Mariculture and aquaculture livelihood options for the Pacific Islands region
Cathy Hair and Paul Southgate – James Cook University, Townsville
ACIAR Project BackgroundDevelopment of aquaculture based livelihoods in the Pacific Islands region and tropical Australia
James Cook University (Partners: Secretariat of the Pacific Community, WorldFish Center, Uni of the South Pacific)
Duration: October 2007 to October 2011
Primary objective is to carry out “mini-projects” – small, targeted interventions to address bottlenecks to sustainable aquaculture.
ACIAR target countries for Phase II mini-projects:
Fiji, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu
Mini-project features Target PICT aquaculture bottlenecks Flexibility Rapid implementation Country partner ownership Institutional collaboration Private sector and NGO involvement Focus on achieving real benefits to PICTs, including follow-up where necessary Ability to “test the water”
Phase I mini-projects (2004-07)
Pond
study
Tilapia White teatfish
reseeding
Microalgae
trainingTilapia restockin
gMIRCfaciliti
esEel
survey
Microalgae
training
Sponge
farming
Cage cultur
e
Shrimp
viral study
Feedsstudy
Mabe
pearlM. lar
trials
14 projectsAU$184,000
Phase II mini-projects (2007-11)
Sandfish cultureClownfis
h culture
Pteria trials
Siganid cage culture
Shrimp viral study
Macrobrachium lar
Mabe pearl
Spat collectionHerring
fishmeal
Tilapia grow-out
12 projectscommenced
Live rock and coral culture
Example 1:Sandfish culture & ranching in Fiji
Large mini-project (>AU$40,000)
2.5 years duration
Project partners – Fiji Fisheries, J. Hunter Pearls, NGO (USP FLMMA), USP ACIAR student, community
GOAL – To investigate the potential for sea cucumber culture and sea ranching in Fiji.
Sandfish culture and ranching in Fiji- Objectives
Transfer sandfish hatchery technology to the government (MFF) and private sector (J Hunter Pearls)
Produce large numbers of 3-5 g sandfish
Evaluate the ease of transferring culture techniques to a pearl hatchery
Evaluate growth and survival of juveniles sea ranched in community managed qoliqoli
Improve capacity of Fijian counterparts (hatchery technicians, fishery officers, students)
Explore management options for futuresandfish sea-ranching
Sandfish culture and ranching in Fiji- Objectives
Trained hatchery staff 3 successful larval
production runs
Limited number of juveniles produced
Experimental sea ranching activity
Staff trained in monitoring and data collection
Community engagement in project
Sandfish culture and ranching in Fiji- Results to date
Example 2:Live rock and coral culture, Tonga
Medium mini-project (~AU$25,000)
1.5 years duration Project partners –
Tonga Fisheries, Walt Smith International (aquarium exporters)
GOAL – Produce cultured live rocks and corals to augment the supply of marine ornamentals for export.
Live rock and coral culture, Tonga- Objectives
Develop protocols to farm artificial live rocks and compare different habitats
Identify suitable species of corals for farming and develop simple culture protocols
Facilitate technology uptake by private sector and community farms for these commodities
Protocols developed, staff trained in coral culture and live rock production
Sea and land-based trials commenced
Identified suitable grow-out sites
Ongoing trials
Live rock and coral culture, Tonga- Results to date
Example 3:Pearl oyster spat Collection, Fiji
Small mini-project (~AU$10,000)
1.5 years duration
Project partners –J. Hunter Pearls, USP-ACIAR post-grad student
Spatial/temporal distribution of spat
Industry-oriented,improved methodsof spat collection
Example 4:Fly River Herring fishmeal, PNG
Small mini-project (~AU$15,000)
6 months duration
Project partners – Ok Tedi Development Fund
Determine quality of fishmeal to support aquaculture initiatives (barramundi cageculture) in the Fly River
Fish samples collected under experimental conditions
Fish sample proximates and biogenic amines analysed in Australia
Preliminary test results show that herring samples can be left unrefrigerated for more than 8 hours and still be suitable for fishmeal production
Implications for livelihoods: local artisanal fishers can access this market without needing to ice their catch
Fly River Herring fishmeal, PNG - Results to date
Summary
Mini-projects are a novel way to support sustainable aquaculture livelihoods in the Pacific Islands region
Provide important capacity-building opportunities
Allow many commodities and techniques to be trialled, and problems to be addressed quickly and economically
Value-add to larger projects by “filling in gaps”
Indicate where larger, more expensive interventions are needed
Thank you