Significant progress was made on all components and objectives of the Project during 2004. The progress summary is presented below under the three core technical components of the project: (a) Miniprojects; (b) Capture and culture of pre-settlement coral reef fishes and invertebrates; and (c) Sea cucumber aquaculture / reseeding.

Miniprojects
The first activity for miniprojects was to define and formalise the criteria for acceptance. A protocol to select and administer miniprojects was developed at the first project team meeting in Fiji, February 2004 (Appendix 1).

During the first year, four miniprojects were approved and funded. Two of these have commenced, the others will start in early 2005. The projects are:
1) Confirmatory testing of the viral status of Penaeus monodon (black tiger shrimp) populations in the Fiji Islands. This small miniproject commenced in June 2004 and was due to finish in November 2004 but has been extended to February 2005. An interim report is presented in Appendix 1.
2) Development of commercial and farm-made feeds for tilapia and macrobrachium in PNG and Fiji. This project is a large miniproject which commenced in December 2004 and is due to finish in August 2006.
3) Monoculture of the freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium lar, in Vanuatu and integrated prawn-taro farming in Wallis & Futuna. This small miniproject is due to commence in February 2005 and run for approximately six months.
4) Rehabilitation of the mariculture research facility at Motupore Island Research Centre, Papua New Guinea. This small miniproject is also due to commence in February 2005 and be completed by April 2005.
Details of all miniprojects can be found in the proposals included in Appendix 1.

Capture and culture of pre-settlement coral reef fishes and invertebrates
This component of the project is continuing the activities of ACIAR project FIS /98/13 Development of new artisanal fisheries based on the capture and culture of postlarval coral reef fish (referred to as PCC), using WorldFish staff based at the Nusa Tupe Field Station, Solomon Islands. Several important activities occurred during 2004:

1) In June 2004, a workshop to train village participants and National Fisheries Officers in PCC techniques was held at Nusa Tupe.
2) As a result of the training received, community members from two Western Province villages began catching and rearing post-larval lobster, cleaner shrimp and fish. Several shipments have been made to the Honiara-based aquarium fish exporter between October and December, generating income of SB$3,750 (approx. AU$750).
3) In November 2004, the project team visited the towns of Buala and Kia in Isabel Province to raise awareness and gauge interest in transferring the technology to another area in Solomon Islands.
4) As a result of the presentation given at the Fourth Heads of Fisheries Meeting in Noumea in August 2004 several Pacific countries have expressed an interest in adopting the PCC technology.
5) Progress was made in the preparation of a simple methods manual for the techniques. A Solomon Island artist has been engaged and a number of draft illustrations submitted.
Full details of all activities are presented in Appendix 2.

Sea cucumber aquaculture / reseeding
Sandfish (Holothuria scabra) hatchery production is being undertaken at the hatchery facility of QLD DPI&F Northern Fisheries Centre, Cairns. Initially, only broodstock acquisition and maintenance was scheduled for the first year of the project. However, two successful hatchery runs were also completed in late 2004, which brought forward the production aspect of this component.

Broodstock were purchased from the Nunukul Ngugi Cultural Heritage Corporation of Stradbroke Island who operate a developmental fishery in Moreton Bay. In May 2004, 123 mature sandfish were transferred to a pond at DPI&F Oonoonba Veterinary Laboratory (OVL). In order to compare the performance of different ponds with respect to broodstock maintenance, 60 sandfish were moved to a commercial shrimp pond in July 2004. In late 2004, 47 sandfish remained in the OVL pond and were used for hatchery production. However, there were no surviving sandfish in the shrimp pond. It was suspected that unsuitable substratum and high nutrient loads contributed to this result.

The reproductive season for Moreton Bay sandfish is from October to January and the peak month is November. OVL pond broodstock were used for spawning trials in October and November 2004. Male and female sandfish spawned on both occasions, demonstrating that successful gonadal development occurred in individuals maintained in the OVL pond. Furthermore, larvae were reared through to settlement: 20 juveniles resulted from the October spawning and 330 from November.

Significant progress was made on all components and objectives of the project during 2005. The progress summary is presented below under the three core technical components of the project: (a) Miniprojects; (b) Capture and culture of pre-settlement coral reef fishes and invertebrates; and (c) Sea cucumber aquaculture / reseeding.

Miniprojects
Miniprojects development and implementation continued throughout 2005. During the second year of the project, ten miniprojects were conducted:
One large miniproject was continued from 2004;
Two small miniprojects commenced in 2004 and were completed in 2005;
Three small miniprojects were commenced and completed in 2005;
Two small miniprojects commenced in 2005 and are due for completion in 2006;
One small miniprojects has been approved and will commence in 2006;
The final small miniproject was developed and signed off but was withdrawn due to problems in the target country.
The projects are:

Confirmatory testing of the viral status of Penaeus monodon (black tiger shrimp) populations in the Fiji Islands. This project assessed the status of P. monodon populations in Fiji for shrimp viral diseases (e.g. IHHNV, TSV YHV/GAV, WSSV and MBV) and determined whether Fiji has populations of SPF shrimp. This knowledge has important implications for the shrimp industry in Fiji and the Pacific.
Development of commercial and farm-made feeds for tilapia and Macrobrachium in PNG and Fiji. This project aims to increase production of tilapia and Macrobrachium in PNG and Fiji through development of commercial and farm-made feeds using inexpensive, locally available ingredients. It also involves farm trials of the formulated diets
Monoculture of the freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium lar, in Vanuatu and integrated prawn-taro farming in Wallis & Futuna. M. lar is an endemic prawn species that could potentially replace the introduced M. rosenbergii as an aquaculture species in many Pacific Island countries. This project examined growth and survival rate of M. lar in monoculture and in taro ponds, an important first step in assessing its potential for aquaculture.
Rehabilitation of the mariculture research facility at Motupore Island Research Centre, Papua New Guinea. This project assessed the options and costs for rehabilitating the mariculture facilities at MIRC, including the establishment of a quarantine facility.
Microalgae training for Tonga Fisheries technical staff. Training was provided to a member of the Aquaculture staff at Tonga Fisheries for the maintenance and scale-up of microalgae cultures in support of the aquaculture hatchery activities of Tonga Fisheries. This training was also designed to enhance capacity with respect to the proposed culture of Pteria penguin pearl oyster. However, the Pt. penguin miniproject has since been withdrawn (see below).
Microalgae training for Samoa Fisheries technical staff. Training was provided to a member of the Aquaculture staff at Samoa Fisheries for the maintenance and scale-up of microalgae cultures in support of the aquaculture hatchery activities of Samoa Fisheries.
Experimental release and monitoring of cultured juvenile white teatfish (Holothuria fuscogilva) in Kiribati. This miniproject will help determine optimal habitats for release and will monitor survival rates of the released juveniles. Such information is needed to decide whether restocking is a cost-effective and practical management option for restoring white teatfish stocks in Kiribati.
Half pearl ('mabe') production in Kiribati. This miniproject will produce mabe pearls in Kiribati to assess their quality, provide appropriate training and produce a product to be used for value-adding activities (i.e. jewellery making).
Village-scale sponge aquaculture in the Solomon Islands. This miniproject will assess the potential for sponge aquaculture as a sustainable income option for village communities in the Solomon Islands
Enhancing the pearl oyster (Pteria penguin) resource in Vava'u, Tonga. This miniproject was designed to address a critical shortage of Pt penguin pearl oysters for the pearl industry in Tonga, caused by overfishing of wild adult stocks. The proposal was developed, accepted and signed off for funding at the end of 2005 but has since been withdrawn due to problems with hatchery facilities in Tonga.

A summary table of miniprojects and their current status is presented in the Appendices.

Dissemination of results from miniprojects has been primarily through the SPC Fisheries Newsletter or specialist Bulletins. Publication details are listed in a later section of this report.

A further $49 000 in funding was requested and received from ACIAR to allow implementation of additional miniprojects.

Capture and culture of pre-settlement coral reef fishes and invertebrates
This component of the project is continuing the activities of ACIAR project FIS/98/13 Development of new artisanal fisheries based on the capture and culture of postlarval coral reef fish (referred to as PCC), using WorldFish staff at the Nusa Tupe Field Station, Solomon Islands. Several activities occurred during 2005:

WorldFish Center project staff continued to support established PCC operations in two villages in the Western Province of Solomon Islands throughout 2005 with visits by technical staff and assistance with aquarium product exports. Four fisher-farmers on Mbabanga Island sold 641 cleaner shrimp (worth AU$681), 449 painted lobster (worth AU$480) and 291 anemone shrimp (worth AU$314). The principal fisher-farmer, Maraeki Arebaio, and his family accounted for about 96% of production and earned AU$1,281 in 2005. This is equivalent to over SB$8,000 which, when compared to an average village income of ~SB$200 per month, indicates that this fishery can substantially boost rural incomes in Solomon Islands. The Rarumana community successfully lobbied for funds from their National government member and purchased ten sets of crest nets. These were deployed towards the end of 2005 and income should be forthcoming in 2006. See Appendix 2.1 for details of aquarium fish exports.
WorldFish Center project staff conducted a workshop to transfer PCC technology to the town of Buala, Isabel Province, around Easter 2005. Provincial Fisheries Officers were also involved in the training. No operations have been established in this area yet but a trial shipment of fish and crustaceans was made which generated AU$50. A follow-up trip to Kia (also in Isabel Province) was carried out in Nov-Dec 2005. No Operations are established there as yet.
Fiji was selected as the first Pacific Island country after Solomon Islands to receive training in the PCC methods. An initial training trip was carried out in May-June 2005 by Ms Cathy Hair (DPI&F) assisted by Mr Regon Warren and Mr Ambo Tewaki (WorldFish Center, Gizo). During this trip, three potential sites were inspected, fishing trials conducted and Fiji Fisheries Officers and community members trained in the techniques. The study was supported by Fiji MFF and staff from the University of the South Pacific (USP). A follow-up trip was carried out by Mr Warren in Nov-Dec 2005. Mr Warren spent two weeks at the best site selected in June 2005 (Navutulevu, Vitu Levu) to extend training to grow-out methods for valuable species. During this trip, good crest net catches were recorded with similar species and abundances to those found in Solomon Islands. Mr Warren concluded that this area should be able to support a small scale PCC fishery. Community members have now been trained in all aspects of the PCC techniques and all that remains is to develop the marketing side of the operation. MAFF and USP again supported the training activities. Mr Warren also met with Coral Reef Initiative for the South Pacific (CRISP) scientist Julien Grignon, who is leading a separate French-funded postlarval fish capture project, and potential for collaboration was discussed. Detailed trip reports are included in Appendices.
Kiribati Fisheries, Tarawa, have requested PCC training. Discussions are underway between Ms Hair and Mr Tebaua Sapolu to ascertain that they meet the criteria for a PCC operation, i.e. suitable areas to deploy crest nets, interested communities with access to the collection reefs, and an established aquarium fish export infrastructure.
The PCC methods manual for the capture and culture techniques has progressed and a draft manual is nearly complete.

Sea cucumber aquaculture / reseeding
There are three important results from the sea cucumber aquaculture research in 2005:
Juvenile sandfish produced in the 2004 spawning were on-grown throughout 2005;
New broodstock were sourced for the 2005 spawning.
Ms Natacha Agudo (WorldFish Center) ran a comprehensive hands-on training course for NFC project staff and trainees from PNG which produced in excess of 10,000 settled juvenile sandfish (Holothuria scabra).

Juvenile grow-out.
About 300 sandfish juveniles from the November 2004 spawning were reared in indoor raceways at NFC until April 2005 before being transferred to bag nets for further grow-out. The bag net grow-out techniques have been developed by WorldFish Center in New Caledonia and used successfully in shrimp ponds. Four nets were used for trials in far north Queensland with small number of juveniles. Two bag net sites were tested: (1) two bag nets with 40 juveniles in each were deployed in a shrimp farm intake channel near Mosman in the wet tropics one hour north of Cairns; (2) two bag nets with 40 juveniles in each were deployed in a pond at the Oonoonba Veterinary laboratory (OVL), four hours south of Cairns in the dry tropics, where broodstock are kept. A further 40 larger individuals were placed in a pen in the same pond at OVL. Minimal care was given to the juveniles although nets were checked monthly to record growth and survival. In summary, the juveniles in the inlet channel in Mossman showed the best growth and survival. Although it is situated in the wet tropics, this waterway has stable salinity and maintains an algal bloom at most times, providing food for the juveniles. The juveniles grown in the OVL pond experienced variable salinities and infrequent algal blooms (i.e. less food) leading to reduced growth and survival. In July 2005 all juveniles were transferred to the pen in the OVL pond as they were too large for the bag nets. These trials did not provide data for analysis but allowed project staff to gain familiarity with grow-out techniques and to assess the sites proposed for grow-out experiments using the next cohort of juveniles (i.e. planned production from the 2005/06 season).

A Masters Preliminary student from James Cook University, Ms Rachel James, used the juveniles for a small project in the last quarter of 2005. The project comprised two components, a pond trial and an aquarium trial, both aimed to examine the influence of artificial diets on grow-out of juvenile sandfish. The juveniles were enclosed in 1 m2 pens in an OVL pond, half were fed extra diet of shrimp starter pellet and half were unfed. In the aquarium experiment, juveniles were fed a variety of diets and then their faeces analysed to determine what the nutritional value of the feed. Ms James plans to undertake a Masters thesis in 2006, using juvenile sandfish produced by this project during the 2005/06 spawning season. Ms James is of dual Australian and Papua New Guinean citizenship and plans to work in PNG in the future, so her training will contribute to enhanced capacity in PNG.

Broodstock
There were a number of developments with respect to broodstock in 2005. All of the 2004 broodstock died in the OVL ponds in February 2005 during a period of very high water temperatures, exacerbated by rainfall and presumed pond stratification. Attempts were made to source new broodstock from Torres Strait and Ayr but these failed and broodstock were eventually acquired again from the Nunukul Ngugi Cultural Heritage Corporation, Moreton Bay.

Training and hatchery production, Oct-Dec 2005
Ms Natacha Agudo, the hatchery manager from WorldFish Center in New Caledonia, spent 6 weeks running training in sea cucumber culture at NFC from 26th October to 2nd December 2005. As well as transferring the technology to QLD DPI&F through NFC hatchery staff, two trainees from the Conservation International Milne Bay Community-Based Coastal & Marine Conservation Project (Ms Priscilla Eka and Ms Pamela Mua) were taught how to spawn and rear larval sandfish during a 6-week hands-on training course. The training report is attached as Appendix 3.2. Ms James (JCU) also participated in the training on an ad-hoc basis.

Sandfish were induced to spawn by using several or all of the following shock treatments: drying, cold water, warm water and addition of Spirulina to the tank. MB Pond broodstock spawned four times from nine attempts and MB Wild broodstock spawned twice from five attempts. Five attempts to spawn Torres Strait broodstock were unsuccessful. A total of ten tanks of larvae were reared but only two were maintained through to development of juveniles. One tank of approximately 5,500 juveniles was transferred to a raceway conditioned with Nitzschia closterium as the final stage of the training course on 11th December 2005. The second tank of an estimated 7,000 juveniles was transferred to the same raceway on the 22nd December. To maintain juveniles, Nitzschia was added to the raceway regularly to provide food. In late December, large, fast-growing individuals were transferred to a separate raceway to encourage growth of smaller individuals in the raceway. These juveniles will be used for grow-out trials in bag nets in 2006. Bag nets will be set up in the inlet channel at the Mossman shrimp farm, in an OVL pond in Townsville and in the bioremediation pond of a shrimp farm near Ingham.