Cathy Hair and Paul Southgate of James Cook University Townsville
Presentation at during the marine pre-conference workshop prior to the 5th GEF Biennial International Waters Conference
2. ACIAR Project Background
Development 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
3. 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”
4. Phase I mini-projects (2004-07)
Pond
stud
y
Tilapia White
teatfish
reseeding
Microalga
e
trainingTilapia
restockingMIRC
facilitie
s
Eel
surve
y
Microalga
e
training
Spong
e
farmin
g
Cage
culture
Shrimp
viral
study
Feeds
study
Mabe
pearl
M. lar
trials
14 projects
AU$184,000
5. Phase II mini-projects (2007-11)
Sandfish
culture
Clownfis
h culture
Pteria
trials
Siganid
cage
culture
Shrimp
viral study
Macrobrachiu
m lar
Mabe
pearl
Spat
collection
Herring
fishmeal
Tilapia
grow-out
12 projects
commenced
Live rock
and coral
culture
6. 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.
7. 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
8. 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 future
sandfish
sea-ranching
Sandfish culture and ranching in Fiji
- Objectives
9. 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
10. 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.
11. 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
12. 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
13. 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 methods
of spat collection
14. 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 cage
culture) in the
Fly River
15. 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
16. 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