The lagoon of Tarawa harbors the richest benthos documented for any Pacific atoll. The biota is strongly influenced by its setting in the equatorial upwelling zone and the unusual geomorphology of the atoll, with a submerged western rim, but largely closed and islet-strewn eastern and southern sides. As the metropolitan center of the Republic of Kiribati, Tarawa also has the largest human population of any Pacific atoll. These three attributes impose a strong influence on all aspects of the lagoon.
Knowledge of the fishermen of Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati concerning some key food fish in their waters is described and shown to be highly relevant to the management of these fish. The bonefish, Albula glossodonta, has been the most important shallow- water finfish in Tarawa catches. However, all but one of its known spawning runs has been eliminated according to fishermen and this last remaining run is showing signs of
The very productive lagoon fisheries of Tarawa atoll changed greatly in recent decades as human development and intensive harvesting increased. Tarawa typifies the increasingly common condition of resource depletion and marine community structure change with expanding human activities and population growth. Fisheries-dependent reports have documented the change in fisher landings for nearly two decades. A comparison of fisheries-independent data collected during 1992-93 with data collected in 1977 allowed for documentation of large changes in important finfish resources in Tarawa Lagoon.
This article provides a record of fish names from two locations in the central Pacific, these being the Vava'u Islands of Tonga, and Taveuni area in northern Fiji. The Handbook for the Collection of Fish Names in Pacific Languages by G.L. Barnett provided a method for the collection of these data during field work at the two places which culturally are part of West Polynesia. Interviews and discussions with fishers yielded a record of the Tongan language names and Fijian language names of approximately 50 fishes that occur in the waters of these islands.
French Polynesian Decapoda, restricted to shrimps, and Stomatopuda are inventoried from literature and unpublished fields collections. Number of species is 205 for the shrimps and 26 for the Stomatopoda. Within the shrimps, Caridea dominate with 170 species, mainly Alpheidae (57 species), Palaemonidae (46 species), and Pandalidae (29 species). Full literature and distribution in French Polynesia are indicated for each species.
Microbenthos and macrobenthos were quantitatively studied at 62 stations distributed regularly over the Uvea Atoll lagoon (850 km2). Sampling was performed using both SCUBA and a 0.1 m2 Smith Mclntyre grab. Mean estimates of ATP, chlorophyll a and phaeopigments were 297.3ng/cm2, 77.01 mg/m2 and 35.28 mg/m2
respectively. The mean macrobenthic biomass was 4.14 gAFDW/m2 of which the macrophytobenthos accounts for 39%. The benthic biomass decreased from the coast to the deepest parts of the lagoon. Macrophytes were most abundant in the coastal area
The shorefishes of Ouvea, an isolated atoll in the Loyalty Islands group of New Caledonia, had not been surveyed prior to 1990. An extensive survey was conducted by ORSTOM between 1991 and 1992 to obtain baseline information on the shorefishes. A
total of 653 taxa among 72 families are now documented from this area. The most diverse families are the Labridae (69 species), Pomacentridae (58 species), Gobiidae (54 spccies),Serranidae (39 species), Chaetodontidae (31 species) and Apogonidae (28
What are the decapod crustacea known from French Polynesia? The answer to this, apparently simple question, would be very helpful for determinating the species collected during ecological studies. Moreover, from a biogeographical point of view, a check list of the species reaching this area, at the eastern limit of the Indo-West Pacific province, would be very interesting.
Fish communities in the lagoon of the Tikehau atoll were studied by only a few researchers. Harmelin-Vivien (1984) studied the distribution of the main herbivorous families (Scaridae and Acanthuridae) in the lagoon and on the outer slope to 30 m in depth. The total fish community of the outer slope was studied by Galzin (1985, 1987) at 12 m in depth. These studies were carried out in the southwestern part of the atoll. Spatial organization of coral associated fish community was studied throughout the lagoon by Morize et al. (1990). Most of the other
The colonization of the lagoon by coral reef fish larvae was compared between two islands of French Polynesia, the atoll of Rangiroa and the high volcanic island of Moorea. In both cases the larval flux coming into the lagoon followed a daily cycle.
This paper describes the channels known as hoa which are characteristic of atoll land rims and of some islands on barrier reefs, where they often dissect previously more continuous reef-top sediment accumulations and conglomerate platforms. They are
Nukutipipi atoll (5 km2), of volcanic origin 16-17 million years old on the Pitcairn (hot spot) Hereheretue line, presents a land flora and fauna of low diversity but with a Pisonia forest and hundreds of resident red-tailed tropic birds. Nukutipipi suffered from the 1983 hurricanes : destruction of vegetation and motu as well as sand lagoon mollusc populations. The north and south rims present original geomorphological structures.
The main objective of the expedition was to compare as large a series of islands of different climatic conditions, ages and geological origins as possible. This necessitated short visits to each selected island. The structure and components of the ecosystem under study were the focus of attention, while their functioning was considered to be of secondary importance.
3 copies
Call Number: ECO [EL],PC 577.52 ECO
Physical Description: x, 220 p. : ill. ; 30 cm
This is a region-wide activity covering all the island
territories of the region except Australia and New Zealand.
Since most of the pollutants found in the South Pacific are
land-derived, this will provide the data necessary for
determining what pollutants are likely to be found in any given
locality. Atmospheric transport of pollutants may be important
in certain parts of the world, but recent studies have shown
that the South Pacific atmosphere (apart from certain
industrial areas) is the cleanest so far studied (Riley et al.,
In the last century, there have been three principal approaches to marine conservation. The first and oldest consisted of regulation and management of individual marine activities, such as commercial fishing, by specialist agencies, with varying degrees of co-ordination of regulation between different agencies. Usually there was little or no co-ordination with management of adjacent coastal lands.
Available online|Marine Conservation and Development Report
Call Number: 333.9516 KEL [EL],GUI,333.952 KEL
ISBN/ISSN: 2-8317-0105-8
The seaweeds at Paldo Deep occur in a variety of different habitats. These are shown on the map of the Reserve. The
greatest number of species occur along the margins of the deep and along the reef front, while the smallest number
occurs in the borrow pit.
4 copies
Call Number: VF 3480 [EL]
Physical Description: 18 p. ; 29 cm
In September 1991 the Government of the Marshall Islands requested assistance in compiling a bibliography of material relating to fisheries and marine resources of the Marshall Islands. After discussions between the staff of the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority and the Fisheries Programme of the South Pacific Commission, it was decided that a search for appropriate documents would take place in Majuro, Guam, Tokyo, Honolulu and Suva during September, October and November 1991.
Look in the SPC shelf under section I.
Call Number: 639.016 IZU
As populations grow in Pacific Island Countries, urbanisation and development expand and pressure on the coastal zone increases. Demands are made for land reclamation and coastal stabilisation. The coast is expected to provide more and more resources ranging from construction materials to food, to ab-
sorb growing amounts of domestic and industrial refuse, as well as to continue to retain its cultural importance.
Available online|One copy
Call Number: 333.917099 SHE [EL]
Physical Description: 40 p. : col. photos ; 20 cm
Assessments of the general condition, stocking, composition, and growth of mangroves on the islands of Pohnpei and Yap and at one area on Kosrae were undertaken at the request of these states. Methods used included: reconnaissance on foot, by air and by boat; use of 1976 aerial photographs; remeasurement of forest inventory plots installed by the US Forest Service in 1983; and installation of new inventory plots, examination of public records, and reviews of published data (Pohnpei).
The Republic of Nauru is a single raised limestone island or makatea with a total area of only 22 km2 (Figure 1), but with jurisdiction over 320,000 km2 of ocean surrounding the island under the United Nations Law of the Sea convention. The island consists mainly of a flat plateau that descends to a narrow coastal fringe where most of the population dwell. The plateau interior contains extensive deposits of phosphate bearing rock which have been mined since the beginning of the twentieth century.