By Cathy hair

 

A new manual describing how to catch and rear postlarval fish and crustaceans for the marine aquarium trade has been published by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). It is the culmination of a five-year study funded by ACIAR and conducted by the WorldFish Center in Solomon Islands on postlarval capture and culture (PCC). The initial four years of research (1999–2002) demonstrated the potential to use environmentally friendly methods to capture and culture a range of fish and crustaceans as they settled from the plankton. A final year (2003) allowed the project team to fine-tune the simple aquaculture techniques required to grow them out to market size.

                                                                                                                                

Many coral reef species sought after in the aquarium trade were collected as postlarvae and reared for sale, with sufficient value to sustain a profitable fishery. Not all species on the aquarium fish list are currently included in the PCC fishery, however, as only the most valuable warrant the effort to catch, grow-out and sell. In particular, cleaner shrimp, lobster and a few high-end fish species, such as angelfish, received good farm-gate prices from the local exporter. We hope that the range and demand will expand as the environmental benefits associated with this fishery are recognised and rewarded, a goal that organisations such as the Marine Aquarium Council are working towards. 

In 2004, soon after the conclusion of the research, the first batch of potential farmers was trained at an ACIAR-funded workshop in Gizo. A draft manual was used to assist in this process. Feedback on the usefulness of the manual was sought from workshop participants. Using this as the base, the next step was to decide on the content and format for a manual that would be appropriate for the target audience of PCC farmers. Following the release of the “Seaweed Farming in Kiribati” booklet, it was agreed that this cartoon style format was an ideal approach, being easy and fun to read, without any sacrifice of educational value.

The Kiribati Seaweed booklet was the model but the PCC manual has a definite Solomon flavour. The booklet was designed at the WorldFish aquaculture station at Nusa Tupe by Cathy Hair, Regon Warren, Ambo Tewaki and Ronnie Posala. A local artist, Kisi Mae, provided the wonderful illustrations. The format differs also from the other in that it has more text, necessary because of the more complex nature of the PCC techniques. Decisions on the manual’s content arose out of consultations with the WorldFish staff responsible for PCC research and extension activities, with valuable input from a successful PCC farmer. The ACIAR publications team also contributed to the final product.

The manual is divided into four sections. The Introduction explains what this new fishery is all about and who it is suitable for; the Capture section explains how to make, set and catch fish with the collection gear; the Grow-out section deals with fish retrieval, handling and husbandry aspects of the fishery; and the Export section shows how to tell when the fish and crustaceans are ready for export and how to get them to market in good condition with the lowest possible mortality. The manual focuses on a sustainable and responsible approach to harvesting the postlarval resource. We emphasise looking after the catch all the way from the sea to the exporter because this makes sense for the environment and the farmer’s pocket.

The manual is available to anyone who is interested in learning about this new fishery, although some kind of hands-on training is recommended before developing a PCC fishery. For a copy of the manual and more information, contact:

Cletus Oengpepa (Manager), WorldFish Center, Nusa Tupe, PO Box 77, Gizo, Western Province, Solomon Islands, Ph: +677 60022, Fax: +677 60534, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Antoine Teitelbaum (Aquaculture Officer), SPC, BP D5, 98848, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia. Ph: +687 260 000, Fax: +687 263 818, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .