This report provides an overview of the current state of knowledge of cetacean diversity, habitat and threats in the Pacifi c Islands Region.
Coral reef, deep ocean and terrestrial surveys were conducted during 25 days of field work in the Phoenix Islands, Republic of Kiribati, with additional surveys of marine mammals during the 9 days of passage to and from Fiji. This study builds on an earlier survey conducted in 2000. Islands visited in 2002 included Nikumaroro, Manra, Kanton, Enderbury, Orona, Birnie and Phoenix, leaving out McKean which was surveyed in 2000. This report summarizes the results of the expedition, with detailed results being prepared for individual components for separate publication.
This report presents the integrated case study for Fiji carried out under an OECD project on Development and Climate Change. The report is structured around a three-tier framework. First, recent climate trends and climate change scenarios for Fiji are assessed, and key sectoral impacts are identified and ranked along multiple indicators to establish priorities for adaptation. Second, donor portfolios are analyzed to examine the proportion of donor activities affected by climate risks.
Tongatapu coastal zone vulnerability assessment study was conducted to examine the degree of current and future risks of projected climate change and sea level rise on the coastal zone of the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga-Tongatapu. Inundation, and flooding hazards generated by tropical cyclone storm surges are the common threats to Tongatapu coastal towns and villages because of their low-lying settings.
This report presents the results of a twelve day survey expedition (5 to 16 December, 2004) and represents the first ever systematic effort to document the marine biodiversity of the Great Sea Reef (GSR), locally known as Cakaulevu, to the north of Vanua Levu in the Fiji Archipelago. 23 sites were surveyed over 6 major habitat types: outer barrier reefs, back barrier reefs, channels, mangrove island fringing reefs, rocky island fringing reef and submerged patch reefs.
Kept in vertical file collection|Also available electronically
Call Number: VF 6834 [EL]
Some underwater photographs of live sea cucumbers are reproduced with kind permission from the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD) and the WorldFish Center. Photographs of dried beche-de-mer are by Eric Aubry and Jipé LeBars, Noumea, New Caledonia.
Avaialable electronically|2 copies kept at vertical file collection
Call Number: VF 7005 [EL]
Physical Description: 52 p. 25 cm
Research shows that marine reserves are one tool that can help to prevent, slow, or reverse negative changes in the ocean. Marine reserves are places in the ocean that are completely and permanently protected from uses that remove animals and plants or alter their habitats. Increasingly, the public, governmental agencies, commercial groups, and scientists are discussing the idea of establishing more marine reserves to complement existing ocean management. The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the latest scientific information about marine reserves.
The shallow coastal zone of Fiji is comprised of three major, interrelated habitat types: marine algae and seagrass: large areas of mangroves; and extensive coral reefs. The marine resources include approximately 1000 coral reefs with representatives of all major reef types (Vuki et al 2000). Although marine biodiversity is lower than the 'coral triangle' of Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and northeastern Australia. Fiji does support approximately 200 species of coral (Veron. 2000).
The Marshall Islands are critically dependent on the health of their coral reefs: every rock and sand grain on the islands are the remains of coral reef organisms. Only actively growing coral reefs can protect the islands against ocean waves and global sea level rise, and provide fish to feed the people. These crucial services are rapidly deteriorating because global warming is
Solomon Islands consists of many islands extending over 1,400 kilometers of ocean in the western equatorial Pacific
between 5 and 13 degrees south and 155 and 158 degrees east. It has an estimated total land area of 29,000 square
kilometers, a 12 mile territorial sea and approximately 1.3 million square kilometers of ocean within its 200 mile
Solomon Islanders rely heavily on marine resources and have one of the highest per capita rates of seafood consumption in the world. In 1982, the national average annual consumption of fish per person was estimated to be 25.7 kg, ranging from <10 kg in rural Guadalcanal and San Cristobal, to 54 kg in the Western Province (Cook, 1988). Another survey conducted in Honiara in 1992, found that 31 per cent of households consumed fresh fish each day and that 82.4 per cent of meals containing animal protein were based on fish.
The study of marine sediments provides useful information in marine, environmental and geochemical research about pollution of the marine environment (Calace et al. 2005). Urban developments and industrial activities contribute to the introduction of significant amounts of contaminants (among them trace metals) into the marine environment and affect directly the coastal systems where they are often deposited (Angelidis 1995; Dassenakis et al. 2003).
People care about coasts. Around the world, hundreds of millions of people live their lives on and derive their livelihoods from
coasts and coastal resources. Hundreds of millions more people who don't live on the coast use them for recreation or depend on
the resources and environmental services they produce. The damage caused by human activities, whether it is from habitat loss, pollution damage or increased exposure to natural disasters caused by things such as mangrove destruction, attract great political and public concern.
Available online
Developed in 1994, the NEMS highlights strategies for the development of policy and planning mechanisms for sustainable development, human resource management, pollution control,
education and information, preservation of cultural, archaeological and historical resources, and recommendations for long-term sustainable management plans for tourism development, marine resources protection, and agriculture.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 18 p.
The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) was established in 1979 when ten Pacific nations signed the FFA Convention. Since that time the membership of the FFA has increased to seventeen.
The FFA consists of the Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC) as the governing body comprising a representative from each
member Country and Territory; and the FFA Secretariat based in Honiara in the Solomon Islands. A Council of Ministers
meets on a biennial basis to provide oversight of regional fisheries matters.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
This Strategic Plan for the Regional Maritime Programme (RMP) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) follows on from RMP's Three year strategic plan 2003 to 2005. It builds on
achievements of the previous plan period and sets out the direction of the Programme over the next five years (2006 to 2010).
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 14 p.
In general, leatherback turtles face serious threats at all life stages, both on the beaches where they nest and hatch and in the water where they spend most of their life time. Sea turtle eggs are collected for food, while in some areas juveniles and adults are hunted for their meat and oil. Habitats that are keys to their survival are rapidly being degraded due to coastal development. They are also killed in great numbers as incidental catch, or by catch, in fisheries.
Pacific island countries' are maritime nations with vast marine estates. They cover almost 30 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean and contain a high proportion of the largest and most valuable tuna fisheries in the world. The coral reefs, lagoons and deeper water habitats of the region are significant components of global tropical marine biodiversity. They form part of the fabric of Pacific cultures and society.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 978-1-921285-04-2
The World's oceans play a crucial role for life on the planet.
Healthy seas and the services they provide are key to the future
development of mankind. Our seas are highly dynamic, structured and complex systems. The seafloor consists of vast shelves
and plains with huge mountains, canyons and trenches which
dwarf similar structures on land. Ocean currents transport water
masses many times larger than all rivers on Earth combined.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 978-82-7701-048-9
GOOS is being implemented in the Pacific islands region by PacificGOOS, which was formed in Suva in 1998. In August 2000, in Apia, Samoa, PacificGOOS held a regional workshop on the development of a coastal Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) for the Pacific region. This workshop aimed to raise the level of awareness about PacificGOOS and its value for sustainable