By Ben Ponia

 

In January 2008, SPC’s Aquaculture Adviser, Ben Ponia, visited Tonga to meet with government and private sector personnel to share information on aquaculture developments, and to plan for regional assistance to the aquaculture sector. Some highlights of this visit are included here. 

  Tonga’s Fisheries Department 

Poasi Fungalea is Tonga’s newly appointed Secretary for the Department of Fisheries, and he is assisted by Ulunga Faanunu who is the Deputy Secretary. Poasi was previously the director of the Aquaculture Section of the Department of Fisheries. During our meeting, we discussed a variety of aquaculture ideas that the department is interested in pursuing:

·         Reducing coral exports and the live rock trade to encourage more cultured ornamentals. The department is supportive of investigating locally sourced ingredients for artificial live rock base.

·         Taking advantage of regular recruitment spikes of certain herbivorous reef finfish in Tongatapu lagoon, and harvesting them using post-larval capture techniques and growing them out in lagoon cages for local markets. Past research into mullet (Mulidae) recruitment patterns could complement this effort. Another opportunity is the mass recruitment of rabbitfish (Siganidae) juveniles.

·         Investigating hatchery protocols for breeding Pteria oysters. There is potential for breeding the winged pearl oyster Pteria penguin, and an ACIAR project with James Cook University is being developed.

Tonga’s Sopu Hatchery has been partially commercialised through a rental agreement with a private marine ornamental company. Although energy costs for operating this facility are prohibitive, the government is exploring ways to maintain the hatchery. The aquaculture staff are raising clams, mostly Tridacna derasa, which are on sold to private sector businesses to recuperate some of the hatchery’s operating expenses. The commercial operator at Sopu Hatchery (Island Tropical Marine Exports) is handling a variety of invertebrate species, mostly hard corals.

Discussions were also held with Penisimani Vea, Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the recently appointed Minister of Fisheries the Hon. Lisiate Aloveita ‘Akolo.

Marine ornamental industry

Tonga is one of the largest marine ornamental traders in the Pacific. The export of marine ornamentals to overseas aquarium markets is probably one of Tonga’s most valuable export commodities. The industry has maintained relatively steady progress since its establishment more than a decade ago, which reflects well on private sector operators in this industry. Visits were made to some of the key traders in this sector, including:

·         Walt Smith International Ltd. Manager Dickie Joe explained that the operation deals mostly with wild-caught fish and invertebrates. The main market is in the USA, but freight is a constraining factor. Dickie feels that one advantage that Tonga has is that all coastal areas fall under government jurisdiction.

·         South Pacific Paradise Exporters. Owner Al Taulonga explained that his operation deals mainly with invertebrates but includes a large variety of species. During our visit, about a dozen staff were observed packing live animals for air transport to the USA.

·         Jay Hawk Ltd is named after its owner. The business was set up because Jay wanted to get involved in a business that had long-term prospects. This approach underscores the fact that it is the industry players themselves who are striving for sustainability. The operation employs up to 30 workers. Jay thinks that regional organisations need to provide some technical support in dealing with issues relating to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which the industry struggles to keep pace with. There is also the need to improve the image of the ornamental trade because there are a number of myths about harvesting practices, which has caused negative publicity.

·         Dateline Aquarium Fish Co Ltd. Owner Dave Gilbert is one of the first operators who became established in Tonga more than 10 years ago. Dave estimates that the industry employs around 100 families and is worth around 5 million Tongan paanga per year. However, he feels that the wild ornamental harvest is becoming a political scapegoat and causing public misconceptions that harvesting is unsustainable. In Dave’s opinion, divers in the trade only harvest from a very small proportion of the total reef area and their impact is negligible compared with other users and impacts.

Vava’u Island is famous for its rock island scenery and the whales that migrate through its deep bays. Vava’u was also the main site for previous pearl farming trials. Much of this was focussed on black-lip pearl oysters, which occur naturally but are becoming increasingly rare. Several decades ago the winged oyster (Pteria sp.) was introduced by a Japanese project. Pteria oysters are now established in sufficient quantities that they can be collected using artificial collectors placed in the lagoon and cultured for half (mabe) pearls.

At the Vava’u market, vendors sell various mother-of-pearl handicraft items that are manufactured locally and which are popular with tourists.

The fisheries department on Vava’u organised a workshop with members of the pearl association. During the pearl market boom of the late 1990s, the association was active and focussed mostly on farming black-lip pearl oysters. Today, however, membership in the pearl association has dwindled. None of the black pearl farms have succeeded, and the association is in a general agreement that Tonga should consolidate what resources it has and refocus its efforts on farming the Pteria oyster. This option is much more attractive because of the oyster’s availability and because farming mabe pearls requires less capital and technological investment than black pearls. In addition, there are opportunities for value-adding the harvested mabe pearl through handicrafts and jewellery.

Workshop participants agreed that SPC should assist in developing a Pteria mabe pearl economic model to determine a sustainable and profitable level of farming. This analysis would also enable prospective pearl farmers to develop business models and bank loan applications. SPC will engage a consultant trainer to run an advanced level pearl carving and jewellery making workshop. This is currently being followed up with a master carver from the Cook Islands who will visit Vava’u in May to run an advanced course in pearl jewellery and handicraft making.