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The Vanuatu Fisheries Department (VFD) hosted a programme retreat from September 28-October 2, 2020 on the island of Espiritu Santo at Turtle Bay Lodge. The 40 participants included VFD directors, managers and senior staff; provincial fisheries development officers (FDOs); representatives from the Pacific Pathways and FishFAD projects; stakeholders from the Sanma Secretary General and East Santo Area Council; and village chiefs and fishers. This meeting followed the FishFAD project’s virtual regional...

FAO supports recent efforts in Palau to ensure the nation has a strong and sustainable fish aggregating device (FAD) programme. Through the FishFAD project these efforts build on Palau’s longstanding experience in FAD deployments and training in FAD fishing, which were often led by master fishermen with the Pacific Community Nearshore Fisheries Development Section. Over time, the programme has contracted with other organizations and projects, such as FishFAD, to assist...

FAO is collaborating with government Ministries for Health, Food and Agriculture from several Pacific countries to provide support to revise national Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG). The partnership follows requests by the Governments of Fiji, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu to provide technical assistance in revising and implementing national Food-Based Dietary Guidelines. In response, FAO is designing and funding the regional project called - Technical support for national Food-Based...

The FishFAD project (also known as Enhancing livelihoods and food security through fisheries with nearshore fish aggregating devices in the Pacific) is developing tuna products to provide both local income and nutrient-dense options in Pacific Island countries. In June this year, the first training on manufacturing tuna products was held in Bairiki, Kiribati. The four-day training included beneficiaries from South Tarawa and representatives from the Betio fish aggregating device (FAD) committee...

Teams from the Samoa Bureau of Statistics (SBS) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) have been out in rural areas interviewing farmers, livestock owners, and fishers for the Agriculture Census. The field data collection work will be completed by 1 August. The Government of Samoa is conducting the census with full coverage of the agriculture sector. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is providing technical...

Nearshore fishing received substantial support with the deployment of anchored fishing aggregating devices (FAD’s) in locations around Samoa. An anchored FAD is a structure or device that is anchored to the sea bottom and has floats at the surface, this becomes an attraction for marine life and small fish which are then the food for larger high value fish like tuna. Teams from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) deployed...

Through the month of July, teams of government agencies and donor partners are in South Pentecost, Vanuatu establishing ten community agroforestry nurseries in ten communities affected by TC Harold. The activity is part of the Integrated Sustainable land and Coastal Management (ISLCM) project, which aims to implement sustainable and integrated management of forest, land and marine resources. The newly established community nurseries are part of the Livelihood Recovery Program in  communities...

Residents of Manono and Apolima islands in Samoa recently received assistance from a visiting technical team comprised of staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) and the FAO. Like other parts of the Pacific, Manono and Apolima Island are both vulnerable to climate hazards such as cyclones and sea level rise. An FAO project funded by the Government of Italy has involved trainings and demonstrations to communities to build...

Fishermen associations and interested fishermen gathered at the village of Banraeaba, Tarawa in Kiribati to participate in a one-day workshop to learn about the FAO Japan project to support artisanal fisheries. The workshop, hosted by the Coastal Fisheries Division under the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development, closely followed a regional work shop held in Fiji explaining the aims and outputs of a fish aggregating device (FAD) program. The workshop...