Coasvoice

Ship grounding offshore Nauna Island, Manus

2011-07-18T05:20:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for a cover story on damage assessment of a shipwreck on coral reefs on coast of Nauna Island, Manus Province. Coasvoice team will be sending personnel there for the preliminary assessment of the extent of the damage with the provincial authorities on the ground!

The Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority has lost confidence in Eco EZ Inc to develop the PNG Marine Aquarium Trade.

2011-01-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

The Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority (NFA) has ceased the allocation of funds to the U.S. based consultancy firm Eco EZ Inc, which formerly held the contract to carry out the “SEASMART” Program. This decision comes as the contract term between Eco EZ Inc and the PNG NFA neared expiration, and the NFA was not satisfied with Eco EZ Inc’s level of performance.
Funding to Eco EZ Inc was cut short for the last quarter of 2010, which was the last quarter of the contract term.
Eco EZ Inc entered into a contract with the Papua New Guinea NFA in 2008. Initially a one year contract to conduct reef survey work in the reefs of PNG and test the feasibility of an aquarium trade, the scope of work and contract term quickly expanded to three years and the development of a sustainable marine aquarium fishery.
15 million kina, approx 5 million USD, were allocated to Eco EZ Inc to carry out the SEASMART program over the three years. The government of Papua New Guinea, through the NFA, was the sole provider of funds to Eco EZ Inc.
Initially the program seemed to be going great, with Eco EZ Inc training local fishers from over 8 villages to sustainably collect marine aquarium life. Exports of these organisms occurred throughout 2009 and 2010, primarily to US importers in Los Angeles.

PNG marine aquarium life impressed the international community with organisms of stunning beauty and rarity like the pictured PNG lightning maroon clownfish, and will continue to do so when this fishery develops deep into the heart of the extraordinary biodiversity of PNG’s coral reefs and coastal communities. Photo courtesy Ret Talbot.

However, shortcomings in the SEASMART program slowly started to become apparent over time, especially in 2010. A number of contractual objectives were in place that Eco EZ Inc was expected to deliver on, but simply failed to achieve. One example of this is the production of TRADE software. The PNG government allocated a substantial amount of money specifically for Eco EZ Inc to develop this web based organism traceability software. Six months was the established timetable for this TRADE software to be created, and shortly thereafter, NFA management was to be trained on its use. However after nearly three years, Eco EZ Inc was unable to deliver the software, despite spending all of the allocated sum.
In the end, Eco EZ Inc was unable to develop a viable business model that the Papua New Guinea NFA would be able to utilize to attract private sector investment. The combined effect of Eco EZ Inc not meeting their contractual obligations left the PNG NFA no choice but to discontinue funding.
The National Fisheries Authority’s decision to cut funding to Eco EZ Inc is not a reflection of NFA’s position toward the marine aquarium trade in Papua New Guinea however. The NFA still recognizes that the enormous untapped marine resources of PNG’s reefs can bring great benefit to the coastal people of PNG by channeling these resources through a sustainable, equitable aquarium trade.
The PNG NFA is planning to move forward with their own, internally run marine aquarium program, which will be largely based on the core principles of the SEASMART program: sustainability, equitability, profitability. This main aim of this NFA project will be to take the aquarium fishery in PNG from a “project stage” to a fully developed, private sector run industry. Profitability is the one previously unattained area that the NFA hopes it will be able to achieve in 2011. Many employees from the SEASMART program will be incorporated into the new, NFA run program.
“A work plan and budget have already been established for the 2011 PNG marine aquarium program. This next year of operation is expected to deliver a great range and volume of marine aquarium organisms to our international customers. Fish from around the coast of PNG, as well as inverts and cultured corals, should be available at your local fish store by mid 2011,” says Kema Mailu, program “caretaker” of the new NFA run PNG marine aquarium program.
The National Fisheries Authority of Papua New Guinea is a Statutory Authority set up by the PNG Government to monitor, regulate, and develop policy related to fisheries in Papua New Guinea. The National Fisheries Authority of Papua New Guinea is committed to managing fisheries for sustainable benefit.

Local announcement by NFA.

2011-01-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

Public Notice by NFA in the local news papers this moring regading Eco EZ and the PNG marine aquarium Program development.

SEASMART funding woes

2011-01-10T21:46:00.000-08:00

Stay tuned for the PNG govement side of the story soon to be released!

2010 Traditional Independence Celebrations of Papua New Guinea.

2010-09-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Papua New Guinea celebratesits independence every year on the 16^th of September withtraditional singing and dancing. This year the country saw its 35^thyear of independence. On this day we highlight our beautiful bilas, colors andthe uniqueness of our people, both young and old, bringing out theextraordinary diversity of Papua New Guinea.

As is the norm, celebrationsare held throughout the country with a celebration of beautifully paintedfaces, stunning headdresses, colorful traditional costumes and an array oftumbuna song and dance; each representing and telling a legendary story as eachstep, twist and jump has its own significance and value.

Watch our spectacularfootage!!

New Karkum Conservation Area in Papua New Guinea Works for People and Sea Turtles

2010-09-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

The creation of the first Marine Conservation Deed along the North Coast of Madang Province in Papua New Guinea was the result of nearly two years of community building and outreach.

Western Pacific Sea Turtle Campaigner Wences Magun tells the story in this article that was printed in the Port Moresby newspaper. Read the Press Release.

In this photograph, Karkum villagers sign the Conservation Deed, which is valid for 5 years. See the Conservation Deed.

International Coastal Clean-UP

2010-09-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

On Sat the 25th, SEASMART organized a beach clean up on Ela Beach, Port Moresby's main beach area. This was is honor of the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Clean Up Day.

We focused on just a section of the beach, which was about 270 meters in length.

About 25 SEASMART staff and a dozen local volunteers combed the section of beach for about 3 hours.

By the time we had finished, we collected 105 bags of trash, enough to fill an entire flat bed truck!

The total weight of the trash was 1,073 Kg. Over 1 metric ton!

Plastic bottles alone weighed in at about 85 kg.

Among the trash we found were:

Plastic Bags

Styrofoam

Shoes

Diapers

Condoms

Glass bottles

Tin Cans

A myriad of plastic and foil food packaging

Sadly, much of this trash washed in from the sea in just one day's time. SEASMART is planning to pitch a proposal to the NCD government to get the funding required to keep Ela Beach clean.

2010-07-07T21:44:00.005-07:00

A New Frontier for Marine Livestock Collection

By CORAL Editors - Posted on 07 July 2010

SEASMART sets the sustainability bar high in new model program in Papua New Guinea

by Ret Talbot

Excerpt from the July/August Issue of CORAL

Meme Purgatorio, packing and screening supervisor for the Papua New Guinea SEASMART Program, holds up a plastic cup containing a small Xenojulis species of wrasse. I can see Meme’s broad smile refracted through the seawater in the clear cup. “We call it the Gold Nugget Wrasse,” he says. The fish glimmers as sunlight streaming into the warehouse dances off a mosaic of colorful swirls and blotches. “It’s beautiful,” I say. “Where was it collected?” Purgatorio puts the cupped fish back in the holding system. “Taurama Village,” Meme says. “About an hour from here.”

A week later I’m in a pick-up truck jostling southeast along the main road out of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG), toward Taurama village.

Traveling even a short distance reminds one this is one of the most isolated countries on the planet. Just slightly larger than California, there are more than 800 languages spoken here, largely because contact between villages has traditionally been so limited.

Add tales of cannibalism, deadly snakes, and tribal warfare to the lack of transportation infrastructure, and it is clear why PNG seldom, if ever, makes anyone’s Top 10 Travel Destinations list. This is a shame, as it is truly one the most beautiful, culturally interesting and biologically diverse places on Earth, and for a marine aquarist like myself, it is the aquarium tourism destination of a lifetime.

The marine aquarium trade came to Papua New Guinea three years ago. In that time, the people responsible for building the trade in PNG have experienced what every industry in PNG experiences: it’s hard doing business in such an isolated country. This is a double-edged sword, for while there is no doubt that PNG’s remoteness is responsible for the country being late to globalization, that isolation is also the primary reason the country’s natural resources, including its reef resources, remain intact.

Today numerous industries have their eye on this largely unspoiled wilderness of tropical rainforests and reefs rich in resources. Add to these resources the country’s potential as a tourism hotspot and world-class dive destination, and it’s easy to understand why many outsiders look at PNG and see dollar signs—despite the obstacles.

As the pick-up truck swerves to miss a crater-sized pothole on the road to Taurama Village, I am poignantly reminded (as my head thwacks against the window) that this is a country on the verge. It is easy to be cynical about all the multinational companies with good PR and no real interest in understanding what appropriate socio-economic development means to Papuans.

Many so-called foreign developers' “projects” represent little more than an ATM to many villagers. Timber projects. Liquid natural gas projects. Oil palm projects. The list goes on and on. Fast money in exchange for something. In a country where the idea of a thing going away forever is often as foreign as my own pale skin under the tropic sun, selling resources to apparently well-intentioned outsiders is not uncommon. But how can selling a forest, for example, ever bring sustainable socio-economic gain to a village? Once the forest is gone, the animals are gone and so is the hunting. When the rains come, the terrestrial runoff stifles the lagoons. Reefs die and, with their death, so does the fishery. Will the initial money offered sustain the future generations of villagers who now lack the basic resources necessary to sustain themselves?

In most of these projects, the real money will only be seen by a handful of Papuans and a small group of foreign investors. While the infrastructure in the urban centers designed to coax foreign investors and foreign money improves, the quality of life for the villagers remains unchanged or, in the worst cases, decreases. So what’s the answer? I’m reminded of a conversation with SEASMART’s director, David Vosseler, when I first arrived in PNG.

“A village selling their forest to a large foreign logging company could never be sustainable or bring long term socio-economic development to that village,” said Vosseler. “But selling the village a small sawmill and teaching them to use it could provide sustainable socio-economic development for a generation.” Vosseler is talking metaphors here. This is the idea behind SEASMART. “Like the old adage says, ‘It’s better to teach a man to fish.’”

Rejecting Copperband Butterflyfishes, Chelmon rostratus, on a SEASMART collection boat. Any with blemishes or signs of health problems immediately go back overboard.

SEASMART is an acronym for Stable Economic Advancement through the Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resource Trades. “The name has evolved over the years,” Vosseler tells me, “but the goal has remained largely unchanged. The SEASMART Program is about developing a sustainable marine aquarium trade that supports socio-economic development.” In addition to directing the SEASMART Program, Vosseler is the founder and owner of EcoEZ Inc., a Virginia-based social and environmental consultancy.

“In 2007, EcoEZ,” he explains, “was commissioned by the Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority (NFA) to carry out necessary resource surveys and market trials in order to draw a sufficient level of understanding on the commercial significance of the marine aquarium trade in PNG.” The results were promising, and in 2008, NFA contracted EcoEZ to carry out a one-year nationwide industry trial development program starting in the National Capital District and Central Province. In 2009 that contract was extended two years.

We near the end of the road at Taurama Village, which overlooks a small inlet opening onto Bootless Bay against a backdrop of dark, cloud-veiled mountains of the New Guinea Highlands. Taurama, accessible by road from Port Moresby, is not particularly remote, but life here is very different than life in the city. Even with so much talk about captive breeding on the hobby side of the industry, upwards of 95% of marine aquarium animals are still collected from the wild in places like Taurama, and it is largely through these collection efforts that the marine aquarium trade gets its reputation with non-hobbyists. In recent years, the trade’s impact on reef ecosystems and developing island nations has received much negative press.

In Tonga, for example, allegations of fisher exploitation and abuse have escalated to homicide, while, in the Banggai Islands, the trade has been implicated in the potential extinction of a species, Pterapogon kauderni.

Unsustainably cheap animals continue to flood the market from places in the Philippines and Indonesia, where crowbars and cyanide prevail as collection equipment. It has come to the point that the trade needs to show that, rather than exploiting reef ecosystems and local fishers to their detriment, the trade itself can have a positive impact on reefs and appropriate socio-economic development of island nations.

Taurama Village has recently become a Fishery Management Area (FMA) working with the SEASMART Program. An FMA is the base unit used in the management of the marine aquarium trade in PNG, and, at the time of my visit to PNG, there are eight FMAs. The process of developing an FMA and training fishers is not quick or easy, but the process itself insures that the industry in PNG is built sustainably from the ground up. Before any fishing is done, preliminary reef surveys evaluate the abundance of marine aquarium resources and the health of the ecosystems in each potential FMA. Baseline data for fish, corals and other invertebrates is collected by the SEASMART-employed Resource Assessment and Management (RAM) team to insure sound scientific assessment and monitoring of the FMA.(See image above of RAM team member doing reef survey before collection begins.)

The SEASMART Program, through the RAM team, evaluates the effectiveness of management by monitoring coral reefs and populations of exploited organisms and comparing them to control areas. In this way, the effects of the trade on reef health and target species’ populations from aquarium fishing are constantly monitored, insuring a sustainable trade over time.

After the initial assessment work, the SEASMART Program’s Fisher and Fishery Development team moves into the village to begin intensive training on everything from collection equipment construction and species identification to net collection, proper post-harvest handling and holding, documentation, and order management.

All collection in PNG is done with soft nets in less than five meters of water, meaning that well-trained PNG fishers provide hobbyists with some of the healthiest animals available in the trade. By the end of the training, the fishers and community resource owners possess the necessary knowledge, skills and techniques required to manage and implement an environmentally sustainable aquarium industry. The entire process is a model that can be exported to other areas where marine aquarium fishing is done.

Spotted Boxfish, Ostracion meleagris, on a PNG reef in a collection area.

The group of fishers with whom I am gathered on the beach at Taurama Village recently completed their training with the SEASMART Program, and I am curious to see how they perceive the saltwater hobby. They are just as curious to learn more about people in the United States who spend more money in a month on their aquarium than anyone in Taurama Village will likely make in a year. A few of the fishers speak excellent English, but most don’t and much translation ensues as words like “filtration” and “metal halide” are translated from English to Tok Pisin to Motu. The questions come back down the line of languages. We laugh together. These fishers say they are excited to have the opportunity to earn money collecting fish for the marine aquarium trade. “It’s not easy work,” one fisher says, “but we can make good money.”

Good money, I learn, means that a marine aquarium fisher can earn the same wage as the best tuna fisher. That is close to the top of the pay scale in village life. While there is lots of disagreement amidst good-natured ribbing of boastful, albeit perhaps inflated, claims on what a good tuna fisher can make in a day, I consistently hear throughout my time in PNG that a good tuna fisher could gross US$300 in one trip to the food fish market.

“You can earn that much collecting marine aquarium animals?” I ask in disbelief. PNG is, after all, a country where most people barely earn the equivalent of a US$1 a day.

“On a very good day,” I’m told. “A very, very good day.”

Net-caught and hand-collected are the cast-in-stone bywords for PNG SEASMART.

The reality is very few PNG fishers will make US$300 from a single marine aquarium order, which may require three days of work. Nonetheless, the marine aquarium trade is providing a viable alternative source of income for some villagers and a very nice supplemental income for others. The more time fishers spend collecting, the more their proficiency increases, as is evidenced by the fact that the highest earning fishers are from the first FMA at Fishermans Island.

The PNG fishers are targeting many aquarium favorites like Pacific Blue Tangs (Paracanthurus hepatus), Copperband Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus), Auriga Butterflyfish (Chaetodon auriga), Dogface Puffers (Arothron nigropunctatus), and several clownfish species, including some of the most beautiful percula clownfish (Amphiprion percula) I have ever seen.

They are also collecting some beautiful wrasses and some very unusual frogfishes. A few of the lionfishes are absolutely stunning. In terms of high-dollar fishes, while rare color morphs such as the Lightning Maroon Clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus), image below, earn a tidy sum, the Papuan epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium hallstromi) is one of the most commonly targeted fishes because of the money it earns for the fisher.

At present, PNG is offering some very nice color morphs to hobbyists, but it is really the health of the animals that makes them such an excellent choice for aquarists. Because of collection techniques and post-collection handling, these fishes are arriving in Los Angeles in better shape than most animals from other countries. In addition to fishes and a variety of great looking invertebrates such as Linckia(Linckia laevigata) and Chocolate Chip (Protoreaster nodosus) Stars, SEASMART is currently working with local communities like Taurama to grow out stony coral frags to second generation for easy CITES approval, and PNG soft corals will be available soon.

As I leave Taurama Village, I’m pleased that what I had heard about the marine aquarium trade in PNG is proving sound. While the trade in PNG is not without its very real challenges, from everything I have seen so far, it appears the triumvirate of sustainability, equitability and profitability remain the guiding principle behind what the SEASMART Program is doing. As such, the potential for the PNG trade to become a model that could be applied to other collection countries is very real.
The biggest challenge, of course, is showing that this model can be profitable when it is privatized. The NFA and, by extension, the government of PNG is firmly behind the development of the marine aquarium industry in PNG at present because they see the potential to develop an industry that will support remote coastal villages that are presently falling behind the development of urban areas.

The fact we are now rushing back to Port Moresby from Taurama Village in order to reach the house where I am staying before nightfall is indicative of the growing disparity between urban centers and remote villages. There is a settlement we must drive through to get to the house, and the driver explains it is best not to drive through the settlement after dark. Settlements are the result of a small segment of the country stepping forward, while the vast majority is left behind. Settlements have cropped up in urban centers throughout PNG as villagers migrate to the cities in search of an intangible promise evidenced by the hallmarks of globalization which will elude most. With rampant unemployment in the cities, too many of these urban migrants end up in settlements, where despair often leads to alcohol abuse, lawlessness and violence. “We should bulldoze them,” the driver says about the settlements, but clearly the solution is far more complex.

Despite the settlements, Port Moresby is not a scary city compared to many where I have traveled. Like an adolescent taking those first tentative, albeit sometimes misguided, steps toward adulthood, Port Moresby is far from a finished product, but the overwhelming friendliness of the Papuans makes it a city in which the seasoned traveler can quickly feel comfortable. The heart of the downtown area, simply called Town, is a striking contrast to the outlying areas. Taking the elevator to the eleventh floor of the Deloitte Tower, where the National Fisheries Authority has its offices, on the day after my visit to Taurama Village drives this point home.

Unidentified Pomacentrid that is proving to be a popular aquarium species. DNA testing is underway and a species ID will follow.

I follow Kema Mailu, SEASMART Program Assistant Director, out of the elevator, past a saltwater aquarium the SEASMART program has installed in the reception area and down a hallway to the NFA director’s office. NFA Managing Director Sylvester Pokajam is in a meeting, so Mailu and I sit down to wait. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in greater depth with Mailu, as he is someone who grew up in a remote village. He is an advocate for development of the Nation, but development that will not leave the villagers behind and will not destroy the culture and traditions of village life.

“Papua New Guinea is a young country as far as coming into nationhood is concerned,” Mailu reminds me. PNG will be 35 years old this year. “As a recent entrant into the world economy, where competition is often aggressive and fierce, Papua New Guinea really has not much choice but [to] leap in the national development process in order to be noted and heard on the global scene. Our country has undergone a tremendous level of change over the past 20 years in an attempt to build and modernize the economy. These strides toward development have indeed very much advanced the national economic outlook of the country. However, this has also created a negative impact on the country’s 85% of population who are basically rural-based and living in village communities.”

Mailu tells me about his frequent trips back to his village and the changes he has witnessed. “The urge for the country to get global recognition in its economic development planning and management has totally forgotten to bring into stream the rural communities,” he says. “This created a growing gap between the well-off urban centers and the rural areas. Papua New Guinea must reassess its development policy priorities and strategies so that the process of nation building begins from the bottom up—that is at the grassroot level,” Mailu tells me as we go into a meeting that will confirm Pokajam’s enthusiasm and support for PNG’s marine aquarium trade.

A rarity found in PNG is the Whitebonnet Anemonefish, Amphiprion leucokranos, a likely hydrid of A. sandaracinos and A. chrysopterus.

PNG is not the only developing island nation where the marine aquarium trade is working with sustainability, equitability and profitability in mind. Parts of the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tahiti and a few other collection points are doing it right, but largely because of the visions and directions of a few foreign owners of collection stations. In PNG, the vision is for the SEASMART Program to show how a sustainable, equitable and profitable trade can be run and then to privatize it within the context of established government oversight. At this point, the SEASMART Program is not profitable, as every element of the project is still coming up to speed. With only eight FMAs located in only one province, volume, availability and species diversity is still too limited to secure the quantity of orders necessary from importers in the U.S., Europe and Japan to make the Program profitable. Government money, as well as money from other investors, is filling the void during the development phase, but the trial period is quickly coming to an end. As such, this is a critical time for PNG’s emerging trade in marine aquarium animals.

It is also a critical time for the ecosystems themselves, and this is one reason why many people in the marine aquarium industry want to see the SEASMART Program succeed in establishing a sustainable, equitable and profitable trade in PNG. The degradation of reef habitats anywhere in the world is cause for concern, but in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines, the stakes are even higher. These are three of the six countries that make up the Coral Triangle, an area about half the size of the United States that is home to the greatest diversity of tropical marine species on Earth. More than three-quarters of the world’s known coral species and nearly forty percent of the world’s tropical reef fishes can be found here, and more than 200 of those reef fishes are found nowhere else on the planet. If these reefs crash, we potentially lose some of the most important marine life diversity on Earth. Some even argue that a crash of the Coral Triangle will have a domino effect that will eradicate all tropical reef life as we know it.

Still largely off the maps of the diving masses and only recently opened to marine aquarium collection, Papau New Guinea has unspoiled reefs that all stakeholders want to protect from damaging exploitation.

While some naively advocate the entire Coral Triangle be made into a marine protected area and no-take zone, the reality is that more than 120 million people are directly sustained by the resources in the region. Valued at more than $2.3 billion, the Coral Triangle, like PNG, represents big money to many industries, including the multi-billion dollar tuna industry and the largely untapped natural gas industry. The marine aquarium industry is admittedly a much smaller player in terms of global trade, but it still has a significant impact on the Coral Triangle. As many as eighty percent of saltwater aquarium fishes originate from the Coral Triangle, with the vast majority coming from Indonesia and the Philippines, and this is potentially the biggest impediment to the SEASMART Program’s success in PNG.

“The unceasing demand for lower prices has effectively driven the trade in Indonesia and the Philippines to the unsustainable position they are presently in,” says Vosseler. A report published by the World Resources Institute estimates that eighty-eight percent of Southeast Asia’s reefs are threatened, and unsustainable fishing practices are the number one threat. While the food fish industry is having a far larger impact on the region’s reefs than the marine aquarium industry, there is no excuse for the marine aquarium industry’s long-standing relationship with destructive fishing practices such as cyanide use, he says. “It takes more skill and time to collect a fish with a net than cyanide.”

David Vosseler, PNG SEASMART head, presents a diploma to a Papuan man who has graduated from fisher training.

Vosseler believes a fresh start for the trade in PNG is better than trying to reform a system that is, in many people’s estimations, already broken. “I think any country can do what we are doing. This is not rocket science, but it takes long-term commitment and support at all links of the chain. To make the radical changes necessary to create a truly sustainable industry in a place like Indonesia or the Philippines, more flexibility is required, at least in the earlier stages. Both these countries have strong built-in resistance to real change. The problems extend from the exporters and their buyers to the fishers themselves, most of whom don’t have effective resource rights and responsibilities to the areas where they live, nor any real power to manage these resources. Things are different in Papua New Guinea, and this is why SEASMART sees PNG as ground zero for the marine aquarium trade of the future.”

My time in PNG is coming to a close, and despite spending weeks looking at every aspect of the trade, travelling about the country, meeting fishers, diving on reefs, and eating a lot of really good food, I still have so many questions. Overall, I am cautiously optimistic about the SEASMART Program’s chances to accomplish a monumental feat and build a sustainable, equitable and profitable marine aquarium trade from the ground up in one of the most remote countries on the planet.

As I write from my desk back home in Laguna Beach, California, I am receiving emails from contacts in PNG about survey trips and initial collections in other provinces. New FMAs are being established in areas that will give fishers access to new marine aquarium species, some of which are endemic to PNG and have yet to be seen in the hobby. On my trips up to Los Angeles, I am seeing more boxes arrive on a more regular basis from Papua New Guinea through importers such asPacific Aqua Farms (who brought in the Lightning Maroon Clownfish, above), Quality Marine, Sea Dwelling Creatures, Underwater World, and others.

Beyond being cautiously optimistic, I am hopeful. I am hopeful not just about the SEASMART Program, but about the industry at large. As hobbyists, we have the ability to use our buying power to positively impact reef conservation and appropriate socio-economic development in developing island nations. We have the ability to show that this industry can truly be on the forefront of reef conservation and knowledge.

Every one of us with a saltwater aquarium in our home has the chance to introduce family and friends to the amazing, but often unseen, world of the tropical reef, where myriad colors flash through gin-clear water over an undersea forest of multihued coral sheltering a diversity of life found nowhere else on the Planet. We also have the chance to help people understand the challenges these ecosystems face. I am hopeful that we will, to use the cliché, do the right thing. For some of us, that will mean requesting PNG animals in the hopes that supporting a Program like SEASMART will have a transformative effect on the industry and, ultimately, will positively impact the people and resources upon which the industry relies.

Ret Talbot is a CORAL contributing editor and coauthor of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Saltwater Aquariums (Alpha, 2009). He lives in Laguna Beach, California.

2010-07-07T21:44:00.003-07:00

A New Frontier for Marine Livestock Collection

By CORAL Editors - Posted on 07 July 2010

SEASMART sets the sustainability bar high in new model program in Papua New Guinea

by Ret Talbot

Excerpt from the July/August Issue of CORAL

Spotted Boxfish, Ostracion meleagris, on a PNG reef in a collection area.

“You can earn that much collecting marine aquarium animals?” I ask in disbelief. PNG is, after all, a country where most people barely earn the equivalent of a US$1 a day.

“On a very good day,” I’m told. “A very, very good day.”

Net-caught and hand-collected are the cast-in-stone bywords for PNG SEASMART.

Ret Talbot is a CORAL contributing editor and coauthor of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Saltwater Aquariums (Alpha, 2009). He lives in Laguna Beach, California.

2010-06-29T19:24:00.003-07:00

Damselfish from Tufi, Papua New Guinea already starting to spread in the states

Posted on June 28th, 2010 by Jake Adams 2 Leave a comment

The new damselfish captured by Seasmart fishermen in Papua New Guinea may have been discovered a little over a week ago but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a legal immigrant to American aquariums. Last week Sea Dwelling Creatures received the first batch of these PNG beauties and has already started distributing them to aquariums stores in the US. We acquired some specimens last week and now that they’ve settled into the quarantine tank, we can’t stress enough how beautiful these fish are. Granted our poor lighting and long distance travellers don’t yet look anything like the stunner that we posted last week, but they’re coloring up fast. Even better yet, we first feared thesewould be the type of Pomacnetrus or Stegastesdamselfish that starts out life with unbelievable colors but then becomes a dull adult. Thankfully, our small captive population shows the opposite pattern; the smallest fish are mostly greyish black with few blue markings and the larger the specimen, the more blue they are showing. Our largest resident Tufi damselfish is showing the tell tale thin blue stripe which lets us know at least we got the right fish. Continue past the break for more details and lots more pictures.

Our Tufi damslefish are between one and two inches long and they are already showing a healthy amount of aggression, typical of damselfish. The Tufi reminds us of both a showy damselfish like a Pavo but it has the body and stockyness of a princess damselfish. Our guess is that this fish will retain the higher body profile and will develop colors on par with a large showy Pavo damselfish without getting quite as large. After scouring the literature, both physical and digital, we cannot find any mention of a damselfish that matches this species and it is very likely still undescribed. We really hope that Seasmart gets some recognition in the naming of this fish, if it is indeed unknown taxonomically. With Seasamrt program still very early in it’s exploration of the PNG shoreline, we hope to see many more jewels like this in the future. Big thanks to Sea Dwelling Creatures for helping us to acquire some of these exciting new damselfish.

2010-06-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

“Tufi” damselfish and brilliant cap clownfish from Papua New Guinea are the latest reef gems revealed by Seasmart

Posted on June 22nd, 2010 by Jake Adams 6 Leave a comment

The Tufi Damsellfish is an unidentified species of damselfish which was recently discovered by fishermen working for the Seasmart Program in Papua New Guinea. The Tufi damselfish was collected from Tufi in Oro Province of Papua New Guinea by the same fishermen who also brought us the Lightning Maroon Clownfish. The PNG Tufi damselfish inhabits shallow to deep reefs, patch reefs and the fjords where it likes to stay close to tightly growing coral branches of birdnest and Anacropora coral. The Tufi damselfish is believed to be a Pomacentrus species but other genera are not being ruled out and it is very possible that the Tufi damselfish is a yet undescribed species. Along the same line of novelty, Seasmart is also catching small numbers of white bonnet clownfish, Amphiprion leucokranos which is very different from those from the Solomon Islands. SI white cap clowns are usually much more pink in body color but the PNG white cap have a distinct orange body color. The leucokranos clownfish from PNG are few and far between but we have gotten word that the first batch of Tufi damselfish are already on their way to marine livestock wholesalers in L.A. and Sea Dwelling Creatures, Quality Marine and Pacific Aqua Farms should hopefully be stocking the species soon.

Posted in Reef News |
Search More: Amphiprion leucokranos • chrysiptera • papua new guinea • PNG • pomacentrus • seasmart • tufi damselfish

nice. that damsel is really beautiful. Between the endemic orchids in their rainforests and the fish in their reefs, PNG has some incredible stuff going on.
Posted by: pickle
June 22nd, 2010 at 11:54 am
The cap Clownfish…oh how I’ve missed my love.
Posted by: Ryan Gripp
June 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 pm
That clown has def picked up more of the orange skunk coloring. I wonder how big it is.
Ive got one female and shes like yellowly brown, more like a blue stripe.
Awesome stuff coming from seasmart.
Posted by: B
June 22nd, 2010 at 1:04 pm
What I am more interested to know is if the white cap is found with chrysopteus + skunk parents as some literature said.
Posted by: Hubert the CLOWNFISHMAN
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:52 pm
i just got four of these damsels today, a friend picked them up from SDC for me. they were calling them somthing else and no one knew how much they were apparently haha. but non the less, i got four and they do look great.
-clay
Posted by: Clay
June 24th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Hey Clay how many did you get and how big are they? I just received mine this morning and of the 6 I have, the two larger ones are by far more colorful. Is that the case with your specimens?
Posted by: Jake Adams
June 25th, 2010 at 3:01 pm

2010-06-03T22:36:00.007-07:00

Four new tuna plants mulled

Source:

By ELLEN TIAMU

PAPUA New Guinea will soon become a haven for fish canneries with four new tuna processing plants planning to operate here.
Overseas investors find PNG an attractive business destination because of the country’s good fishing ground, market access to the European Union and National Fisheries Authority (NFA) concessions.
One such company, Majestic Seafood, will be signing a project agreement with the government and the Morobe provincial government on Tuesday in Port Moresby to allow it to commence work on a tuna canning factory in Malahang, Lae.
A groundbreaking ceremony to mark the commencement of work on the factory will take place at Malahang industrial center in Lae the next day.
Majestic Seafood is a joint venture partnership between Frabelle Fishing Corp of Philippines, Century Canning Corp, also of the Philippines, and Thai Union Manufacturing Co of Thailand.
Frabelle already operates in PNG as Frabelle PNG Ltd, based at Milfordhaven in Lae.
With an initial investment of US$30 million (K85 million), the fish cannery will have a processing capacity of 350mt of tuna per day and is expected to create 6,000 new jobs.
The NFA board has given approval for another company, ZZDF owned by a Chinese company, Zho Shan Zheyeng Deep Sea Fishing, to build a tuna processing plant also based at Malahang.
Trans Pacific Journey Fishing is yet another company hoping to start an off-shore processing plant in PNG.
It is a joint venture company of the Fishing Corp and TSP Marine Industries, both from the Philippines.
It is also set to sign a statement of intent with the government soon.
Another company, Niugini Tuna, is looking at setting up a fish production plant in Madang.

2010-06-03T22:36:00.005-07:00

Four new tuna plants mulled

Source:

By ELLEN TIAMU

2010-06-03T22:36:00.003-07:00

Four new tuna plants mulled

Source:

By ELLEN TIAMU

2010-05-23T22:08:00.001-07:00

Rallying for urgent action on biodiversity

AS the world celebrated the diversity of life on earth, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are calling on governments to make fundamental changes to economic planning to avoid the collapse of the world’s life support system.
On Saturday, the world marked the International Day for Biological Diversity, proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993 to “increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues”.
Biodiversity and healthy natural ecosystems underpin human well-being and the economy by providing a range of benefits or “services” such as clean air and water, protection from natural disasters and medicine and food. Experts estimate the global economic value of biodiversity to be as high as US$33 trillion (K96.6 trillion) per year.
“Governments rarely take the economic and social benefits of nature into account in their policies and activities,” Rolf Hogan, biodiversity manager at WWF International, said. “This leads to the destruction of natural ecosystems and the undermining of our future. It is reaching a crisis point.”
Simultaneously, the world’s governments have failed to meet the promise they made in 2002 to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, the international year of biodiversity.
Recent studies, including the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Biodiversity Outlook 3, show that massive further loss of biodiversity is becoming increasingly likely. Several “tipping points” are approaching, in which ecosystems shift to less productive states from which it may be impossible to recover, according to the studies.
In a statement delivered to a scientific meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity earlier last week, 24 international NGOs including WWF – representing civil society, conservation and indigenous people – told governments that they had failed because they did “not address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss”.
“Current economic and governance systems and policies promote the over-consumption of natural resources by some countries and segments of society,” the statement said. “This is driving the destruction of habitats and undermining the rights and livelihoods of millions of people who depend on them.
“We are at a turning point. Fundamental change is urgently required.
“The International Day for Biological Diversity should act as a reminder that heads of state need to heed this call by NGOs to make concrete commitments when they meet at the United Nations general assembly special session on biodiversity in September,” Hogan said.
“We cannot expect environmental ministries to take this on alone.
“Conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity must move from the political fringes and into the centre stage if we are to prevent a catastrophic loss of biodiversity.” – WWF

2010-05-23T22:05:00.001-07:00

‘Big eye tuna nears being over-fished’

Source:

By SHEILA LASIBORI

Picture:

THE big eye tuna specie is close to being over-fished unless countries of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) cut their fishing rate by 30%.
This is according to a ‘Status of stocks report’ (1/2008) on both purse seine fishery and long-line for the period 2004 to 2008 that was compiled by the secretariat of the Pacific community (SPC).
The status report was disclosed to the forum fisheries committee (FFC) of 17-member countries including PNG at its 74th meeting in Solomon Islands from May 11-14.
Sylvester Pokajam, managing director for National Fisheries Authority (NFA) who chaired the meeting, said it was during this meeting that scientists from SPC told the gathering of the status on fish stock especially the big eye tuna.
“On the big eye, the assessment is very, very bleak … all fishing is currently occurring, therefore, scientists are calling for a reduction in effort by 30% to save the big eye on current level.
“What they are saying is, if we continue to fish on current level the big eye stock will be depleted … so now they are calling for 30% effort cut on the fishing on big eye,” Pokajam said shortly after his return to the country.
“So, this is an area in which I want to send a message to PNG and its citizens on the status of this stock because many times we hear from non-governmental organisations, and other people within PNG that fish is being depleted or over-fished.
“So I want to ensure that people know that this is the current situation based on the stock assessment carried out by SPC,” Pokajam said.
He also discussed status report on other fish species.
According to the stock status, the South Pacific albacore was not being over-fished as it was being fished within its maximum sustainable yield annually of 98,000 metric tonnes.
Pokajam said the status of the yellow fin stock also revealed that it was not over-fished, and the skip jack stock was also not over-fished.
“The current status is sustainable for skip jack,” he said, adding that the maximum sustainable yield that could be harvested in the WCPO by the purse seine are two to three million metric tonnes on sustainable basis.

2010-05-11T20:44:00.001-07:00

YOU ARE HERELightning Strikes as PNG Collectors Land Ultra-Rare Clownfish

Lightning Strikes as PNG Collectors Land Ultra-Rare Clownfish

By CORAL Editors - Posted on 10 May 2010

Aberrant form of Premnas biaculeatus, dubbed the PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish, shortly after its collection in Papua New Guinea.

Fisherman’s Island emerges low and dark on the horizon ahead of our red fiberglass skiff. The roar of the outboard bleeds into the striking expanse of turquoise sea and tropical sky as ephemeral bursts of warm spray come over the gunwale. Iga Ware, the boatman, arcs the skiff around the contour of a strikingly green headland and sets course for the distant island.

A small cluster of houses along a strip of white sand comes into focus as Iga throttles back the outboard. The sound of the engine is at once replaced by the squeal of pigs, the laughter of children playing and the lap of the crystal clear water. Iga smiles broadly. This is his village, and he is proud that it was the first village to become part of the pioneering SEASMART Program. Soon he will also be proud that a fish from his home waters will capture the attention of marine aquarists around the world.

Fisherman's Island, site of a new Fishery Management Area operated by PNG SEASMART with a goal of sustainability and providing work for native islanders.

Often known for stories of cannibals, dense rainforests, and vicious jungle fighting during World War II, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the next frontier for marine life collection and home to PNG SEASMART, a government-sponsored program started in 2008. The idea was both simple and radical: starting from scratch,build a sustainable, community-based marine aquarium collection and mariculture industry that would benefit both the native fishers and the reefs. I am visiting the Fisherman’s Island Fishery Management Area (FMA) researching a future article for CORAL and discovering just how close this dream is to reality.

Komori Irimu, a SEASMART employee, ties our skiff to a mooring, as two boats of local fishers approach with their catches. Meme Purgatorio, SEASMART’s packing and screening supervisor, prepares to assess each animal collected and accept or reject it. In the 1980s, Meme was one of the first Filipinos trained in net collection. Animals may be rejected for a range of issues from health or anomalies to the simple fact that the animal was not ordered.

Rejecting a Copperband Butterfly for a minor imperfection; SEASMART inspectors examine every fish to meet high standards of quality and health.

The most remarkable thing about this screening is the large number of reasonably good-looking animals rejected—even animals like blue tangs that are in high demand. A task that could take an hour takes four because the individual health of each animal is paramount. “If I accept any animal that is less than perfect,” Meme tells me, “our reputation suffers.” While the retail cost of marine aquarium animals from PNG is becoming more competitive, the landed cost of a PNG animal is still often higher because of higher freight charges. “Importers, retailers and hobbyists have to know our quality is second to none,” Meme says. Since all PNG animals are net-collected by SEASMART-trained fisher in less than five meters (16 feet) of water, there really is something to that.

While some animals are rejected because they are not ordered, one such animal—the so-called PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish with extraordinary markings—is enthusiastically accepted by Meme at Fisherman’s Island. The excitement began aboard the skiff but quickly spread as more people saw and heard about the fish. “When the fish arrived at the facility,” says Mark Schreffler, SEASMART’s export facility manager, “I immediately knew what it was, since one other like it was collected on the same reef in 2008. It was difficult to express my enthusiasm, seeing such a super-cool, super-rare fish.” Pacific Aqua Farms (PAF), a Los Angeles-based importer that has been a frequent supporter of the SEASMART Program, purchased the fish. “We were happy to get this fish into PAF’s very capable hands, as we knew they would ensure that the fish made it to the right retailer and, ultimately, the right aquarist,” says Schreffler.

It takes a village: local crew with basic equipment for collecting with snorkels and nets in shallow waters. Floating baskets hold captured fishes until SEASMART boat comes along.

“This is the most exciting fish to have entered the North American trade in many years,” says Mark Martin, director of marine ornamental research at Blue Zoo Aquatics, who handled the retail sale of the fish. “We made the decision to get this fish to a renowned breeder,” says Martin regarding Blue Zoo’s choice to not simply sell to the highest bidder. While bids well in excess of $5,000 came in as soon as the fish landed in Los Angeles, the PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish ultimately went to award-winning marine aquarium breeder Matt Pedersen for a preferential price.

“The quality of the fish I received is extremely high,” says Pedersen, who is attempting to breed the Lightning Maroon, presumed to be a male, with a normal Maroon female, from the same waters off Fisherman’s Island. Pedersen is the first to admit reproducing the remarkable pigmentation may be a long shot. “Disregarding the ‘lightning’ variation, the truth is I received exceptionally nice Maroon Clown broodstock with a known collecting location. This is what I’m looking for with all my broodstock, and that alone was impressive. Even if we never turn out a single Lightning Maroon, we will still be producing some fantastic F1 Papua New Guinea Maroon Clowns.”

The PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish is not a “designer clownfish” or a new species. It is, quite simply, an aberrant wild-caughtPremnas biaculeatus. There is some debate about whether the pattern, or misbarring, is genetic or environmental. “I doubt that this Maroon clownfish is a mutant,” says Martin Moe, author of The Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder.

“The term mutant indicates a changed genetic basis for the misbarring, but most likely, in my opinion, a very unusual environmental or biological stimulus during the larval period created these patterns.”

Nonetheless Moe thinks the pattern may be reproducible. “I guess the best chance for setting such a trait in a strain of this species would be to breed it with other Maroons from the same general area where that predisposition might be present in the population and see what happens.”

Matt Wittenrich, marine biologist and author of The Complete Illustrated Breeder’s Guide to Marine Aquarium Fishes, is more optimistic about the possibilities of producing a captive-bred strain of Lightning Maroons. “This Maroon is an example of extreme polymorphism that almost certainly has a genetic component,” says Wittenrich. Whether the misbarring is genetic or environmental, Wittenrich agrees with Moe that breeding it with another Maroon clownfish from the same general area will have the best chances of producing a captive-bred lightning Maroon strain. “Whatever the case for the patterning,” says Wittenrich, “the PNG Lightning Maroon is remarkably similar to captive designer strains, and this fish will be the predecessor to tomorrow’s hot designer clownfish.”

While some of the most respected breeders in the hobby discuss the cause of the misbarring itself, Pedersen has had to deal with the day-in and day-out husbandry of two wild-caught Maroon clownfishes. Wild-caught clownfishes are renowned for not shipping well and developing parasitic outbreaks due to stress— Maroon Clownfish especially so.

Unfortunately, despite how great these two fishes looked upon arrival in Los Angeles, the “normal” Maroon Clownfish—the female—subsequently gave Pedersen a real run for his money and did not survive, despite treatments that included hyposalinity, Formalin dosing, baths, and frequent water changes. A replacement female from the same area where the Lightning Maroon male was caught is on its way to Pederse3n. “It has been a thrilling but terrifying experience,” says Pedersen, who refers to this challenge as The Lightning Project. “I’m grateful for the steadfast support of many hobbyists and project advisers.”

Back in the States, after spending the better part of a month in Papua New Guinea, I am tracking, along with other hobbyists, The Lightning Project intently. I remember Iga’s broad smile and the friendliness of the fishers I met at Fisherman’s Island. Like Iga, I am pleased that this little clownfish has served as an excellent ambassador for Papua New Guinea and SEASMART. While I am excited to follow the story of this one fish, I am even more excited to see how PNG will shape the future of a sustainable and robust marine aquarium trade.
—Ret Talbot

Ret Talbot is the co-author, with Mark W. Martin, of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Saltwater Fishes (Alpha, 2009).

2010-04-12T18:52:00.003-07:00

Study needed for impact of LNG

PNG is ill-prepared for the impact of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
So far, we have watched the progress from gas agreement in May 2008 to financial closure on March 11 with little more than fascination.
We have heard the talking-up of PNG LNG, about the enormous wealth creation and its potential to change our fortunes but thought little of how it might impact us individually or as a community. Partly, this has been because there has been little to work on. Nobody has given us any clue on the full cost and benefit of this project.
The blame for this must be placed squarely at the doorstep of the executive Government and on the steps of Parliament House.
While there has been a ministerial economic committee formed for the express purpose of the LNG project, its sole purpose, so it would seem, up to now has been to speed up the approval of the project. Little has been done by way of preparing the nation for the effect which will have a tsunami-like consequence upon PNG’s fragile social scene and its small and open economy.
So much has been said about the K60-odd billion that the project might bring into the country but so little is said about where this money is going to be spent or what kind of impact such a landslide of money will have upon PNG.
So much money is not necessarily a good thing. As we have seen since the advent of the Bougainville copper agreement in 1974, and every other copper, gold and oil agreement since, almost all of the billions from those projects seem to have vaporised into thin air.
Australia has spent nearly K20 billion since Independence in budget support and, today, there is nothing to show for those billions.
PNG collected windfall money from good commodity prices of some K6 billion in the last six years.
This money has disappeared overnight with the Highlands Highway still in dire need of maintenance, with hospitals still running short of essential medicine, with nurses, doctors and other civil servants still waiting for their awards and with the rural outback still in need of essential services.
So, a lot of money is not a good thing if the Government does not have a plan for where the money ought to be spent.
ExxonMobil is the world’s No.1 in the oil and gas business. It will drive this project in as responsible a manner as is commensurate with its reputation.
But the company cannot be expected to fulfil the statutory and constitutional functions of the State. That the State alone must fulfil and such a plan we do not see at present as the project progresses to construction phase.
The executive Government seems to have conducted itself more as a project beneficiary than as the neutral state negotiating on behalf of the people with the project developers. In that sense, it has compromised itself.
It now falls to Parliament to conduct a study of the full import and impact of the LNG project for and on behalf of the people.
Relevant parliamentary committees relating to the economy, security and infrastructure should conduct a joint meeting and propose a joint inquiry which will look at how the project will affect the entire nation across the entire social, economic and infrastructure sectors.
LNG will affect this country in a very substantial way, whether we like it or not.
As we have heard in the Asian inquiry, there are 14,000 applications for work permits alone from the LNG and only nine persons to process them. Word is now that when the project goes into full construction stage, there will be a need to process 50,000 visas and as we have also learnt there is little capacity in Immigrations to process that kind of workload.
The economic costs will also increase because the State will need to match or surpass LNG salaries to keep its workforce. And that is only one area of concern.
In the absence of any cost-benefit analysis by the National Government, this country does not know the full import of the LNG project. This is not an academic exercise. It is a crucial task that Parliament must establish immediately with an urgent inquiry with sufficient funding for the engagement of professional socio-economic analysts to study the LNG’s impact on every industry, every sector and every region of the country.

2010-04-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

Wicked lightning maroon clownfishemerges from the PNG

This thing wasconstructed on September 21, 2008, and it was categorized as Reef Aquarium [http://www.reefbuilders.com/category/reef-aquarium-reef-news/]. You can follow comments through theRSS 2.0 [http://www.reefbuilders.com/2008/09/21/wicked-maroon-clownfish-emerges-from-the-png/feed/]feed. You can leave a comment [#respond] , or trackback [http://www.reefbuilders.com/2008/09/21/wicked-maroon-clownfish-emerges-from-the-png/trackback/].

This magnificentmaroon clownfish Premnas biaculeatus was recently caught in Papua NewGuinea by famed fish collector Steve Robinson. As far as we know thisindividual is one of a kind but perhaps with more collections other similarspecimens may be discovered. If this is a sign of things to come then it seemslike Papua New Guinea will be a treasure trove of new morphs and species. Thephoto was taken topside in PNG right after collection so please excuse theblurry-cam. This specimen is as sensational as the original picasso truepercula clownfish which was imported several years back. Perhaps this amazingmaroon clownfish will be the progenitor of a domestic strain of “LightningMaroon Clowns”. You heard it here first!

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This post was writtenby Jake Adams[http://www.reefbuilders.com/author/jakeadams/].

2010-04-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

Cracked out bicolor pigmy angel morph is collected inPNG

This thing wasconstructed on October 14, 2008, and it was categorized as Reef Aquarium [http://www.reefbuilders.com/category/reef-aquarium-reef-news/]. You can follow comments through theRSS 2.0 [http://www.reefbuilders.com/2008/10/14/cracked-out-bicolor-pigmy-angel-morph-is-collected-in-png/feed/]feed. You can leave a comment [#respond] , or trackback [http://www.reefbuilders.com/2008/10/14/cracked-out-bicolor-pigmy-angel-morph-is-collected-in-png/trackback/].

Themaster of rare fish colelcting has done it again. We just received this picturetaken by Steve Robinson of a mostly xanthic morph of the bicolor angelfish,Centropyge bicolor, from the hotbed of fish biodiversity of Papua New Guinea.Other unusual morphs of coral beauties and bicolor angelfish similar to thisone have been found before and there is no certainty that this specimen willkeep it’s color. Gotta love the gorgeous red spotting in the white part of thebody.

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2010-04-11T22:47:00.003-07:00

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2010-04-11T22:47:00.002-07:00

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2010-04-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

SEASMART building marine aquarium trade in Papua New ... http://www.reefbuilders.com/2009/10/06/seasmart-building-m...

SEASMART building marine aquarium trade in Papua New Guinea the right way

This thing was constructed on October 6, 2009, and it was categorized as Coral Reef [http://www.reefbuilders.com/category/coral-reef/] , Featured [http://www.reefbuilders.com /category/featured/] . You can follow comments through the RSS 2.0 [http://www.reefbuilders.com/2009/10/06/seasmart-building-marine-aquarium-trade-papua-guinea/feed/] feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Trackbacks are not allowed.

The SEASMART Program [http://www.seasmart.ecoez.com/] is coming together in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to create a new sustainable, environmentally conscious and profitable trade. The marine aquarium livestock collection trade has definitely had negative impacts on natural habitats of many tropical regions but untouched by the ornamental marine aquarium trade, PNG has remained one of the true last frontiers. SEASMART is a joint project by the PNG National Fisheries Authority (NFA) and social/environmental consultancy EcoEZ Inc [http://www.ecoez.com/] , to build the marine aquarium trade in PNG to a sustainable and profitable level. This is the operation has already began shipping out PNG fish and claim that they will have CITES permits for PNG corals next year. Located off the northeastern coast of Australia and east of Indonesia, PNG has a relatively small population on the mainland and surrounding islands and the population has not had a huge negative impact on the surrounding reefs compared to other countries in the area. PNG touts a rich, biologically diverse reef surrounding with a greatest diversity of species of marine life than any other place in the world.

[http://www.reefbuilders.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Aviary-maps-google-com-Picture-1.png] We have already seen new and usual morphs of fish come from PNG including the mostly xanthic morph of the bicolor angelfish [../../../../../2008/10/14/cracked-out-bicolor-pigmy-angel-morph-is-collected-in-png/] , Centropyge bicolor, and the lightning maroon clownfish [http://www.reefbuilders.com/2008/09/21/wicked-maroon-clownfish-emerges-from-the-png/] . The marine aquarium trade offers one of the most profitable of all reef-related trades in the world and SEASMART is using training for collectors, fisheries, and holding and export facilities to provide non-destructive and ethical collection, transport and shipment of the livestock. It is great that this species-rich area is being developed the right way to provide the hobby with unique specimens with the emphasis on sustainability and environmental impact and restoration. We look forward to beautiful fish and corals coming from PNG to the market.

Unknown fish becomes a country ambassador in the state

2010-04-08T23:42:00.001-07:00

Resources

The Story Behind Blue Zoo's PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish

Blue Zoo Aquatics was much honored to be chosen earlier this week as the retailer to handle one of the rarest fishes to enter the North American marine aquarium hobby in quite some time. The fish, a so-called PNG lightning maroon clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus) came to Blue Zoo from the SEASMART Program in Papua New Guinea (PNG) by way of Dave Palmer at Pacific Aqua Farms (PAF). “The first time I saw this fish,” says Mark Marin, director of marine ornamental research at Blue Zoo Aquatics, “I just about flipped! I was so excited to show Kris Wray, our Collector’s Choice livestock manager, as this is undoubtedly the coolest WYSIWYG fish we have ever had in our possession.” Even though the fish has already been sold and arrived at its new home (we’ll tell you where in a minute!), we thought you wouldn’t mind if we still profiled it here in this week’s Collector’s Choice email.

Collected from Fishermans Island, Papua New Guinea

The PNG lightning maroon clownfish was collected by a local fisher from Fishermans Island, which is located just off the capital city of Papua New Guinea. The fisher, Steven Paul, had been trained in sustainable collection techniques by the SEASMART Program, which is the joint effort of the PNG National Fisheries Authority (NFA) and the Virginia-based EcoEZ Inc. Since 2008, the SEASMART Program has been working hand-in-hand with PNG’s National, Provincial and local governments to efficiently develop a sustainable, equitable and profitable marine aquarium trade throughout the country. This is not the first fish Blue Zoo has sold from Papua New Guinea, but it is the first one to garner so much attention.

As soon as the fish was seen by the SEASMART export facility staff in Port Moresby, PNG, the excitement started to spread. “I was on my way back from Keapara Village several hours south of Port Moresby when I heard the news,” says Ret Talbot, friend of Blue Zoo and a freelance writer and photographer who frequently covers the trade. Talbot was in Papua New Guinea researching a story on SEASMART when the PNG lighting maroon clownfish was collected. “I was with Dan Navin, the person in charge of mariculture, aquaculture and reef restoration at SEASMART, and we were returning from the graduation of 25 newly trained SEASMART fishers when we got the text message from SEASMART’s export facility manager, Mark Schreffler. It simply read, ‘Dude! We just got a super cool, super rare maroon clown! I just had to tell someone!’.”

Upon arriving back in Port Moresby, Talbot had a chance to see and photograph the fish at SEASMART’s export facility. “It was every bit as incredible as Mark had indicated,” Talbot says. Meanwhile, Schreffler was starting the process of determining to whom the fish would be sent. “Pacific Aqua Farms has been a frequent supporter of the SEASMART Program,” said Schreffler in an interview with Talbot. “As a result, we were happy to get this fish into Dave’s very capable hands, as we knew he would ensure that the fish made it to the right retailer and, ultimately, the right aquarist.”

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

A Long Journey from Reef to Marine Aquarium

Even before the fish made it to the SEASMART facility in Port Moresby, a lot of time had been invested in it. “Fishermans Island is about forty-five minutes by boat and car from the SEASMART export facility,” says Talbot, who had made the trip to the Island the week before the PNG lightning maroon was collected. “The Fishermans Island Fishery Management Area (FMA) was established in 2008 and includes a number of different habitats adjacent to the island,” Talbot explains. “Once a week, the SEASMART facility staff sends an order to the SEASMART-trained fishers at Fisherman’s Island. Then, several days later, and on a pre-determined date, SEASMART sends a boat to the island to pick up the order.”

The process of picking up the order is quite involved and, according to Talbot, takes the better part of a day in most cases. “Each animal is carefully screened,” he says, “before either being accepted or rejected by the SEASMART screener. It is amazing the amount of time that goes into this process, but the thorough screening is, Meme Purgatorio tells me, essential to ensuring that only quality, healthy animals are exported.” The rejections, Talbot tells Blue Zoo, are returned to the reef. Purgatorio, who is the SEASMART Packing and Screening Supervisor, was in charge of the aforementioned Fishermans Island screening.

Across the Wide Pacific – PNG to Los Angeles

After being accepted by the screener, the animals are then either cupped, oxygenated and bagged or placed in large tubs for the trip back to the mainland. Once at the pier, the animals are whisked to the facility. In the case of the lightning maroon clownfish, the stay in the facility was short, and, on Saturday night, the fish was packaged for shipment to Los Angeles. The trip across the Pacific takes about 27 hours via a short layover in Brisbane, Australia. As one might imagine, PAF’s state-of-the-art facility adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport is just the ticket for recovery and rejuvenation.

Martin, who chipped in with unpacking the PAF shipment at LAX was surprised by how good the PNG lightning maroon clownfish appeared upon arrival. “This particular fish was the most active and alert clownfish that I have ever unpacked,” says Martin, who points out that maroon clownfish often ship poorly. “I was shocked. In fact all the maroon clownfish in this shipment looked great. Often they lay on their side and gasp in the acclimation bucket, but these guys were perfect—certainly a testament to a short supply chain, sustainable collection, excellent screening, and great packing.” Given the excellent health of the fish, Palmer and Martin decided to do what they could to get the fish into the right hobbyist’s hands sooner rather than later, and that meant using the BZA network.

The Right Aquarist for this PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish

“Bids started coming in as soon as word got out that Blue Zoo would be handling the retail side of this sale,” explains Martin. “We wanted to see this fish go to a respected independent breeder, not simply the highest bidder.” On the short list of possible independent breeders was MASNA award winning marine fish breeder Matt Pedersen. For those of you who do not know, Pedersen is a well-known breeder who garnered significant and well-deserved attention in the hobby for pioneering the breeding of harlequin filefish. He is also a loyal Blue Zoo customer and has been profiled in Blue Zoo News previously. There was, however, one potential impediment to Pedersen taking this fish. You see, Pedersen is not at all interested in what have come to be called “designer clownfishes,” and he has been a vocal advocate against “man-made hybridization” and the "guppification" of marine fish. Luckily, while this clownfish may look to some like the most guppified designer clownfish ever, this PNG lightning maroon clownfish is a one hundred percent “natural” fish.

“My prior experience as an African cichlid breeder first taught me an appreciation of natural forms and variations over man-made ornamentals,” Pedersen explains. “When this fish was first brought to my attention by Mark at Blue Zoo, I told him that I thought it was pretty darn cool.” Provided it was indeed a wild-collected fish, Pedersen told Martin that he “couldn’t wait to see this animal’s natural biodiversity being preserved by talented breeders.” The problem, however, was that there was no way Pedersen would be able to afford the fish given bids of over $5000.

A Compromise in the Best Interest of the Hobby

To make a long story short, Pedersen scrambled to sell some of his “more common” fish like his wide band clownfish, and Blue Zoo worked with Pedersen on price until the deal was sealed. “In the final equation,” Martin remarks, “the ones who made out the most are the fisher and the SEASMART Program.” He quickly goes on to say that, in this case, that is exactly as it should have been given the potential value of this fish to the hobby if the variation can be replicated in subsequent generations. Pedersen has offered to provide Blue Zoo with right of first refusal on at least the first couple batches of offspring he can produce from this fish. “I do not anticipate asking astronomical figures or getting rich off the offspring,” says Pedersen, “but if this project works, and no one beats me to the punch with some other lightning maroons, Blue Zoo may be the place to watch for the first F1 offspring if the project is a success.”

On Tuesday, the PNG lightning maroon clownfish was shipped to Pedersen. Blue Zoo also sent a large, female “normal” maroon clownfish collected from the same reef in an effort to provide Pedersen with the best mate. Blue Zoo is also planning to obtain two more juveniles from the same reef in the event that the initial pairing is unsuccessful. For his part, Pedersen is looking forward to undertaking what he is now calling The Lightning Project in full view of the hobby.

“My vision is to not develop any strain behind closed doors,” says Pedersen. “I intend to document and share the work.” Pedersen expects the first offspring (the F1 generation) to look like normal maroon clownfish. “It will be pairings of those F1s that have the greatest hope for recreating the variation in the F2 generation,” explains Pedersen, who plans to spread out the F1 offspring to breeders and hobbyists around the country. “By pooling resources in this way,” he says, “we can increase the odds that someone gets lucky.”

From the outset, Pedersen is the first to caution that the entire project is a huge gamble. “Nonetheless,” Pedersen says after taking receipt of the fish, “the quality of the fish I received is extremely high. Disregarding the ‘lightning’ variation, the truth is I received exceptionally nice maroon clown broodstock with a known collecting location. This is what I'm looking for with all my broodstock, and that alone was impressive.” Pedersen goes on to add that the fact that these fish are “the product of sustainable practices and fair trade” means that he really couldn’t be happier. “Even if they never turn out a single lightning maroon,” says Pedersen, “they will still turn out some fantastic F1 Papua New Guinea maroon clowns.”

Excitement at the End of the Day

It is exciting to see the marine aquarium hobby so enthusiastic over a single animal. “In many ways,” says Martin, “there could not be a better ambassador for Papua New Guinea, the SEASMART Program and the future of the hobby.”

Collector’s Choice Livestock Manager Kris Wray agrees. “This fish is more than just a new morph to us here at BZA Collector's Choice,” he says. “It is a new chapter in clownfish genetics and morphology.” Some may criticize Blue Zoo’s choice to not simply allow the market to drive the sale of this fish, but Wray disagrees. “This animal is so unique that making sure it is only offered to a well-known and renowned fish breeder is absolutely the right thing to do. This choice about how to deal with this ultra rare animal is, I believe, proof that we truly care about the success of a healthy and sustainable industry. It also represents the fact that Collector’s Choice can have unique and rare animals at the ready in a responsible manner. If you were not a believer in us before, now would be a good time to give our World Famous Collector's Choice Store a second look!”

2010-02-08T16:20:00.001-08:00

Educate landowners on hydrocarbon industry

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CHRISTOPHER PAPIALI

THE PNG LNG project, which is expected to generate billions for the economy, is a vote of confidence on the performance of the current Government, as some Government advisers suggest.
The LNG project covers key locations which include Juha production facility, Hides gas to electricity plant, Hides gas conditioning plant, Agogo production facility, Kutubu central processing facility, Gobe production facility, Kopi shore base, Kumul marine terminal and LNG facilities in Central province. Along the pipeline we have villages right from Siabi to Papa and Lea Lea.
With the current global financial crisis and the weakening of the US dollar, the PNG LNG project should craft the path to tangible development. The need for energy is growing. In the 1950s, oil and natural gas became the main source of primary energy for the increasing world population. Large financial institutions and governments have been at the forefront of investing in energy.
Petroleum consumption carries major environmental impacts such as air pollution, global climate change and water contamination. Exploration and production of petroleum have caused detrimental impacts on soils surface, ground waters and ecosystems. Despite such impacts, PNG is experiencing its share of global energy demand, which seems to supersede environment and air pollution concerns.
The Government and developers know very well that the oil and gas industries generate significant revenues for the national economy and it is quite imperative to have sound macroeconomic policies in place so that the revenues generated are converted into social capital and lead to broader based overall economic development and poverty reduction as a whole.
Research done on the conversion of revenue into improved social capital seems to point to negative social and environmental outcomes. Resource developments have failed to generate sustainable benefits and it is likely to get worse given the current political climate and policy development regimes at the bureaucratic level.
At the village level, most villages along the LNG project do not have proper road networks, telephone, hospital, banks and other important basic infrastructure. There are hardly any sustainable and efficient benefits received from some of the multi million kina projects around the country. We expect better hospitals, better schools and urban towns to develop as a result of active mining, exploration, and logging activities but that is not the case. Even at the national level, the royalties and tax income do not translate into long term growth in human and physical capital.
There is an urgency for the Government and key stakeholders to manage the existing problem by establishing good governance and management bodies (although we have other key government statutory bodies) that will effectively manage and distribute revenue across all sectoral developments and in consultation with principal resource owners develop plans to use the resource revenues to avoid squandering. PNG does not even seem to have a prudent Energy Policy Act that could monitor water discharges from oil and gas exploration, processing and treatment, operations or transmission facilities.
Oil and gas are part of the energy demand that is unstoppable worldwide and such an act should provide opportunities for the local communities, particularly those affected by the LNG project, to improve their living conditions. The local resource gas pipeline owners do not have access to reliable energy sources and knowledge and the capacity to be active participants in the development.
One may still argue that royalty payments are given but the question still remains as to how effectively such monies are used. The LNG resource owners do not have any idea about venturing into the renewable energy business and it is mostly likely that the monies will be used on real estate, transport and agriculture.
It is a widely held view that communities in isolated areas such as Juha, Gobe, Baina, Kaiam and others are not attractive targets for the distributors of electricity or natural gas since they are perceived to lack the ‘critical mass’ and the ability to pay.
Given this scenario, it is important to know that the use of natural gas has the potential for widening access to electricity, since it may be readily used for small-scale power generation, and for a wide spectrum of household, commercial and small industrial uses. Pilot projects in Africa of small rural gas applications have proven successful. Using stranded gas reserves or new gas pipeline systems, it is possible to address this obstacle by developing economic small gas projects for such rural communities along the PNG LNG Gas project.
To mitigate the adverse impacts of such developments, it is of critical importance to develop within the indigenous communities a basic knowledge about the benefits of the hydrocarbon industry.

* Christopher Papiali is a senior lecturer with the department of business information systems at the Divine Word University in Madang.

2010-02-04T21:38:00.001-08:00

Climate change: EU notifies targets

THE European Union on Jan 28 formalised its support for the Copenhagen Accord on climate change and presented its commitments for emission reduction targets. In a joint letter with the Spanish presidency of the Council, the European Commission has formally notified the EU’s willingness to be associated with the Accord and submitted for information the EU’s established greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2020.
These consist of a unilateral commitment to reduce the EU’s overall emissions by 20% of 1990 levels and a conditional offer to increase this cut to 30% provided that other major emitters agree to take on their fair share of a global reduction effort. Under the Accord, notifications were to be submitted by Jan 31.
Commission president José Manuel Barroso said: “The EU is determined to move ahead rapidly with implementing the Copenhagen Accord in order to make progress towards the agreement that we need to hold global warming below 2°C. The Accord provides a basis on which to build this future agreement and I therefore urge all countries to associate themselves with it and notify ambitious emission targets or actions for inclusion as we are doing.”
European environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “Swift action is needed to make operational key elements of the Accord such as fast-start financing for developing countries, the fight against deforestation and the development and transfer of low carbon technologies.”
Copenhagen Accord
The Copenhagen Accord was the main outcome of the UN climate change conference held in Copenhagen from Dec 7-19. The 2-1/2 page accord was negotiated on the final day of the conference by the leaders of some 28 developed and developing countries and the European Commission.
These countries account for over 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The conference then took note of the Copenhagen Accord. The secretariat of the UN climate change convention invited parties to declare by Jan 31 whether they wished to be associated with the Copenhagen Accord.
The Accord set the same date for developed countries to submit their emission reduction targets, and for developing countries to submit their emissions mitigation actions.
In the letter from the commission and the presidency of the council, the EU reconfirmed its commitment to a negotiating process to achieve the strategic objective of limiting the increase in global average temperature to below 2°C above the pre-industrial level.
The Copenhagen Accord recognises the scientific view that global warming should be kept below 2°C in order to prevent dangerous climate change, but it does not include any global emission reduction targets for respecting this limit.
The letter restated the EU’s position that keeping below 2°C requires global emissions to peak by 2020 at the latest, to be reduced to at least 50% below 1990 levels by 2050 and to continue to decline thereafter. To this end, and in line with the findings of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), developed countries as a group should reduce their emissions by 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 and developing countries should achieve a substantial deviation below the currently predicted emissions growth rate, in the order of 15-30% by 2020, the letter continued.
It underlined the full commitment of the EU and the member states to continue negotiations with a view to agreeing as soon as possible, within the UN framework, a legally binding international agreement for the period starting Jan 1, 2013, when the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period expires.
EU emission targets
The letter stated that the EU was committed to an independent economy-wide emissions reduction target of 20% by 2020, compared with 1990 levels, and that this cut could be increased to 30% under the conditions agreed by the European Council.
These conditions are that, as part of a global and comprehensive agreement for the period beyond 2012, other developed countries commit themselves to comparable emission reductions and developing countries contribute adequately according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities.
Next steps
Heads of State and Government will assess the post-Copenhagen situation at the informal European Council on Feb 11.
The next round of UN negotiations will take place for two weeks in May-June.

*Source: Delegation of the European Union to PNG

PNG Biodiversity Hotspot

2010-01-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

Coasvoice

2010-01-19T22:52:00.003-08:00

Talisman eyes Papuan basin devt drilling soon

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By YEHIURA HRIEHWAZI

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THERE is more good news from the petroleum sector: Talisman Energy Inc is expected to go into production soon in Papua New Guinea.
The company announced yesterday it will start development drilling in one of its fields and also drill four on-shore exploration wells in the Papuan basin.
Development drilling is done to recover oil, gas or condensate that has been discovered and ascertained through exploration and appraisal wells.
“The company expects to start development drilling in PNG, with early condensate recovery scheme in one of the blocks acquired last year,” Talisman president and chief executive John A Manzoni said in a statement released to the stock markets yesterday.
The PNG activities form part of Talisman’s global capital expenditure plan of C$5.2 billion (K13.5 billion) for this year announced by Mr Manzoni.
Apart from PNG, Talisman also step up its exploration and production work in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia, Europe and North America and sell off some non-core assets to assist with financing of its programmes. It is already cashed up with C$4 billion (K10.4 billion).
He said the company’s main priority for this year is to ramp up its shale plays.
“We will also be examining for sale additional non-core conventional assets in North America and continue to enhance our international exploration portfolio and capabilities as we build on last year’s success.
“The second priority will be to continue the focus on returns and profitability.
He said they expect the returns to increase as they successfully cycle capital into higher value investments, which should also lead to continued improvement in our finding and development costs.
“We have put processes in place to manage our capital programmes more efficiently … we are reviewing costs across the organisation, and implementing performance management tools throughout the business.”
Mr Manzoni said they will continue to build their organisational capability, adding the company’s executive team was strengthened last year with the addition of Paul Smith, Richard Herbert and Nick Walker at the executive level, and significant new talent across the organisation, including new country managers for Malaysia and PNG.
He also said the company will continue to upgrade its capabilities and processes, and develop its talent across the organisation this year.
“We will maintain balance sheet strength and flexibility.
The C$4.9 billion (K5.81 billion) in cash spending will be funded from operating cash flow, non-core asset sales and balance sheet strength.
He said they have designed the programme to be robust at US$60/bbl oil prices and US$3.50/mmbtu natural gas prices, with considerable flexibility to adjust the capital programme up or down in light of conditions throughout the year.
“We will also remain vigilant for strategic acquisition opportunities,” he said.

2010-01-19T22:44:00.003-08:00

MCC’s deep-sea waste disposal system approved

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By JEFFREY ELAPA

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RAMU NiCo Management (MCC) Ltd’s deep-sea mine tailings disposal design and the eventual laying of waste pipelines have been approved by the Government, the miner has announced.
In a statement, the company said earlier it updated the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and the Mineral Resource Authority (MRA) on the progress of its environmental plans and how they would be carried out.
Ramu disclosed that it has contracted the American-Canadian contractor Brass-Resan-Candive to supply the needed materials and equipment and to build the company’s submarine tailing disposal facilities.
The company said the treated mine tailings would be buried 150m undersea through the disposal system to lessen ecological impact.
It said the system that inclues two pipelines with 800mm diameter would be laid on sea floor.
The company claimed during earlier investigations, it was found that some dead coral reefs in the shallow sea were in the pipeline route.
They would be removed to ensure the safe operation of the pipelines, the company said.
Ramu NiCo said blasting operation would be used as it is technically impossible to remove deed reefs at sea bottom using mechanical equipment.
The blasting is planned to be carried out next month and in March by a PNG licensed blaster and will cover an area of 50m long and 5m wide, with two blasts each operating day.
Ramu NiCo said the blasting would be minimal as each blast would use explosive less than 10kg, adding that the environmental impact of the blast would also be minimal.
They coral reefs in the area are dead and in the stone form, it said.
Also, findings from three underwater investigations showed that local fish population in 50m radius is very small.
Meanwhile, Ramu NiCo said it would continue to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure its deep-sea tailings disposal facilities would be built according to “high industry standard and best available practice”.
The company said it would conduct safety and environmental awareness at Basamuk community before blasting operations.

2010-01-19T22:43:00.000-08:00

Dying marine life scare Islanders

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By DORISH KAMBA

PEOPLE on the outer islands of Lihir have drastically cut down their consumption of marine products after discovering dead fish and octopuses on their reef according to reports from the Nimamar Local Level Government, New Ireland province.
Apart from having dead marine lives, some of the islanders got itchy skin and skin rashes after bathing in the sea.
Community leaders from Malie Island, the smallest of the three outer islands of Lihir, who were the first to discover the upheaval, reported that their folks on the nearby Masahet and Mahur Islands have reported similar concerns, describing it as a community concern.
The Islanders were concerned that what they were facing now might be caused by the disposal of tailings by the Lihir Gold Limited (LGL) through its marine tailings which extends 250m to the seabed, thus, leaders from Malie Island met with Lihir Mining Area Landowners Association (LMALA) and LGL officials on Jan 5 seeking answers as to what might have been the cause of dying marine products and people developingh itchy skin from the waters.
The Malie Island delegation, however, was concerned that LMALA and LGL might not be giving straight answers to the cause of the problem and claimed that they (LMALA and LGL) had failed to provide answers to peoples’ concerns in the past.
Meanwhile, a member of the delegation which included their local ward member, women, youth and church leaders said they were planning to take up their concerns with the Department of Environment and Conservation, Mining, and the New Ireland provincial and national governments to ensure peoples’ lives were not put at risk by these problems.

2010-01-19T22:18:00.001-08:00

Carteret DVD to be released soon

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By ALISON ANIS

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WHILE their homes have been threatened by rising sea-levels, relocated Carteret Islanders will still be able to identify their roots and cultures for generations to come.
This was made possible through the documentation of their cultural lifestyles which will be featured in DVD supported and funded by the UK government through the British High Commission (BHC) in PNG.
BHC’s Kila Kome said the project was being put together by the University of New England in New South Wales, Australia, and is due to be out in April.
“The working group has collected data, captured audio and visual images including pictures of the people, islands and their cultures, songs, dances including traditional legends or myths,” Mr Kome said.
A statement from BHC yesterday said the project, costing more than K129,000, was commissioned to preserve the unique culture of the people.
“People identify themselves with their culture, the Carteret Islanders are no exception and with their island sinking and the relocation exercise in place, it is important that their culture is captured for their identity of the next generation and beyond,” Commissioner David Dunn said in the statement.
The film project was made with the cooperation of local NGO Tulele Peisa Inc and in consultation with the Carteret council of elders.

2010-01-19T22:10:00.000-08:00

Landowners shut down work at Ramu mine

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Report and picture by JEFFREY ELAPA

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THE Kurumbukari landowners of the Ramu nickel and cobalt mine in Madang province have stopped all operations at the mine.
This followed a meeting of landowners at the mine site over outstanding issues in the Memorandum of Agreement.
As all construction work nears completion, the landowners’ representatives from the road and water easement and the special mining lease area decided in the meeting to stop all work and demand that the company honour its MOA commitments.
This week, the company’s community affairs officers have been issuing notices to the people to stop all activities on the SML areas as the project was in its final stages before the commissioning expected around March.
Representatives of the seven clans also demanded that the relocation exercise be speeded up if they want the people to stop all activities like gardening, building new houses or burying their dead.
Mauru clan village leader Kaso Memetua said the company (MCC) should relocate them properly before any work can proceed at the mine.
Bruno Karima from the Mauri clan said the company should have already moved the first and second lot of people. He said it was slow in doing so.
MCC has tested the water supply and will be launching it this Friday, but the landowners said that they would not allow any activity until their grievances were settled.
All construction work at the mine is about to be completed, with several of the facilities installed at the different sites tested.
Among the facilities already installed are the six huge generators brought in from Finland which are expected to supply 22MW of power to the mine and the water resource area.
The huge dam at the Gagayowo River has already been completed.
The huge underground demarcation facility at Vianivi is in its final stages before full operation.
An MCC insider said that the company was doing all it could for the landowners but other parties like the provincial government and the National Government should also do their part under the MOA.

Sea Cucumber fishery 3 year ban in Papua New Guinea

2009-11-24T22:56:00.000-08:00

The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) has imposed a 3 year ban on sea cucumber fishery for "Beche-de-mer". ... the reason being this fishery is exhausted to a point of collapsing. The ban is said to affect almost 300,000 people in coastal communities nationwide. Also the industry players (buyers, and sellers) in PNG will be affected. NFA had opted that this three year ban had to be imposed to maintain sustainability, how? sea cucumber collection by people exceeds the rate that an individual grows to an adult.. so do we wanna prolong the years to wait for natural recovery? or can we aquaculture and replenish over harvested reefs... we better start farming sea cucumber en mass to aid recovery in the wild and start exporting F2 generations instead of wild stock. Many local fishing villages who depend directly from beche-de-mer for school fees, basic needs, pocket money etc.. will have difficulty financing their livelihood. The challenge is for NFA to provide an alternative fishery so the affected coastal people can still fish their means. What is the new alternative then? how best will they implement the management of this new alternative fishery?.. given the lessons learned from beche-de-mer fishery.

Conservation of coral reef resources in local communities in Papua New Guinea

2009-11-24T17:07:00.001-08:00

It appears that in Papua New Guinea almost all or over a half of its coastal provinces are endowed with coral reefs and its associated resources. Subsistence and artisanal fishing activity is predominant. Over the years reefs were used as a means for food, medicine, transport and many other ways that has sustained livelihood of the coastal communities who depend directly on them. Each fishing community has in its own ways in exploiting the reefs surrounding it. Mostly these activities were small scale anthropogenic fishing activity on the reefs. It wasn’t until commercialization of reef resources then the inevitable happened. Resources became scares and NGOs started their ad-hoc campaign to try to save the reefs and their resources. Little did they know that their strategy were to far from reality... so you see... Conservation of coastal marine resources is supposed to be implemented locally by the resource owners themselves. They have to be convicted somehow and thats gonna come from within themselves. Stakeholders involved such as NGO groups, Donor agencies, and the Government of the day are to be the facilitators. Coastal people need to feel they can earn something from their effort or that they may make a livelihood out of a sustainable use of the particular resource base. If the Donor agencies can fund and government can make legislation, the role of NGO groups become vital in coordinating and making sure the people’s concerns, and views are integrated into any conservation strategy that might seem to work in the local communities.

My New Blog site!

2009-11-24T00:09:00.000-08:00

Hi all;

I have long wondered how i can blog like others do.. I have read blogging in the news and media and never thought creating my own blog site. untill i researched it on the net and started this site, thanks to eblog. I will start posting stuff a little later..... and will share with all..

Cheers!

Coasvoice

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Dying marine life scare Islanders

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Sea Cucumber fishery 3 year ban in Papua New Guinea

Conservation of coral reef resources in local communities in Papua New Guinea

My New Blog site!