced a“number one” substitute forimported tinned fish, and therewere many demands for more.

Before smoking fish, traineesmade a smoke-dryer, using a200-litre drum, reinforced withrod and copra mesh wire. Theyused sawdust to make smokeduring the lesson, but will nor-mally use copra husks. The fishwere sliced and flavoured withhoney before smoking andshould have been dried in thesun for a week afterwards.

This was not possible, but therapid growth of mould on thefish after smoking was a valu-able lesson in the need for dry-ing. People who tasted thesmoked fish said they liked it,but it is not a normal part ofVanuatu diet and it remains to beseen whether it will “catch on”.

Another topic covered wasciguatera fish poisoning. Nare’sstudents were interested to dis-cover what causes ciguateraand why people should avoiddamaging reefs – an activitythat causes the organismresponsible for fish poisoning toincrease very fast. They also dis-cussed the plants that can beused to treat fish poisoning, oneof which, known as false tobac-co, was not known to them,although they traditionally usemany others.

Net making and repair

Under Nare’s guidance, thetrainees made a gillnet 10 mlong and 1m deep, completewith floats and sinker, whichwas left at Sola for use in thefuture. They also had hands-ontraining in mending and patch-ing nets and learnt to make theirown netting needles from bam-boo. Further practical activities

included each trainee making ahammock to take home, andmaking a volleyball net for ArepJunior Secondary School, whoseclassroom they were using.

The original timetable for thecourse had programmed a prac-tical session on gillnetting.However, it was not possible todo this, because in the interestsof good resource management,Torba Province has very wiselyplaced a tabu on gillnetting,spear-fishing and shell collec-tion in the area near Sola.

Resource managementand fisheries laws

The tabu placed by TorbaProvince is a good example ofthe need to manage resourceswisely. Among other topics,Nare emphasised the need toconserve mangroves as a nurs-ery for fish, and to avoid takingturtle eggs and female turtles sothat turtles can once againbecome plentiful. He alsoexplained Vanuatu fisheries lawas it applies to such resources aslobsters, coconut crabs, conchshells, turtles, dugong andwhales. A copy of this portion ofthe law in Bislama was given toeach trainee.

Resource materials

Each trainee was given notes inBislama on all the topics cov-ered by the course.

Copies of SPC’s safety-at-seaposters were put in the TorbaProvincial Council Chambers atSola, and the template for thefishing reel, fish quality postersand copies of the fisheries lawand spare copies of the trainees’notes, were also left at ProvinceHeadquarters for reference.

Closing ceremony

The course ended on 14 Julywith a closing ceremony,opened with a prayer by Father



Luke Dini. Speeches were givenby Provincial Secretary-GeneralFather Baldwin Lonsdale andby August Fred on behalf of theVanuatu Maritime College. MrAbraham Eldads, Principal ofArep Junior Secondary School,officially closed the courses. Allparticipants were presentedwith certificates by theirinstructors. The final touch wasthe closing feast, for whichNare’s trainees caught lots ofgood, fresh fish.

Conclusion

The students’ eagerness to learnis an indication of how valuablethis kind of course can be. TorbaProvince is one of the mostremote areas of Vanuatu, con-sisting of scattered islands ofwhich only some have air strips.Flights are not frequent, andvisits by inter-island cargo ves-

sels are rare. The people there-fore need to be self reliant, andfishing is a valuable activity forthem.

The idea of running two coursessimultaneously, with peoplefrom each island in attendance,is that trainees from one coursecan pass their skills to traineesfrom the other, as well as toother people. All trainees indi-cated that they would do this,and one particularly valuabletrainee was Mrs Shirley Dick,who is in charge of Women’sAffairs for Torba Province andwhose job is training otherwomen.

August and Nare’s next courseswill be held in September, againin Torba province, but this timeat Loh for people from theTorres Islands – the northern-most islands in Vanuatu.

Thanks

The Vanuatu Maritime Collegeis very grateful to the followingfor their assistance:

The Torba Provincial Govern-ment Council, especially Secre-tary-General Baldwin Lonsdaleand Assistant Secretary-GeneralChristopher Mackenzie, fortheir help with arrangements,

The Principal of Arep JuniorSecondary School, AbrahamEldads, for making a classroomavailable,

George Couscous, for providingfood for the two instructors,

Marcel Rosflender of the SantoBoatbuilding Yard, for the fish-ing reel template.

Practical work on a Yamaha outboard engine.

Four boats were pulled ashore on coconut-log rollers……and thoroughly cleaned inside and out.

A lot of concentration was needed to learn how to whip rope.


© Copyright Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 2000

All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. The SPC authorises the partial reproduction ortranslation 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, P.O. Box D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New CaledoniaTelephone: +687 262000; Fax: +687 263818; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: http://www.spc.int/coastfish/index.html


It’s good to find that the techniqueslearnt in the classroom produce real results.

That bottled fish is really tasty – betterthan tinned fish.

Our families will enjoy resting in thesehome-made hammocks.