MLR Newsletter, Vol 4, No 1 August 2011

7/30/2019 MLR Newsletter, Vol 4, No 1 August 2011

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A U G U S T 2 0 1 1 F A G A T O G O , A M E R I C A N S A M O A

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MPA Program NewsletterMPA Program NewsletterMPA Program NewsletterMPA Program Newsletter

Our Deputy Director also made a small presentation about theprograms that we have here in American Samoa but it is antici-

pated that we will share much more information about thesewhen our Samoan counterparts reciprocate the exchange. On

the third day, we were hosted by the MNRE and visited sites inthe south east of Upolu in Aleipata district. We spent the morn

ing in Vailoa village where after a traditional welcome there weseveral presentations from village representatives. There were

representatives from both Aleipata and Safata districts preseand presentations were given from them and Pulea Ifopo of

MNRE.

Discussions revolved around emphasizing the importance of com

munity involvement in decision making and discussing some of thchallenges that they face. After another delicious lunch, we

were taken to visit the sites of their MPAs and to continue theexchange in an informal manner which allowed for open and free

discussion. During the final morning of our exchange visit, wehad three main objectives which were to; discuss some of thelessons learned, to establish a mechanism and a date on which thold a post exchange workshop and finally to carry out an evalu

tion of the trip. These objectives were all met by holding ameeting at the hotel. There was some good exchange between

our participants about what they had learnt and what the dif-ferences were between the two Samoas (in terms of MPA desig

nation and management). The group decided to hold the postexchange in the summer months when the information is still

fresh in their heads. This was an extremely successful event,the funding for which came from CRAG as part of the Coral Ree

Initiative funds. It is hoped that more similar exchanges will behosted in the future.

\

From 21st 24th March 2011 a group of 24 people travelled to

Samoa to participate in a marine protected area (MPA) learningexchange. The group was made up of representatives from ex-

isting and potential Village Marine Protected Area villages andstaff members. They participated in a four day event hostedby both Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries(MAFF) and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

(MNRE) in Apia, Western Samoa. The objectives of the ex-change were to provide a forum for information gathering and

sharing between community and government leaders of the two

Samoas working on similar community-based MPA projects andto engender a sense of stewardship in the participants and in-crease their participation in management related efforts in the

future.

On the first day of the exchange, the participants weregreeted by the managers of the two Government agencies in

Samoa and were welcomed by a traditional Ava ceremony. Af-

terwards there were presentations from both agencies abouttheir respective MPA Programs and the village by-laws that

exist for the MAFF villages. The second day of our visit wasspent with the MAFF visiting some of the their villages on the

south coast. We met with village representatives from Tafatafavillage in the Falealili district. Once again, our group werewarmly welcomed by an Ava ceremony after which presentationswere given by various village representatives from the district.They discussed things such as their goal in establishing MPAsand their efforts to carry out aquaculture projects such as Gi-

ant Clam culture. Our village representatives had a lot of ques-tions and there was a good exchange between the two Samoan

entities. Following a hearty lunch provided by the village, wewere taken to see their sites and got to discuss things such as

the marking of boundaries and the selection of size and locationof the sites.

Marine Stewardship Learning Exchange in Apia, Samoa

Participants in the Marine Steward Learning Exchange atthe village of Satalo in Safata district March 2011

Participants in the Marine Stewardship Learning Exchangin Lalomanu, Aleipata district

Representatives from thevillage of Fagasa and Alo-

fau in Satalo, Safata


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Students also received a lot of prizes from the WPRFMPrizes were cooler bags, snorkel and mask sets, rod and ree

water quality testing kits and GPS units. The Youth Sumwent well with the participation of all the people that made

possible. Thanks to the WPRFMC from Hawaii for all the hawork in organizing this event.

Friday April 15 2011, the Information Education Division (IEfrom the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources

ceived an invitation from Pavaiai Elementary School to prese

on the topic of coral reefs to the 5th graders (10 year oldThe Marine Protected Area Program made presentations abwhy MPAs are important, what can be protected and the ben

fits of MPAs including larval transport, and spillover.

Afa Uikirifi and Onosai Toimoana talked about the Commun

based Fisheries Management Program (CFMP), Sione Lam YuJr and Tafito Aitaoto talked about the No-Take MPA Progra

and Maria Vaofanua, Lusila Minoneti, Herbie Umi, Sitivi Iosand Auvaa Soonaolo held a fishing clinic. A fishing clinicwhere students learn how to use rods and reels for fishirather than illegal fishing methods or destructive fishing me

ods such as dynamite, Ava Niukini and Clorox.

On Saturday the 5th of March 2011, representatives from theWestern Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council (WPRFMC)

from Hawaii hosted a Youth Summit at the Lee Auditorium inUtulei. They had presentations and booths set up by the Depart-

ment of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR), Natural Re-sources Conservation Services (NRCS), Fagatele Bay National Ma-rine Sanctuary and also a booth from a representative from Hawaiidemonstrating nutrient testing in streams. This event was open to

the public but the attendees were mainly from; Samoana HighSchool, Poly Tech High School and some parents and teachers that

were there supporting the event.

The participants learned that it is important to take care of ourmarine environment and also marine resources that are found in it

and about the work that is being done as a result of funding fromthe Fishery Council. A student from Hawaii talked about his re-

search into a traditional lunar calendar and another researcherfrom Hawaii discussed a project that they have carried out meas-

uring nutrients throughout the watershed with the assistance ofstudents. Dr. Phil Wiles (EPA) gave a presentation on the ADCPsurveys that have been carried out by him and staff from the De-

partment of Marine and Wildlife Resources. He discussed the ef-fects of the tide and the currents and showed data from the re-cent current surveys in Amanave and Aunuu. Students from both

Samoana and Poly Tech also had a chance to learn from the Com-munity Based Fisheries Management Program (CFMP) in a presen-

tation that was given by the Project Leader, Selaina Tuimavave.

The no-take MPA Program staff were able to discuss the programand the benefits of MPAs when the students rotated around thebooths. Representatives from the MPA Program were talking

about the different process the villages have to go through tohave a Marine Protected Area. They also discussed the outreach

programs they carry out in the youth groups, schools, churches andvillages. Rules and Regulations were also discussed during the

booth display.

Marine-Life Reserves News, Vol. 3, No. 2, March, 2010 PageYouth Summit with Western Pacific Regional Fisheries

Management Council

CFMP Booth & VMPA Presentation by Selaina Tuimavave

No-Take MPA booth by Lucy Jacob and Sione Lam Yuen Jr

Dr. Phil Wiles presenting on the ADCP Project and Dr. Dmingo Ochavillo with his Biosampling booth

Maria Vaofanua introducing the DMWR to Pavaiai Elemetary School fifth Graders

Pavaiai Elementary School Outreach


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3Shey Auelua and Carl Tiffany from the boat based monitoringteam talked about how they interview fishermen and the types

of questions they ask such as how long were you out fishing?,what time were you fishing?, what fishing method did you use

to catch the fish?. The team also measure and identify all ofthe fish that they survey.

There were more than 100 students so we divided ourselves into

four groups and the students rotated into these four groups.We really enjoy doing these types of activities with our young

students of American Samoa because it teaches them to protecttheir coral reefs. They also learn about the work of the Depart-

ment of Marine and Wildlife Resources and maybe one day someof those students will come and work with us!

Some members of the DMWR have been actively participating in

carrying out Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) workshopson watershed management in the village of Nuuuli. This collabo-

rative effort, led by American Samoa Environmental ProtectionAgency (ASEPA) has been put forth in view of the fact that

each agency has jurisdiction on parts of the environment im-pacted by watersheds.

Marine-Life Reserves News, Vol. 3, No. 2, March, 2010 Page

Other departments also working together on these activitiesinclude NOAA Pacific Island Regional Office (PIRO), the De-

partment of Commerce (DOC) and ASCC-Land Grant. Presentations from each agency were delivered in accordance with the

work and in relationship to parts of the environment being em-phasized in the workshop. Part of the PLA process is develop-

ing and implementing management strategies to address issuesraised by the community while the workshops were conducted.

Remnants of the old clam farm in Nuuuli were categorized by

the villagers as an area that needs to be cleaned up.

As an outcome of the PLA workshop, an assessment of the sitewas carried out by a team led by DMWRs no-take MPA Progra

on 24th of May, 2011. The old net that was used to surroundthe site has been decaying and become tangled to the bottomsea floor. While some parts of the netting are loose, othershave been cemented to the sea floor making them very hard to

remove. Ropes and buoys marking the site have been worn outand are still anchored to the bottom with cement bricks. Cor-

als have grown over some metal fencing and worn out nets.

On June 24, 2011, the DMWR performed a clean-up at the arein Nuuuli village that was the former location for a clam farm.

Several articles including nets, ropes and floats were collectedand were disposed of at the Futiga and ASPA disposal area.Quite a few scrap metals and plastics were also collected fromthe beach adjacent to the location of the clam farm. This ef-

fort fulfills part of the Departments mission statement withthe aim to manage and protect the marine resources from

harmful effects. In addition, other agencies involved had performed clean-ups of streams and have collected trash nearby

the streams that made up parts of the Nuuuli watershed.

In an on-going effort to promote MPAs in American Samoa,

several staff members of the DMWR conducted workshops inManua at Ofu, Olosega and Sili villages. The purpose was to

understand the management needs of the community in relatioto marine resources, to empower the community to improve th

Nuuuli Watershed Management PLA Workshop

Representatives from DMWR, CRAG and ASEPA at the As-sembly of God Church in Nuuuli

Sione Lam Yuen Jr ex-plaining the impor-

tance of having a bal-anced ecosystem to the5th graders at Pavaiai

Elementary School

Afa Uikirifi, Shey Aue-lua, Carl Tiffany and

Sitivi Iosua; other rep-resentatives from

DMWR during the CoralReef Outreach at

PavaiaiElementary School

Silifaiva Faiai the Mayor of Olosega with DMWRrepresentatives and Carlo Caruso from the

National Park Service

Ofu and Olosega Manua MPA Workshop


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4Marine-Life Reserves News, Vol. 3, No. 1, March, 2010 Page

I realized that the ocean did not just bring warm sandto lie on or provide tide pools to look at baby fish. It

was a key part of life! My love for the ocean from mychildhood years only grew and I was sure I wanted to

be around the sea for my entire life. To make thatdream a reality, I am now a sophomore at ASCC, major-

ing in Marine Science. One of my favorite classes wasmy Aquaculture class where I learned how to raisefish. In addition, this internship here at the Depart-

ment of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) givesme firsthand experience on what it is like to work forthe waters. I've learned so much from working with

Marine Protected Area (MPA) Program team. Whilehere, I joined Lucy Jacob, Tafito Aitaoto and Sione

Lam Yuen Jr in an outreach with the Fagaalu Participa-tory Learning Action (PLA) Community Outreach con-

cerning their watersheds. It surprised me that al-though the people did not exactly know what a water-shed was but they were determined to learn moreabout what they can do to protect it. I also attended a

meeting about the Marine Protected Area (MPA)

Workshop that the MPA Programs had in Manua, thismeeting is a recap on the threats to the marine envi-ronment of Olosega Manua. Information about threats

and ways to minimize them were presented.

All were exciting but my favorite experience was thesnorkeling at the old DMWR Clam Farm in Nuuuli. I saw

a lot of tiny fish, most of which I didn't know, but nowI know their names. I am currently practicing my fish

ID; this is studying the scientific, common and Samoan

name for fishes that are found in the Pacific. I lovethe ocean because it links our people together. Fisher-

men, farmers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, men, women,the young and the old all need the ocean. We depend on

it to keep a balance in the circle of life. The next timeI will be in this newsletter, I won't be just a sopho-

more at ASCC, but rather a marine biologist here atDMWR. I don't have the eyes of a snorkeler, thestomach of a sailor, the lungs of a diver, or even thearms of a swimmer, but that will never keep me out of

the ocean that I love!

Marine-Li

Reserves N

Editor-in-Chi

Lucy Jacob

Authors and P

Assistant

Sione Lam Yu

Tafito Aitaoto

Layout Artist

Sione Lam Yu

Editorial Boa

Chair - Ufaga

Tulafono, Dire

Department of

rine and Wildl

Resources

All content has

written by the

-Life Reserves

editorial staff u

otherwise attrib

Marine-Life Re

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Federal Aid in

Fish Restoratio

(Dingell-Johns

the Wallop-BrAmendment)

Director a Res

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rine and Wildl

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3730, Pago Pa

American Sam

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@gmail.com

Tel: (684) 633

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management of their marine environment and to improvecollaboration between DMWR and the community. A total

of more than eighty individuals with ages ranging from 8to 75 participated. Titled and untitled men and women as

well as children attended the workshop and carried outthe activities in groups.

Presentations were made about MPAs after which a series

of activities were carried out. These were historical pro-

files, resource mapping, identification of problems causesand solutions, prioritization of issues and an MPA designactivity.As documented during the activities, marine re-sources in Manua are slowly declining. The use of illegalfishing methods and pollution from landfills were some of

the key problems. Requests were made to have scientificresearch conducted and increase enforcement of fisher-

ies regulations to solve some of the problems that arethreatening the marine resources. Some of the work that

has been scheduled in relation to the problems voiced bythe participants of the workshop includes a collaborativework between American Samoa Environmental Protection

Agency (ASEPA), National Parks Service (NPS) and theUS Geological Survey to carry out some preliminary re-search into the pollution from the landfill that will be

done in September 2011. The DMWR Director also at-tended a site visit to the land fill with ASPA who were

working to clean it up in June 2011. The DMWR directorheld meetings with the suspected suppliers of dynamite to

fishermen and tried to prevent such transactions takingplace. This should protect the fish and the coral fromsuch destructive fishing methods. A follow up workshop is

yet to be conducted depending on the availability of vil-lage councils and it is hoped to provide more information

on MPAs to the village councils.

Born as the granddaughter of a former fisherman, I havealways had a passion for the great blue. My name is

Faasalafa Kitiona and I want to be a Marine Biologist. Iwas only five when my grandparents took me to Apia on

our family boat. I was fascinated with the seabirds aboveour heads and the dolphins that raced along the boat side.

When we arrived my uncle came out in a canoe to bring usto the shore. It was amusing to discover that we weren't

the only passengers. Fish, that night's dinner, filled oneend of the canoe. I did not think about it then, but when I

looked back at that experience,

No-Take MPA intern at DMWR

FaasalafaDianaKitiona

No-TakeMPAIntern

Did You Know? Many corals have

zooxanthellae within their tis-sues. Zooxanthellae are algae that form a sym-

biotic relationship with the coral by producing

organic compounds that the coral polyps use.

This food source enables the corals to grow

faster than they

would without the

zooxanthellae.

Documents

MLR Newsletter, Vol 4, No 1 August 2011