NZPPOA - K IR IBAT I

QUARTERLYREPORTMARCH 2019Prepared by :  Research Moni tor ing Un i t , K i r ibat i ’ s Coasta l F i sher ies D iv i s ion-MFMRDCompi led by : Mar ia F . Sapatu , NZPPOA Techn ica l Ass is tant

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CORALS

ACTIV IT IES INTHE LAST 3MONTHS

Kiribati’s Coastal Fisheries Division (CFD)of the Ministry of Fisheries and MarineResources Development (MFMRD) wastasked with implementing the baselineassessment of NZPPOA pilot site –Nanikaai, Kiribati.  This was follow up work after theInception Workshop that was held on23rd-25th January, 2018. The objective of the assessment was todocument the current status ofNanikaai’s marine ecosystem. The baseline assessment was carriedout in phases which were;

Survey Scoping (January-February2019) 

Marine resources were categorized intocorals, seagrass, invertebrates andfinfish were considered to be studied,due to their abilities with calcificationand rendered as good indicators forOcean Acidification. Different zones ofthe site were selected to reflect thediverse habitats and obtain a widecoverage.  These zones were (i) inter-tidal – to lower sub-tidal zone, (ii)lagoon, (iii) reef flat and (iv) outer reefslope.

1.

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UPCOMINGACTIV IT IES

Acquittal reporting of NZPPOA fundsWrite up report of the Nanikaai Baseline Assessmentand report back at NZPPOA workshop in April.Outreach program of ocean acidification at Nanikaaicommunities that will be conducted during the AprilWorkshop.Capacity building to Coastal Fisheries Staff on OceanAcidification monitoring program.Collaboration with SPREP on planning adaptation actionfor Nanikaai.

2. Identification of Monitoring Approaches(February 2019) Six monitoring methods were identified andconducted at Nanikaai site.  These were the(i) Coral Point Count with Excel (CPCe), (ii)Distant Underwater Visual Census (D-UVC),(iii) Reef Benthos Transect (RBT) and (iv) PointIntercept of Transect (PIT), (v) Soft InfaunalQuadrat (SIQ) and (vi) Seagrass healthassessment. 3. Reporting (February-March 2019) The Research and Monitoring Unit (RMU) ofthe Coastal Fisheries Division data collectionwas then entered into the Reef FishIntegrated Database (RFID-SPC RegionalDatabase) while other datasets were enteredto the coral software and excel.  All data setswere then validated and analysed forNanikaai Baseline Assessment report.

There were challenges encountered duringthe implementation of the NZPPOA MarineBaseline Assessment at Nanikaai site.

The delay in releasing NZPPOA by theKiribati Ministry of Finance and Economicdevelopment also delayed the marinebaseline assessment that was planned forearly 2019. The funds was received byMinistry of Fisheries and Marine ResourceDevelopment in February, 2019.

Transport from the Coastal FisheriesDivision to Nanikaai pilot site to conductPIT and SIQ in shallow habitat was thechallenge due to lack of transport on landprovision in the budget. However, theprovision of a one day hire for outboardboat was utilized for the provision ofrenting the truck transport

Bad weather was experienced during thefirst week of implementing the Nanikaaiassessment.  This delayed the survey moreand the survey in the lagoon and outerreef was suspended till the weather wasbetter.

CHALLENGES FACED

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