The Tonga Fisheries Sector Plan (TFSP) is a framework for increasing the sustainable shared benefits for the
Kingdom from optimal use of its living marine resources.
Between September 10, 2013 – October 3, 2013 the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducted a
research mission to Tonga, focusing on coral reefs surrounding the islands in the Ha'apai group (Sep 11-21),
Vava'u (Sep 22-28) and Niuaatoputapu (Sep 29-Oct 1). The mission included coral reef assessments, coral reef
research, habitat mapping, and educational activities. The objectives of the mission were to:
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai massive undersea volcanic eruption occurred on the 15th of January 2022 and led to an induced tsunami event. The eruption triggered a tsunami warning for several South Pacific island nations with rising water levels were reported on the coastline of Peru and the Pacific Coast in the United States and caused devastating impact across Tonga. In addition, volcanic ash residue was also visible on land surfaces including building structures and surrounding vegetation.
This dataset contains preliminary impact assessments of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcanic eruption and induced tsunami in January 2022.
The eruptions sent a plume of ash, gas and steam 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) into the air. Satellite imagery showed a massive ash cloud and shockwaves spreading from the eruption. Ash was falling from the sky in the Tonga capital, Nuku'alofa, Saturday evening and phone connections were down. The eruption was likely the biggest recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years, according to experts.
This publication intends to assist project designers, regulators and decision makers to anticipate and address all relevant public health, socio‐economic and environmental concerns that may arise when under‐ taking a desalination project, for obtaining maximum beneficial use of the desalinated water in terms of quality, safety and environmental protection.
Case study from Kiribati is linked at the bottom of this dataset
The Protected Area Forum's (PAF) outcome is that the forum will enable protected area practitioners, researchers, academics, private sector, potential donors and local communities who manage or support protected areas in PNG, to share their experiences, insights and any lessons learnt in relation to factors impacting protected areas. It will identify and formulate national priorities for effective protected area management in the country. The results of the forum will contribute to the implementation of the Protected Area Policy.
Special thanks to the other groups making this event possible.
Larval dispersal is the key process by which populations of most marine fishes and invertebrates are connected and replenished.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 16 p
With marine biodiversity declining globally at accelerating rates, maximising the effectiveness of conservation has become a key goal for local, national and international regulators
Available online.
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 10 p
This national ocean policy aims to protect and increase the value of resources of ocean and also the inherent value of the marine ecosystems and species upon which that wealth relies on.
Policy|Available online
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Physical Description: 30 p
Global human footprint on the linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in reed fishes.
Difficulties in scaling up theoretical and experimental results have raised controversy over the consequences of biodiversity loss for the functioning of natural ecosystems.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 9 p
Fisheries - effects of marine protected areas on local fisheries: evidence from empirical studies.
Available online
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Physical Description: 27 p
n 2010 Parties to the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed to reduce the rate ofbiodiversity loss within a decade by achieving 20 objectives that are commonly known as the Aichi Targets.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 12 p
The Pacific Islands region that is served by SPREP covers 32 million km2 and is in
the middle of the largest continuous marine habitat on the planet, the Pacific Ocean.
This region is home to a diverse range of large marine animals, including cetaceans,
sirenians and marine turtles. Over half of the world’s known species of cetaceans are
found in the region. The area also supports the world’s largest remaining populations
of dugongs, and green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles.
Available online
The Oceania region is very prone to natural disasters having experienced two Category 5 cyclones in as many years; Tropical Cyclone (TC)Pam struck Vanuatu on 13 March 2015 and TC Winston struck Fiji on 20 February 2016.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 92 p
The Pacific island region has diverse wetlands, such as
the classic coastal ecosystems of mangrove forests, salt marshes, coral reefs, and seagrass beds along with rivers, freshwater lakes, and swamps (SPREP 2016). However, these wetlands are understudied. Land-use change and environmental change can alter the areal extent and condition of wetlands, and the pace of these changes vary among Pacific islands.
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 4 p.
Island biodiversity continues to be extremely vulnerable, and 47% of the known threatened Pacific species are declining towards extinction. Pacific island species have high levels of endemism combined with small land areas and therefore limited habitat. Habitat change, naiveté to predation by introduced animals, vulnerability to invasive species-driven changes, pollution, and climate change combine to influence
the abundance and population structure of Pacific biodiversity.
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 6 p.
Enterococci are used as an indicator for the microbiological quality of marine waters from the standpoint of human health. The same bacterial group is also commonly used as an indicator for safe consumption of shellfish. The safety thresholds differ by the type of use, such as swimming or consumption of seafood from the marine area.
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 4 p.
Pacific data are limited, but existing data show high
proportions of plastic in the waste stream (Table 29.1),
as marine litter, and as microplastics present throughout Pacific marine ecosystems, including in the guts of fish and their prey (SPREP 2016, Markic et al. 2018). In a 2011 study, plastics formed 12% of the waste stream in Honiara (SPREP 2017).
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 6 p.
Simplifying coral reef ecosystems to a single number for a country, or for a region, runs counter to our knowledge of the complexity and variability that characterise healthy reefs in a healthy ocean scape.