Highlights of SciCOFish Coastal Fisheries Finfish work SciCOFish Steering Committee meeting Noumea, March 2015

Coastal fisheries Provide 50%–90% of protein intake for coastal communities Very important for local incomes (provides around 50% of coastal households with 1st or 2nd source of income)

Fresh finfish key to food security

SciCOFish key work areas (Finfish) Increased capacity, better science, for more informed management Multiple themes: In-water assessments (including habitat surveys) Creel and market surveys Catch, effort, CPUE, prices, value etc Biological sampling and demographic assessments Length and age-based indicators, genetic population structure Ciguatera Development of awareness/Information materials Capacity building

In-water assessments - Highlights Training conducted in 6 countries in UVC and habitat survey methods FSM 2010 (Aquarium fish; 8 staff) Kiribati 2011 (Environmental Impact Assessment; 9 staff) RMI 2011 (5 staff) Samoa 2011 (Spawning aggregations; 8 staff) Tuvalu 2011 (4 staff) Fiji 2013 (12 staff) General move by countries away from UVC Costly and time consuming Logistically difficult Easily biased More informative approaches for assessing fisheries available

Creel and market surveys - Highlights Trials and training conducted in 9 countries Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, PNG, RMI, Tonga, Tuvalu 82 in-country staff trained Assessment reports produced for 5 countries Provide much-needed baseline data for future comparison Finalised draft of Creel & Market survey manual Developed, trialled and implemented new database Promotes standardisation of data and comparisons over space and time Coming soon in 2015 - Waterproof ID cards (300 species)!!

Creel and market surveys – Highlights (2) Ongoing survey programs established in 4 countries PNG (18 people employed) Tonga (1 person employed) Kiribati Nauru Palau, RMI, Tuvalu planning to commence programs in 2015 Trainings regularly featured in national media Promotes project, reaffirms official nature & gets people used to surveyors

Biological sampling - Highlights Training conducted in 10 countries Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, PNG, RMI, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu 92 in-country staff trained 2 ageing workshops held in Noumea (collaboration with IRD) Ageing protocols developed for numerous coastal finfish species Ages estimated for > 2500 fish Demographic assessments completed for 7 countries Length & age structures, growth rates, maturity schedules, mortality rates Genetic population structure / connectivity examined for 10 species (collaboration with IRD)

Biological sampling

Age-based Indicators Fished population Information on fishing mortality Number of fish Age (years) High Fishing mortality Moderate Fishing mortality Low Fishing mortality

Highlight - Combining creel surveys and biological sampling a powerful approach! Joint survey between MFMRD & SPC at Abemama Large fishery for bonefish 19 landings surveyed 1129 individual bonefish measured Catch and gear documented for all landings Maturity assessed Results used to guide Kiribati Coastal Fisheries Management Plan

Genetic connectivity

Genetic connectivity ?

Other highlights Kept SPC at the forefront of ciguatera work in the Pacific and globally Workshop on standardising field survey methods for ciguatera collection and detection, Hong Kong, 2012 Assisted Tuvalu with detection of ciguatera in fish and algae surveys Co-facilitated training workshop on sampling methods and ID of ciguatoxin- causing algae, Suva, July 2013 (collaboration between UQ, USP, FAO, IFREMER; 21 participants) Workshop on fish and shellfish poisoning held in Noumea, Nov 2014 (60+ participants)

Other highlights (2) Trained and mentored 6 Pacific Island Young Professionals Developed information/awareness materials Developed collaboration with research groups in the region and globally (IRD, USP, UQ, USC, ZMT, SPC OFP)

Work plan for 2015 and beyond SciCOFish project concludes in September 2015 Priorities for 2015 Process remaining genetic samples and otoliths Finalise biological and genetic assessments Examine potential for otolith measurements to be used as proxies for age (cheaper, easier) Develop biological sampling guides for key species Finalise, print and distribute creel and market survey manual and ID cards

Thank you