Name: Marino Wichman
Country: Cook Islands
Describe your work at FAME?
Beaches are an ecological wonder, home to a wide variety of species that live within the beach or migrate to the beach as part of their life cycle. Yet beaches are facing increasing change and environmental impacts from human use, erosion, land development and climate change. These impacts are not only on the habitat but also the myriad of land, coastal and marine species that play a vital role in beach ecosystems; and for those species, beaches may be getting too hot!
SUVA, Fiji - Twenty-seven fisheries enforcement officials will in nine days’ time be able to understand practical ways to conduct fish market inspections, interpret fisheries legislation and take part in a moot court exercise on evidence gathering and presenting witnesses to curb illegal fishing practices in the Pacific Ocean.
The officers from nine Pacific Island countries, of which 13 are women, will be part of this face-to-face competency-based assessment (CBA), a culmination of online delivered cohorts for the past six months.
A glimpse into the lagoon’s inner workings
From the amazing journey of mullet, the giant clams’ team spirit, the size limits as a golden rule, the smart mesh for nets, or the privacy needed by groupers during their breeding season, the five animated videos in the first season of the Fisher’s Tales series give audiences a glimpse into the lagoon’s inner workings. These two-minute videos revealed the characteristics of several species’ groups, while highlighting sustainable practices to ensure that fishing can continue for a long time to come.
Healthy coastal ecosystems, particularly coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass habitats, are critical in underpinning coastal fisheries, food security and vital ecosystem services that provide significant additional benefits to Pacific coastal communities and economies. These ecosystem services include shoreline protection, maintenance of water quality, support for reef and nearshore tourism activities, and resilience to the impacts of climate change.
A green sea turtle, which had been caught and entangled in a local fisher’s net, was successfully tagged and released safely back into the ocean on 6 October 2021.
The turtle, which was caught two days earlier by a fisherman from the village of Salelesi about 16 kilometres east of Apia on Samoa’s Upolu Island, was kept in the village pool while the fisher sought assistance from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) of Samoa and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
A green sea turtle, which had been caught and entangled in a local fisher’s net, was successfully tagged and released safely back into the ocean on 6 October 2021.
The turtle, which was caught two days earlier by a fisherman from the village of Salelesi about 16 kilometres east of Apia on Samoa’s Upolu Island, was kept in the village pool while the fisher sought assistance from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) of Samoa and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
“Vanuatu is blessed with a diverse and productive marine environment, and our marine species, such as fish, turtles and seabirds are part of our cultural heritage,” said Esline Garaebiti, Director General, Ministry of Climate Change, Meteorology and Geo-hazard, Environment, Energy and Disaster Management at the launch of a new initiative to protect our marine species.
An interactive tool to support women, youth, community leaders on how to review their local fisheries management practices and knowledge was presented today to the Cultivating Equality: Advancing Gender Research in Agriculture and Food Systems Conference, a gathering of researchers from across different Pacific countries and CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) centres.