Maria Haws

ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF SMALL-SCALE BLACK-LIPPED PEARL OYSTER (PINCTADA MARGARETIFERA) PEARL FARMING IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

ABSTRACT This work provides an analysis of the economic feasibility of one of many small-scale aquaculture operations being considered, black pearl oyster farms, as one type of supplemental economic activity for outer island communities in the Central Pacific. Specifically, projections of financial performance of a small-scale 25,000 seeded pearl oyster farm using the Tahitian long-line method are being conducted. Estimates of initial capital investment and annual operating costs are being formulated, an annual cash flow and enterprise budget are being developed. Results show that initial capital investment is

Small Scale Fisheries Management: Lessons from Cockle Harvesters in Nicaragua and Tanzania

202,076. Annual operating expenses are

Development of a GIS-Based Tool for Aquaculture Siting

293,726 during full operation. The largest costs contributing to annual operating expenses are seeding (46%), labor including farm owners opportunity cost (24%), and depreciation (9%). The base model presented in this work suggests profitability over a 20-year horizon. Net returns over a 20-year farm horizon based on an 8% discount rate indicate a positive NPV of

Marketing Extension and Outreach in Sinaloa, Mexico: A Preliminary Analysis of Preferences for Oysters

102945. Sensitivity analysis on profit due to the variability of market price, survival, and cost of seed and other inputs are conducted and results presented.

Aquaculture Research and Development as an Entry-Point and Contributor to Natural Resources and Coastal Management

The role of women in gleaning fisheries tends to be underestimated and poorly documented although they play an important role in coastal food security and income generation. This article describes two initiatives for co-management of women dominated cockle (Anadara spp.) fisheries implemented in Zanzibar Island of Tanzania and in Nicaragua that were based on a Fiji model. In each case, significant progress was made at the pilot scale but required adaptation to the community and national context. The Nicaragua case resulted in increasing densities of cockles inside and outside small scale no-take zones in a small estuary after a two-year period of implementation. In Zanzibar, out of several no-take sites established on reef flats, only one showed similar results. Other sites’ poor performance is likely due to poor site selection, small size, and non-compliance. Varying degrees of poaching affected both locations and continues to be an issue. In Zanzibar, local and national government played highly supporting roles whereas in Nicaragua, local government was supportive but national government continues to exhibit top-down decision-making, while still evaluating the alternative co-management approach. In both cases, university extension initiatives were influential in building community capacity for management and playing an advocacy role with national government. Both locations are poised for scaling up to more geographic sites as well as fostering policy change that can lead to more integrated and ecosystem-scale approaches to sustainable fisheries management.

Sustainable Small-scale Mariculture Ventures as a Comparative Climate Friendly Livelihood Alternative in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia

Nearshore aquaculture siting requires the integration of a range of physical, environmental, and social factors. As a result, the information demand often presents coastal managers with a range of complex issues regarding where specific types of aquaculture should be ideally located that reduce environmental and social impacts. Here we provide a framework and tool for managers faced with these issues that incorporate physical and biological parameters along with geospatial infrastructure. In addition, the development of the tool and underlying data included was undertaken with careful input and consideration of local population concerns and cultural practices. Using Hawaiʻi as a model system, we discuss the various considerations that were integrated into an end-user tool for aquaculture siting.

Producing Pearls Using the Black-lip Pearl Oyster (Pinctada margaritifera)

Shrimp mariculture, the leading form of aquaculture for the Pacific coast of Mexico is facing catastrophic losses due to disease and falling prices. Previous work conducted by a multi-institutional, international team since 1997 has built a solid foundation for diversification ofaquaculture in Pacific Mexico emphasizing the use of native species, particularly those low on the food chain and with low culture technology requirements. Among the leading candidates are bivalves, which are currently cultured and fished extensively along the Gulf of California Coast, with much of the production attributed to wild capture fisheries. Great potential exists, however, to expand current aquaculture production through strengthening existing operations, either by developing new markets or increasing sales in current ones according to consumer preferences.

Element concentrations in shell of Pinctada margaritifera from French Polynesia and evaluation for using as a food supplement

Recent, fervent international dialogue concerning the existence and magnitude of impacts associated with aquaculture has had both positive and negative outcomes. Aquaculture stakeholders have become sensitized to requirements for improved environmental management of aquaculture. On the other hand, in some cases aquaculture development has been negatively affected by some of the unwarranted and unproved allegations to the detriment of the stakeholders most in need of aquaculture development (i.e., resource users, particularly the poor, who are dependent on natural resources). These resource users are targeted by, and directly influence biodiversity and conservation agendas; hence the need to understand how to gain their active participation. This discussion focuses on examples of how aquaculture research and development can be a useful tool or strategy for resource management initiatives and provide tangible positive including increased stakeholder participation and cooperation, offering alternatives to resource extraction and use in otherwise difficult or intransigent resource management conflicts.

Economic feasibility of producing oysters using a small-scale Hawaiian fishpond model

Like most Pacific island nations, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) faces threats to livelihoods, food security, and health from the impacts of climate change. The island of Pohnpei faces specific climate related threats linked to over fishing, sedimentation from deforestation, and a poorly developed economy, which restricts rural residents access to livelihood alternatives. With assistance from the Pacific American Climate Fund (PACAM); and funding from United States Agency of International Development (USAID), the Marine and Environmental Research Institute of Pohnpei (MERIP) is more than half way through a three-year program to reduce climate impacts in Pohnpei. The project goal is to reduce vulnerabilities associated with climate change faced by Pohnpei’s coastal communities, inshore reefs and Marine Protected Areas (MPA). One of the primary strategies employed is reducing dependency on fishing and unsustainable farming practices by increasing number and sizes of aquaculture farms growing sponges and marine ornamentals. Engaging rural fishers and farmers in alternative livelihoods will reduce pressure on natural resources and make communities less vulnerable to the effects of climate change on these resources over time. This paper examines the benefits and constraints of the introduced livelihood alternatives—farming of sponges and marine ornamental invertebrates and their impact on traditional fishing activities. In addition, comparisons are made with the growing of Piper methysticum, or sakau, a narcotic root crop. Growing of sakau is Pohnpei’s most widespread, but comparatively environmentally destructive, form of rural income generation and is widely recognized as the main cause of the islands upland deforestation and resulting lagoon sedimentation. Results show that growing the new adaptive commodities provide similar or greater incomes than the less climate friendly traditional activities of fishing of growing sakau. However, expansion of these activities or additional livelihood alternatives need to be developed, to further reduce environmental degradation.