The quality of stock assessment on major regional stocks has advanced rapidly in the last five years and there is an improving understanding of the overall impact of fishing on regional stocks. However, the national needs assessments showed a gap between the strength of this work at a regional level and, the level of understanding and use of stock assessment methods and results nationally. That gap in understanding reduces the effectiveness of dialogue at a national level about regional conservation measures and of participation by Pacific SIDS in the WCPF process and reduces the capacity of policy makers to frame appropriate national conservation and management policies and measures. A particular aspect of the gap in understanding relates to the impact of oceanographic change. Sub-component 1.2 will develop and apply an approach to stock assessment, including oceanographic factors, that can be used to assist technical staff, policy makers and other stakeholders to provide a better basis for national management policies, to enrich national dialogue about regional conservation and management measures and to enable Pacific SIDS to participate more effectively in the scientific work of the Commission. The core activity under this sub-component will be the preparation of National Oceanic Fisheries Status Reports for 6 countries annually. These reports will be prepared collaboratively by national scientific counterparts and SPC/OFP scientific staff (one of whom will be funded by the Project). The collaborative nature of report preparation and presentation will generate capacity-building spin-offs at the national level. The reports will be aimed at providing the best scientific information available as a basis for national oceanic fisheries management policies and measures. Under the Sub-Component, assistance will also be given to the Pacific SIDS to ensure a detailed understanding of the scientific issues so that they can be better prepared to develop positions and proposals within the Commission on such issues as data needs, research priorities, resources needed for science, scientific methods, etc.
Available Reports
SPC recently hosted a stock assessment workshop for fisheries officers from countries and territories within the Western and Central Pacific region. The workshop was one component within the larger Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Oceanic Fisheries Management Project. The workshop was expanded to also include non-project member countries as well, using other funding sources. This communication is intended to provide you with a brief overview of the workshop. The workshop was held at SPC headquarters in Noumea from the 3rd – 14th July, and was attended by 17 participants, one each from Palau, FSM, Guam, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Tokelau, Cook Islands and French Polynesia. Workshop facilitators from the SPC included Brett Molony, Adam Langley, David Kirby, Bruno Leroy, Valerie Allain, John Hampton and Don Bromhead. Considerable support was also generously provided by many other staff from the Oceanic Fisheries Programme. The workshop spent three days providing essential background theory (e.g. species biology, modeling theory etc) before moving into more intensive sessions on individual parameter estimation methods, which were discussed over the next 4 days. The final three days included a session on ecosystem considerations (e.g. current research directions, requirements within WCPFC etc) as well as exercises to provide participants the opportunity to discuss recent assessments in small groups. These included exercises to:
Overall the workshop was considered to be very successful. The participants demonstrated themselves to be a highly motivated and very hard working group and it was a pleasure to work with them over the two weeks. As an indicator of their dedication, it should be noted that they took it upon themselves to work after hours, on weekends and on public holidays! Participant feedback from survey forms filled out by all participants at the end of the workshop was also very positive, and useful in highlighting some areas where the workshop might be improved for the next time it is held. Importantly, it appears that many of the participants from the workshop will be attending the upcoming Scientific Committee in Manila in August. We would hope that their increased understanding of stock assessment theory and of the assessments produced by the OFP will significantly facilitate your country or territories participation in the SC, as well as assist in decision making at a domestic level. Further workshops should continue to strengthen this capacity to participate in these processes. A full report detailing the workshop will be available in late September. In the meantime, participants will also be sent CDs containing the workshop presentations, copies of their computer based practical exercises, as well as the reference papers used during the workshop.
Queries please contact:
Don Bromhead
Fisheries Scientist,
Oceanic Fisheries Programme,
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Ph: +687 620120, Email: DonaldB@spc.int
This information is to alert GEF focal point officers to the upcoming OFP-SPC Tuna Stock Assessment and Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) Workshops to be run at SPC Headquarters (Noumea) in mid-2008. Invitations to these workshops have already been sent to specific fisheries officers, via Heads of Department in each country. Therefore this notice is purely “for information” and does not require any actions to be taken by its recipients.
As of the 19th of February, invitations to specific fisheries officers were sent to the Heads of Department (Fisheries) in each FFA member country. These invitations were to attend:
The ERA workshop sits between the two Stock Assessment Workshops to allow cost effective participation by all countries and territories. The following provides some background to these workshops.
Stock Assessment Workshops
You may recall that in July 2006 and July 2007, the Oceanic Fisheries Programme of the SPC held 1-2 week long stock assessment workshops for oceanic fisheries officers from Pacific Island Countries and Territories. The workshops were part of the GEF funded “Oceanic Fisheries Management Project” and also utilized other funding sources. The purpose of the workshop was to increase understanding of stock assessments and oceanographic impacts within Pacific Island Countries and Territories; enable informed communication of these issues within country; enable increased contribution to Scientific Committee and Commission decision making; and, increase national capacity for data analyses/interpretation.
Post workshop appraisals in 2006 and 2007 identified that the long term success of this capacity building endeavour will depend upon three critical factors:
Annual stock assessment workshops and remote training have already been planned and implemented, and SPC-OFP will continue to work closely with national fisheries departments to ensure suitably qualified staff are provided this important training opportunity.
Ecological Risk Assessment Workshop
The OFP-SPC has been funded by the WCPFC to undertake an Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) for the Western and Central Pacific tuna fisheries. The purpose of the ERA research is to provide scientific advice to the Commission and its members regarding which bycatch species are at the highest potential risk of being adversely impacted by the fisheries operating in the Convention area. ERA’s are also being requested at a national level as part of the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) currently being adopted by many Pacific Island Countries. The ERA workshop aims to increase in country understanding and use of ERA research to assist in management decision making and resource allocation at both national and regional (WCPFC) levels.
Participant Eligibility
In order to assist in the selection of appropriate staff, SPC-OFP is inviting specific officers based on a number of criteria:
Essential
1. The officer is expected to attend the Scientific Committee meeting in 2008 and/or in future years
Plus one of the following
2. Participation in at least 4 of 6 online revision exercises between November 2007 and May 2008
3. Level 2 workshop attendance in 2007
4. A university level science degree (with fisheries or marine biology component). Post graduate degrees (Masters, PhD) are an advantage but not at all essential.
This selection process has been introduced to maximize the effectiveness of the training resources available and thereby ensure that the benefits of the stock assessment workshops are realized at a national and regional level. However, OFP-SPC recognizes and is sympathetic to the fact that not all countries and territories are in a position to send an officer who meets the criteria above, due to resource constraints and other commitments. If this situation arises, OFP-SPC will be happy to discuss and help identify other officers in country fisheries departments who might be appropriate participants in this training.
Funding
In previous years, funding for FFA countries to attend these workshops has been provided via the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded “Oceanic Fisheries Management Project”. However, in 2008, funding for participants from FFA member countries is being provided through the WCPFC administered and Japanese Government funded “WCPFC Project on Capacity Building in Fisheries Statistics, Regulation and Enforcement for Small Island Developing States”.
The closing date for nominations is April 1st 2008
Once again, invitations to these workshops have already been sent to specific fisheries officers, via Heads of Department in each country. Therefore this notice is purely “for information” and does not require any actions to be taken by its recipients.
However, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any queries regarding the workshops
Kind regards
Don Bromhead, Brett Molony
Fisheries Scientists
Oceanic Fisheries Programme, Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Ph: +687 260120
The Oceanic Fisheries Programme (OFP) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) hosted a Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW) for fisheries officers from Pacific Island Countries and Territories, at SPC headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia, 3rd–14th of July 2006. The report of the workshop is attached.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| SAW_2006_Report.pdf | 617.33 KB |
Nominations for fisheries officers from Pacific Island Countries and Territories to attend one of two stock assessment workshops (focused on Western and Central Pacific tuna fisheries) being run by SPC in 2007 are being sought.
You may recall that in July 2006, the Oceanic Fisheries Programme of the SPC held a 2 week stock assessment workshop for oceanic fisheries officers from Pacific Island Countries and Territories. The workshop was part of the GEF funded “Oceanic Fisheries Management Project” and also utilized other funding including the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council, PROCFISH OCT and PROCFISH ACP. The purpose of the workshop was to increase understanding of stock assessments and oceanographic impacts within Pacific Island Countries and Territories; enable informed communication of these issues within country; enable increased contribution to Scientific Committee and Commission decision making; and, increase local capacity for data analyses/interpretation. SPC will be holding two stock assessment workshops in 2007, using funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project and other sources.
In addition to covering the basic theory of stock assessment in some detail, both workshops will provide discussion of recent changes and improvements to the WCPO tuna assessments, as well as provide increased focus on oceanographic impacts and discuss recent ecological risk assessment analyses and other ecosystem research. We would strongly encourage last year’s participants to attend Workshop 2 to ensure that the increased knowledge and understanding gained last year are not lost over time.
Countries who wish to participate in these workshops are asked to provide a nomination (see attached form) by the 15th of March. In doing so, please note the following conditions:
For further information, please contact
Dr Don Bromhead
Fisheries Scientist
Oceanic Fisheries Programme
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Ph: +687 260120 DonaldB@spc.int
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| SAW 2007 Nomination Form | 10.33 KB |
| SAW 2007 Report | 598.92 KB |