Number 118 (July-September 2006)
Produced by the Pacific Community, Division of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems, Information Section, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia
Produced with financial assistance from France, Australia and New Zealand
Editorial
Phase 1 of the new Regional Tuna Tagging Project began in August 2006. The chartered pole-and-line vessel F/V Soltai 6 spent two months in the Bismark Sea, Papua New Guinea, tagging nearly 12,000 tuna, mainly skipjack (~ 60% of the overall catch). A detailed report of the first results is presented in page 36. An interesting feature article by Ben Ponia is published on page 58. Ben describes the new aquaculture developments taking place in the northern Pacific, and identifies a number of institutional partners for future collaboration with SPC.
Jean-Paul Gaudechoux
Fisheries Information Adviser
In this issue
SPC ACTIVITIES
Reef Fisheries Observatory
• Staff changes
• Survey work in the Solomon Islands
• Survey work in Papua New Guinea
• Improvements to the PROCFish/C web portal
Fisheries Management Section
• Tuvalu's Coastal Fisheries Management Programme
• Community-based Fisheries Management Programme in Nauru
Aquaculture Section
• Cook Islands National Pearl Economics Workshop and Industry Seminar
• FAO sub-committee on aquaculture
• Indigenous Aquaculture Session, Australasian Aquaculture Conference
• Country visit to French Polynesia and update on aquaculture activities
• Eradication of Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), restocking of Nile tilapia (O. niloticus), and improved aquaculture pond management in Nauru
• Progress report on experimental stocking and community management of tilapia in Lake Satoalepai, Samoa
• Regional women's training workshop in aquaculture at CETC
Nearshore Fisheries development and Training Section
• Tuna loining workshop and training needs assessment in New Caledonia
• Onboard training of Soltai pole-and-line crew for the PNG tuna tagging project
• Fifteen priority issues for the tuna industry in Melanesia
• In brief
Oceanic Fisheries Programme
• Regional Tuna Tagging Project - Phase I: Papua New Guinea
NEWS FROM IN AND AROUND THE REGION
• Coral farm project helps village in American Samoa start business, learn about reef management
• New coral reef management guide provides strategies to conserve world's coral reefs
FEATURE ARTICLES
Special traits and promises of the giant clam (Tridacna maxima) in French Polynesia, by Antoine Gilbert, George Remoissenet, Laurent Yan et Serge Andrefouët (pdf: 398 KB)
Baited underwater video for assessing reef fish populations in marine reserves, by Tim Langlois, Pascale Chabanet, Dominique Pelletier and Euan Harvey (pdf: 199 KB)
Aquaculture updates in the northern Pacific: Hawaii, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and Saipan, by Ben Ponia (pdf: 425 KB)