Locally manufactured solar fish driers will support food safe production of dried tuna within eight community fish process centres in Tuvalu

Following the devastation of Cyclone Tino in January and a slowed economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FAO is supporting Tuvalu in rebuilding and sustaining its fisheries programme and providing economic opportunities for fishers.

From January 16-19, 2020, Cyclone Tino brought heavy rains and winds that caused catastrophic damage that impacted Tuvalu’s food and fish production systems. Tuvalu’s Government requested FAO to provide technical assistance to rehabilitate fisheries in the aftermath of this cyclone. FAO prepared an emergency response under an existing regional project (FishFAD) which is being implemented to help fisheries with nearshore fish aggregating devices or FADs. Along with the FishFAD project, this emergency project is restoring fisheries and implementing related work.

A key activity in this effort, which is being monitored by fishery observers, is the construction of 45 one-man canoes for relocated fishers. These observers usually work on foreign fishing vessels but are now unemployed due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. FAO is providing building materials and fish processing equipment, such as solar fish dryers to rehabilitate Community Fishery Centres. Instructions for how to mount the solar dryers are currently being prepared.

FAO is also conducting safety at sea training for fishermen. Surveys on disaster risk reduction in the fisheries sector will soon be conducted. FAO will validate the findings and make recommendations in a follow-up workshop. Additionally, four milkfish cages in the Vaitupu lagoon that were destroyed during Cyclone Tino will be replaced. The cages are currently being procured and should be delivered in December 2020.

The United Nations Secretary-General created the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Trust Fund to support health and development needs in certain affected countries, including Tuvalu. This fund brings short-term relief through December 2020 which will be used to supply marine plywood, boatbuilding timber, construction materials and tools for the 45 paddling canoes. To respond to the pandemic, Tuvalu’s Government prioritized public health and the population’s safety while simultaneously rebuilding the nation after Cyclone Tino.

While Tuvalu has no COVID-19 cases to date, the pandemic slowed economic growth and trade, as well as tourism, and much of the country is in isolation. The government also relocated some families to outer islands as a precautionary measure. Tuvalu currently has travel restrictions in place, and the nation is on alert and taking World Health Organization-recommended measures to keep COVID-19 from reaching its shores.

The total budget for both the emergency project and the UN Secretary-General’s fund in Tuvalu is USD 400 000.

FishFAD project is still making progress in Tuvalu despite COVID-19 hampering its progress. Significant project activities include an online workshop and the project steering committee meeting, which were both held back-to-back in August 2020. All project countries attended the workshop to finalize their national plans and update priorities. FishFAD is also preparing a video on fishing techniques, creating templates for national FAD management plans and developing safety at sea materials for online trainings. Tuvalu’s current work in rebuilding fisheries and expanding its FAD programme complements the FishFAD project’s four focus areas:

1. Strengthening and developing community nearshore FAD programmes to provide improved access to high-value species,
2. Structuring and strengthening fishers’ associations and cooperatives,
3. Developing livelihood opportunities and revenue-generating activities and products, and
4. Improving safety at sea for fishers of nearshore FADs.

FAO SAP is implementing the three-year FishFAD project, which the Government of Japan is funding.