blankform for FR

Secretariat of the Pacific Community
FIELD REPORT No. 28
on
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON TUNA
LONGLINING AND FISH SKILLS WORKSHOP
PROVIDED TO THE NAURU FISHERIES
CORPORATION AND THE NAURU FISHERIES
AND MARINE RESOURCES AUTHORITY
31 May to 28 July 2005
by
William Sokimi
Fisheries Development Officer
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Noumea, New Caledonia
2005
© Copyright Secretariat of the Pacific Community 2005
All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. The SPC
authorises the partial reproduction or translation of this material for scientific, educational or research
purposes, provided the SPC and the source document are properly acknowledged. Permission to
reproduce the document and/or translate in whole, in any form, whether for commercial / for profit or
non-profit purposes, must be requested in writing. Original SPC artwork may not be altered or
separately published without permission.
This field report forms part of a series compiled by the Fisheries Development Section of the
Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Coastal Fisheries Programme. These reports have been
produced as a record of individual project activities and country assignments, from materials held
within the Section, with the aim of making this valuable information readily accessible. Each report in
this series has been compiled within the Fisheries Development Section to a technical standard
acceptable for release into the public arena.
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
BP D5
98848 Noumea Cedex
New Caledonia
Tel: (687) 26 20 00
Fax: (687) 26 38 18
e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.spc.int/coastfish
Prepared at
Secretariat of the Pacific Community headquarters
Noumea, New Caledonia, 2005
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community wishes to acknowledge with gratitude the support and
assistance extended by the Nauru Fisheries Corporation (NFC) and the Nauru Fisheries and Marine
Resources Authority (NFMRA) staff to the SPC Fisheries Development Officer during his assignment
in Nauru.
Special thanks are conveyed to: Mr Godfrey Thoma, Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources
Development; Mr Marcus Stephen, NFMRA Chairman of the Board of Directors; Mr Peter Jacob,
NFMRA Chief Executive Officer; Mr Ellington Dowabobo, NFC General Manager; Ms Margo Deiye,
NFMRA Senior Coastal Fisheries Development Officer/Manager Coastal Fisheries Section; Mr
Charleston Deiye, NFMRA Administration Manager and Manager Technical Services; Mr Camillo
Scotty, NFC Operations Supervisor; Mr Ramos Agege, NFMRA Fisheries Communications and Safety
Officer; and Coastal Fisheries Officers; Mr David Uera, Mr Ricky Starr, Mr Lucky Buraman, Ms
Ebelina Tsiode, and Mr. Karlick Agir.
SPC would like to extend gratitude also to the Captains, Engineers and Crew of the Nauru Fishing
Corporation: Captain Tebakatu Teanere, Captain Nerr Diema, Mr Ken Blake, Mr Geoffrey Ribauw, Mr
Norman Quadina, Mr Ronnell Hedman, Mr Hanson Carl, Mr Ruckus Moses, Mr Lapana Talaka, Mr
Classen Heinrich, Mr Lindell Aibiat, Mr Falkland Agigo, Mr Donald Detougwa, and Mr Johnson Teanang.
iii
SUMMARY
The Government of Nauru requested technical assistance from the Fisheries Development Section of
SPC to assist the Nauru Fisheries and marine Resources Authority (NFMRA), through the National
Fisheries Corporation (NFC), boost fish production for the island. In support of this technical
assistance, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed between NFMRA and SPC’s Fisheries
Development section. The objectives of the project were to: conduct one or two workshops on fish
aggregating device (FAD) fishing skills to introduce mid-water fishing techniques (vertical longlines,
mid-water handlines and night fishing gears for tunas) to local fishermen, NFMRA and NFC staff;
conduct at-sea training with the skippers and crew of the NFC tuna longliners in all aspects of tuna
longline gear rigging and use, and the fishing techniques needed for successfully operating a tuna
longline vessel; provide training in the correct handling processing and chilling of the catch, especially
larger tunas, for export as sashimi grade fish; and if time permits and the catches are good, assist NFC
with the exporting of fish. Fisheries Development Officer, William Sokimi, was assigned to take on the
project from 31 May to 28 July 2005. On arrival in Nauru, only one of the longline vessels, F/V Austin
Bernicke II, was operational, so all tuna longline training was undertaken from this vessel.
Only two fishing trips were completed over a five week period, due to a series of small breakdowns
and a lack of spare parts. This resulted in considerable down time. A lack of operational planning and
commitment from some operational staff added to the problems being encountered by NFC in regard
to the operation of their tuna longline vessels. While at sea on the fishing trips, problems were
encountered with the vessel’s hydraulic system. On the first trip, makeshift repairs at sea allowed
additional sets to be made and a good catch to be taken. The second trip though was interrupted after
each set, with hydraulic problems, resulting in the vessel needing to return to port. Although the catches
were relatively low during the project, they were a large improvement on prior fishing trips, and the
crew were keen to continue with their new skills to improve catches and their income.
The mid-water and FAD fishing skills workshops were a great success, with 48 local fishermen
participating as well as 15 NFMRA staff. The workshops covered both night fishing using light
attraction and daytime fishing activities. The gear was made up during classroom sessions, before the
participants were divided into four groups for at sea practical fishing sessions. At night, lights were
used to attract bait (scads and squid) to the boat, with the bait caught using jigs and then used alive to
catch larger pelagics. Although catches of baitfish were reasonable, the moon was too bright, which cut
down the effectiveness of the technique. Vertical longlines were also used at night, however, the catch was
low and the cost of making up this type of equipment placed it out of the reach of many of the participants.
Day time fishing activities were more productive than the night time activities. The methods used
included deep-water snapper fishing and Palu-ahi (scatter or chum bait) fishing. These activities were
conducted along the coast as the weather was too rough at the FADs. The project vessels were anchored
to fish in around 200 m. Two lines were devoted to deep-bottom fishing from each boat, and three Paluahi lines per boat. Catches were quite good, especially when a school of rainbow runner were chummed
close to the boat on several occasions. A total of 131 rainbow runner weighing 302 kg were taken, with
a total catch of 213 fish weighing 472 kg over the two days of practical fishing training.
In looking at the overall operation of NFC, management seems to be the main problem area. Several
recommendations are made in this report to try to address this, including the need for an experience and
qualified Operations Manager to be employed, and the development and implementation of a set
maintenance programme for the two longline vessels.
v
RÉSUMÉ
Nauru a sollicité l’assistance technique de la Section Développement de la pêche (CPS) pour aider le
Service des pêches et des ressources marines de Nauru à stimuler la production halieutique de l’île avec
le concours de la National Fisheries Corporation (NFC). Cette prestation s’appuie sur un protocole
d’accord signé entre le Service des pêches et la Section Développement de la pêche (CPS). Le projet
poursuivait les objectifs suivants : organiser un ou deux ateliers sur les méthodes de pêche autour de
dispositifs de concentration du poisson (DCP), visant à initier les pêcheurs locaux et les agents du
Service des pêches et de la NFC à l’utilisation de techniques de pêche en pleine eau (palangres
verticales, pêche à la ligne en pleine eau et engins de pêche nocturne pour les thons) ; dispenser une
formation en mer aux capitaines et à l’équipage des palangriers de la NFC sur tous les aspects des
engins de pêche de thon à la palangre, leur montage et leur utilisation, et sur les techniques de pêche à
appliquer pour bien gérer un palangrier ; dispenser une formation sur les méthodes de manipulation et
de réfrigération des prises, en particulier des thons de grande taille et de qualité sashimi, destinés à
l’exportation ; enfin, si le temps le permettait et si les prises réalisées étaient bonnes, aider la NFC à
exporter le poisson. William Sokimi, Chargé du développement de la pêche, s’est vu confier
l’exécution du projet du 31 mai au 28 juillet 2005. À son arrivée à Nauru, un seul palangrier, l’Austin
Bernicke II, était en état de naviguer ; toute la formation à la pêche de thons à la palangre a donc été
dispensée à son bord.
Deux sorties de pêche seulement ont été effectuées en cinq semaines, en raison d’une série de petites
pannes et du manque de pièces de rechange. Le temps d’immobilisation a donc été considérable.
L’absence de planning des opérations et le manque d’engagement de certains agents opérationnels ont
aggravé les problèmes de gestion des palangriers que la NFC rencontre. Lors des sorties en mer, le
système hydraulique du bateau a eu des problèmes. À la première sortie, des réparations de fortune, en
mer, ont permis de procéder à des mouillages supplémentaires et de réaliser une bonne prise. La
deuxième sortie a été écourtée, chaque mouillage ayant été interrompu, et des problèmes hydrauliques
ayant obligé le bateau à rentrer au port. Bien que les prises réalisées dans le cadre du projet aient été
relativement faibles, elles représentaient une amélioration sensible par rapport aux sorties antérieures,
et les hommes d’équipage souhaitaient mettre en pratique leurs acquis pour améliorer les prises et leurs
revenus.
Les ateliers sur la pêche en pleine eau et autour de DCP ont remporté un grand succès ; 48 pêcheurs
locaux, et 15 agents du Service des pêches y ont participé. Les ateliers portaient sur la pêche de nuit en
utilisant une source lumineuse pour attirer les poissons, et la pêche dans la journée. L’engin a été
confectionné pendant les séances de cours théorique, avant que les participants ne se répartissent en
quatre groupes, pour les exercices pratiques de pêche en mer. La nuit, des lampes ont été utilisées pour
attirer les appâts (maquereaux et calmars) vers le bateau, à l’aide de leurres ; les appâts sont utilisés
vivants pour capturer des poissons pélagiques plus gros. Les prises d’appâts ont été modérément
bonnes, mais la lune brillait trop, ce qui réduisait l’efficacité de cette technique. Des palangres
verticales ont également été mouillées la nuit, mais la prise est restée médiocre, et ce type d’engin, dont
la fabrication revient cher, était hors de portée de nombreux participants.
Les activités de pêche diurne ont été plus fructueuses que celles de nuit. Plusieurs méthodes ont été
utilisées, notamment la pêche de vivaneaux et la ligne de pêche au palu-ahi (pierre perdue ou pâte de
poisson). Ces activités ont été conduites le long de la côte, la houle étant trop forte autour des DCP. Les
bateaux utilisés pour le projet ont été mouillés de manière à pouvoir pêcher sur une profondeur de 200
mètres environ. Deux lignes ont été utilisées pour la pêche profonde depuis chaque bateau, et trois
lignes palu-ahi par bateau. Les prises ont été excellentes, en particulier lorsqu’un banc de coureurs arcen-ciel s’est approché à plusieurs reprises du bateau, appâté par la pâte de poisson. En tout, 131
coureurs arc-en-ciel ont été capturés, représentant un poids total de 302 kg. Au cours des deux journées
de formation pratique, 213 poissons ont été pêchés, pour un poids de 472 kg.
vii
Lorsqu’on examine l’ensemble des activités de la NFC, la gestion semble être la principale pierre
d’achoppement. Plusieurs recommandations sont formulées dans ce rapport, afin d’essayer d’y
remédier. Il est notamment rappelé la nécessité de recruter un directeur des opérations expérimenté et
qualifié, et celle d’élaborer et mettre en œuvre un programme d’entretien pour les deux palangriers.
viii
CONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
General
1
1.2
Nauru fisheries
2
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.3
1.2.4
Nauru Fisheries and Marine Resources Authority and
Nauru Fisheries Corporation
Fisheries projects in Nauru carried out by the SPC’s
Fisheries Development Section
Aiwo and Anibare harbours
Fishing methods
1
2
3
4
5
1.3
Initiation and objectives of the project
6
2.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
6
2.1
General
6
2.2
Overview of NFC operations
7
2.2.1
2.2.2
NFC operations briefing
Recommendations before the commencement of the project
7
7
2.3
Identifying NFC’s problems
8
2.4
Survey of the F/V Austin Bernicke II — NF6
9
2.5
Crew assessment
10
2.6
Preparing the hydraulic mainline reel and line setting gear
10
2.7
Repairs and construction of fishing gear
11
3.
FISHING OPERATIONS
12
3.1
Fishing trips
12
3.2
Line setting
13
3.3
Line hauling and hydraulic problems
14
3.4
Continuing fishing operations with a lack of resources
15
3.5
Fish catches for the two longline fishing trips
16
4.
WORKSHOPS ON MID-WATER FAD FISHING METHODS
17
4.1
General
17
4.2
FAD associated mid-water fishing methods including night fishing
using lights
18
ix
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3
4.2.4
4.2.5
4.2.6
4.2.7
Vertical longline
Lights used for attracting bait
Jigging for scads and squid, and using them as live bait
Small-scale horizontal longline
Debriefing of night fishing methods
Deep-bottom fishing and fabrication of gear
Palu-ahi (scatter or chum bait) fishing
19
21
22
23
24
24
26
4.3
Catch results for the mid-water FAD fishing methods workshop
27
5.
FAD SITE SURVEY
27
6.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
28
6.1
General
28
6.2
Suggestions to improve standards at NFC
28
6.3
Mid-water and FAD fishing
30
7.
RECOMMENDATIONS
31
7.1
NFC operations
31
7.2
Mid-water and FAD fishing
32
8.
REFERENCES
32
APPENDICES
A.
NFC skippers, engineers, crew and operations personnel involved
with the project
33
B.
Vemco Minilog temperature and depth recordings
35
C.
Mid-water FAD fishing methods workshop participants
37
D.
National fishing skills workshop schedule (13–23 July 2005)
39
E.
Soundings and plot of the site survey conducted off Ewa/Anetan
41
x
1.
1.1
INTRODUCTION
General
The Republic of Nauru is located South of
the Equator at latitude 0˚ 32'S and longitude
166˚ 56'E (Figure 1). The island is a small
isolated singular landmass covering 21 km2
surrounded by a coastline of approximately
30 km, with immediate shore reefs that do
not support a lagoon. The island’s maritime
jurisdiction is defined as 12 nm for territorial
sea, 24 nm contiguous zone, and 200 nm
exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Nauru
experiences daily temperatures that range
from 24˚ to 34˚ C, with an average annual
rainfall of 2060 mm. Nauru has a tropical
climate with Northeast Trade winds that
blow from March to October, and a
monsoon season from November to
February (CIA 2005).
Figure 1: Nauru Island
The island is comprised mainly of raised coral limestone, top layered with rich deposits of guano
phosphate that resulted from seabird droppings over the centuries. Nauru is highly dependant on returns
from the mining of guano phosphate that is exported overseas to be processed as a high value fertiliser.
During the ‘boom’ days this resource made Nauru the richest island in the Pacific, as well as one of the
richest islands in the world on a per capita basis. Guano phosphate has been the main source of income
that propped up the Nauruan economy since the island obtained independence in January 1968.
Because of the agricultural demand overseas and the economic viability of guano phosphate as a
fertilizer, much has been mined and exploited to supply overseas markets over the years. Continued
mining of guano phosphate and poor management of the income earned from the industry has
drastically reduced Nauru’s guano reserves as well as having driven the country’s economy on a
downward spiral towards poverty. The surface guano deposits are basically exhausted, but the
government is seeking to find a means to carry out secondary mining for deposits around and under the
pinnacles that are obstructing further surface mining. The Government of Nauru is also trying to
establish whether the pinnacles can be of commercial value in any way. The depletion of the guano has
impressed upon the government and the people to consider the development of alternate industries.
The Nauru Phosphate Corporation (NPC) workers have not been paid for many months, and only get
cash at stevedoring rates when a phosphate or cargo ship turns up to be loaded or unloaded. These
workers hang around in the hope that NPC will get all the money owed to it by Government and
reciprocally give the workers their due in accumulated back-pay. Only workers wanting to log time,
turn up for three or four hours each working day expecting this to be added onto their back-pay when
the time comes. Government workers were paid AUD $100 a fortnight across the board and only
recently this was increased to AUD $140 a fortnight. This meant that a CEO takes home just as much
as the lowest ranked person in the workforce, except that he would log more in back pay if this
eventuates. Cash flow to get work done is hard to access, so given this situation there is an atmosphere
of lethargy in the workforce of the country. Fishing has become a necessary activity for most of the
country’s workforce, and they either carry this out on their own or fish in teams to supplement each
others’ household with fish. Most of the workdays are spent between checking out the work front for
updates and continuing with personal fishing activities. NFMRA acknowledges that they need to
alleviate the countries situation by facilitating fishermen in their activities and to encourage their
commercial fishing section to perform economically and be viable.
1
Since marine resources are now the country’s main natural resource, fisheries products were logically
considered for further development. A National Fisheries Development Plan was introduced to
implement strategies to capitalise on the readily available fisheries resources. It is anticipated that this
will provide employment and influence the development of backup commercial businesses to support
the commercial fishing industry.
1.2
Nauru fisheries
The development of fisheries in Nauru has gone through several stages over the last three decades,
including attempts to become involved in the region’s industrial tuna fishery. In the early 1980’s the
Nauru Fisheries Department purchased two purse seine vessels from Peru in an attempt to develop a
commercial offshore fisheries project, targeted at catching tuna for the canneries in American Samoa
or Fiji. The vessels were manned by Peruvian crew and officers. This project was unsuccessful and
eventually resulted in the loss of one vessel which sunk off the island during a storm in 1986/87, while
the second vessel was relocated for operations in the Philippines and later sold (Chapman et al 1998).
1.2.1
Nauru Fisheries and Marine Resources Authority and Nauru Fisheries Corporation
The Nauru Fisheries and Marine Resources Authority (NFMRA) was established under the 1997 Nauru
Fisheries and Marine Resources Authority Act (NFMRA Act). The NFMRA is a statutory corporation
charged with the responsibility to oversee, manage, regulate and develop the preservation,
enhancement and sustainable management of the nation’s natural marine resources and environment.
This includes activities and resources from
the reef surrounding the islands shores, near
coastal activities and resources, and offshore
living and non living marine resources and
activities. The NFMRA operates under the
Fisheries Act 1997, which applies to all local
and foreign persons and fishing vessels. It
specifies effective strategies for the
management of Nauru’s fisheries and marine
resources, which includes the registration
and licensing of fishing vessels and fishing
activities. The act demarcates an exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) and establishes a basic
legal framework for the regulation of
fisheries within the EEZ (FAO 2005).
NFMRA rents some old office buildings in
Aiwo, but has new offices and a workshop at
Anibare (Figure 2).
Figure 2: NFMRA workshop and
offices at Anibare
NFMRA’s main source of income is from access fees from foreign purse seine vessels, licensed to fish
within Nauru’s EEZ. While foreign tuna longline fleets show an interest in fishing Nauru’s EEZ, no
licenses have been issued to the foreign tuna longliners in the last several years. The issuing of licenses
comes under the responsibility of the NFMRA’s CEO through the NFMRA’s licensing section.
However, under the 1997 Fisheries Regulations the Minister for Fisheries has the prerogative to apply
conditions that specify the quantity, size and species of fish that may be extracted from Nauruan waters.
He also has the authority to specify the type of fishing gears to be used, identification and marking of
fishing vessels, the recording of fisheries statistical data and other relevant information, and the
conditions for transshipment of cargo in Nauruan waters.
2
In a bid to conform to the National Fisheries Development Strategy 1996–2001 (Anon 1998), NFMRA
identified the possibility of developing a domestic fleet of tuna longliners to fish for sashimi grade tuna
for the sashimi markets in Japan and the United States. In 1998, the Nauru Fisheries Corporation (NFC)
was established as the commercial arm of NFMRA, since NFMRA had no legislative power to conduct
commercial operations. NFC was then given charge of a fish market, built by the Overseas Fisheries
Cooperation Foundation (OFCF) of Japan, to operate commercially and promote industrial levels of
commercial fishing. The fish market was officially opened in mid-1999, although it operated for several
months prior to this. In order to strengthen NFC’s operations, a second-hand 18 m tuna longline
catamaran was purchased from Australia in early 2000. This was the first of two vessels purchased with
the intention to train local fishermen in commercial tuna longline fishing and as the instruments to
encourage and develop the commercial tuna longline industry (Sokimi and Chapman 2001). The first
vessel was christened F/V Victor Eoaeo II (one of the earlier purse seiners from Peru was christened
the ‘Victor Eoaeo’).
Before the delivery trip to Nauru, F/V Victor Eoaeo II underwent full maintenance and modification
work in Australia under the guidance and recommendations of a consultant, but during the delivery
voyage to Nauru one of the vessel’s main engines developed problems so the vessel had to divert to
Honiara in the Solomon Islands to carry out repairs. After commencing fishing operations in June 2000,
NFC recorded poor returns from the fishing trips. The low catch rate was not sufficient to meet the high
operations costs. Six months later the vessel again started to experience mechanical problems that held
the vessel up for two months. It continued operations again in March 2001 until January 2002. An
Australian Masterfisherman originally came with the vessel together with the consultant to train the
Nauruan crew to carry out tuna longline operations; they were later replaced by a Fijian
Masterfisherman and marine engineer.
During the 2001/2002 fishing period the vessel recorded several good catches that were successfully
exported. This strengthened NFC’s management’s stance, that promising possibilities existed for the
company if the operation’s pieces fall rightly into place. However, inconsistent supply volumes and a
grounding accident to the vessel led to the closure of the export market after a few shipments and to
the vessel laying up after continuous mechanical problems.
In late 2002 a second 12 m vessel of the Samoan ‘Super Alia’ design, F/V Austin Bernicke II (named
after the second purse seiner that was previously owned by Nauru), was purchased from Samoa to boost
NFC’s tuna catches for consistent supplies to the export market. The vessel was ideal for Nauru’s
infrastructure and began operations as soon as it got to Nauru in October of 2002. However, after only
six months of operation the vessel developed mechanical problems in April 2003 and had to be taken
to Fiji to be repaired. This down time took three months and the vessel was back in operation in July
2003, but after several fishing trips the vessel again started experiencing downtimes and aborted fishing
trips, that were mostly due to not having a stock of the necessary parts on board or in the shore
engineer’s workshop.
In December of 2003, the Nauru Fisheries Corporation commenced a joint venture operation with a
Fijian company in an attempt to again revitalise the NFC operations and to lay a solid foundation for
future fish exports. The joint venture did not work out and in fact, set NFC in deeper doldrums than
before the venture began.
Even though concentrated effort was put into getting the two fishing vessels to sustain NFC’s
operations, the company faced managerial and financial difficulties ever since the arrival of its first
tuna longline vessel. Work is underway to get NFC to operate viably.
1.2.2
Fisheries projects in Nauru carried out by the SPC’s Fisheries Development Section
The SPC’s Fisheries Development Section has undertaken a range of technical assistance projects in
Nauru. Between 1990 and 1997 the Section provided assistance on four occasions, in regard to fish
aggregating device (FAD) projects. These projects were carried out to encourage small scale tuna
3
development and increase the chances for the island’s small-craft fishermen to increase their catch
efficiency with fewer costs (Chapman et al 1998). The Section assisted Nauru again with additional
FAD site survey work carried out in February 2000, and an Indian Ocean design FAD deployed and
moored in a depth of 2300 m off Yaren district.
In October 2000, SPC provided technical assistance on small scale tuna longline training to the crew
of the F/V Victor Eoaeo II (Sokimi and Chapman 2001). At this time the vessel was under the command
of an Australian Masterfisherman and manned by Nauruan crew and a Nauruan trainee skipper who
had just returned from an SPC Fisheries Extension Officer’s course in Nelson NZ. The trainee skipper
and crew were trained in the making up of tuna longline gear and the fishing technique. Fuel and water
restrictions on the island at the time of the project limited that practical component of this training to
two short fishing trips.
From March to May 2002 a project was carried out to train staff of the coastal section of NFMRA, and
other fishermen from the private sector, in mid-water fishing techniques to be used around FADs
(Sokimi and Chapman 2002). These techniques included vertical longline, small-scale horizontal
longline, palu-ahi (mid-water scatter-bait jigging), and night jigging for pelagics using lights to attract
bait and jigging for live bait to catch bigger fish (similar to Ika-shibi). During this technical assistance
project, an operations procedures manual was also developed for F/V Victor Eoaeo II, as the vessel was
experiencing ongoing operational difficulties and breakdowns.
The Section provided technical assistance to NFMRA in June 2003, with additional FAD site surveys
carried out in areas that were not previously surveyed. Two spar buoy type FADs and a FAD similar to
the Indian Ocean design were constructed and deployed as part of this project. The spar buoys were
deployed off Ewa and Yaren, while the Indian Ocean type FAD was deployed off Ijuw.
In December 2003, the Section was requested to provide technical assistance to survey two secondhand fishing vessels that were offered by Korea to Nauru as part of the Korean government’s aid assistance to Pacific Islands. These vessels were part of the Korean fishing fleet that was decommissioned
by the Korean Fisheries Division in a bid to streamline the number of Korean fishing vessels with the
country’s sustainable fishing plans. The vessels had been stripped of all fishing gear, and offered on an
‘as is, where is’ basis, which made the receiving island nation responsible for upgrading the vessels to
a seaworthy status, and bearing the cost of delivering the vessels home.
These vessels were assessed as unsuitable to be used in Nauru. Not only would it be expensive to
restore the vessels seaworthiness and deliver to Nauru, the vessels were too big for Nauru’s
infrastructure and would be too expensive to operate and maintain. Based on this advice the NFMRA
diplomatically declined Korea’s offer, but requested if a bus could be provided instead to transport the
island’s school children to and from schools. The bus was duly provided in 2004.
In March 2005 technical assistance was again provided to assist the NFMRA Coastal Fisheries staff
construct two FADs. The FADs were a modified Indian Ocean design buoy system using 15 x 20 kg
lift pressure floats reeved alternately with 14 x 7 kg lift purse seine floats on 18 m of 28 mm nylon
three-strand rope. Three-strand nylon and polypropylene ropes were used for the mooring line, and two
tonnes of old chain used as the anchor. The FADs were later deployed successfully off Yaren and Ewa.
1.2.3
Aiwo and Anibare harbours
Nauru does not have a natural harbour to shelter vessels from the open sea. A man-made sheltered harbour with a launching ramp was constructed in 1904 (Chapman et al 1998) to support the then lucrative guano phosphate industry. The man-made harbour (Figure 3) is Nauru’s main arrangement for
loading and offloading lighter barges that transport food and equipment from the cargo vessels to shore
and vice versa. The Nauru Phosphate Company owns and operates two tugs and four barges to carry
out this operation. Oil tankers, cargo and phosphate ships moor to buoys situated off the fringing reef
at Aiwo; just off the NPC phosphate cantilever.
4
Figure 3: Aiwo harbour and
shore facilities
While Aiwo harbour is the islands
main lifeline for transferring cargoes,
it is also the main launching and
storage area for canoes and small
fishing vessels. However, when the
westerly winds get too strong, Aiwo
harbour becomes too rough to be used safely for offloading cargo and for launching small craft. This
prompted the government to seek assistance to develop a second man-made harbour at Anibare on the
eastern side of the island (Figure 4).
The location was previously a boat
channel for launching small craft and
mainly utilised in good weather or
when the wind turned westerly.
Changing the boat channel into a
sheltered harbour provided the cargo
ships and fishermen with a backup
harbour that was utilised during strong
westerlies.
Figure 4: Anibare
harbour and wharf area
The two harbours give fisherman the choice of returning their vessel safely ashore whenever one of the
harbours is unapproachable. There is also a smaller channel for launching and retrieving small crafts at
Gabab at the western side of the airport runway.
1.2.4
Fishing methods
Nauruan fishermen practise several fishing methods to effectively fish their reef fish, deep bottom
species and pelagic species. Some of the fishing methods were traditionally handed down from elders,
while other methods were results of interactions with I-Kiribati and Tuvaluan National Phosphate
Corporation workers, who fished to subsidise their incomes and daily protein for their families.
Additional modern methods were developed through introductions by overseas visitors who were guests
of the islanders; Nauruans who went out on fishing excursions while overseas, and visiting SPC Fisheries
Development Officers who were assigned to the island to develop commercial fishing practises.
Fishing methods include leisure cast rod fishing from the edge of the reef or from vantage points; reef
spear fishing; dive spear fishing; handline and rod bottom fishing along the reef drop-off; bottom
fishing using ‘christmas tree’ contraptions; mid-water scatter bait fishing (drop-stone method); mid-water
5
jigging; deep-bottom fishing method using handlines, wooden FAO reels or Alvey reels; trolling around
FADs and free-swimming tuna schools; netting flying fish; setting vertical longlines; and setting smallscale horizontal longlines.
The area in which the mooring buoys are anchored off NPC’s phosphate cantilever is one of the main
fishing locations for the I-Kiribati and Tuvaluan fishermen. Having been in the area a long time, the
buoys have developed fish aggregating qualities. The target species for these fishermen are rainbow
runner (Elegatis bipinnulata), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus
pelamis); and wahoo (Acanthocibium solandri).
1.3
Initiation and objectives of the project
The economic climate in Nauru in late 2004 was at an all time low, and the government was paying its
workers a much lower wage. This created food shortages as people on the island had little income to
buy food. Fish was also in short supply as the NFC vessels were not operational, there was very little
fuel on the island, and the fuel price had gone up substantially. In response to this, the Government of
Nauru requested technical assistance from the Fisheries Development Section to assist NFMRA
through NFC, boost fish production for the island.
In support of this technical assistance, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed in April 2005 between
NFMRA and the Fisheries Development Section of SPC to undertake a fisheries development project
with the following objectives:
•
conduct one or two workshops on fish aggregating device (FAD) fishing skills to introduce midwater fishing techniques (vertical longlines, mid-water handlines and night fishing gears for
tunas) to local fishermen, NFMRA and NFC staff;
•
conduct at-sea training with the skippers and crew of the NFC tuna longliners in all aspects of
tuna longline gear rigging and use, and the fishing techniques needed for successfully operating
a tuna longline vessel;
•
provide training in the correct handling processing and chilling of the catch, especially larger
tunas, for export as sashimi grade fish; and
•
if time permits and the catches are good, assist NFC with the exporting of fish.
Fisheries Development Officer, William Sokimi, was assigned to take on the project from 31 May to
28 July 2005. On arrival in Nauru, only one of the longline vessels, F/V Austin Bernicke II, was
operational, so all tuna longline training was undertaken from this vessel.
2.
2.1
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
General
The first five and a half weeks of the project was dedicated to assisting the NFC revitalise its tuna
longline operations through the training of the fishing vessel crew and the assessment of the tuna
longline operations. In consultation with the General Manager of NFC, the company’s status was
reviewed to determine the problems that the company faced in its quest to operate efficiently and
profitably. Later an interview was carried out with the fishing crew to gain an insight into their
knowledge of tuna longline operations and their seamanship skills. The fishing vessel F/V Austin
Bernicke II was then surveyed to assess the vessel’s condition, the condition of the fishing gears, and
to make preparations for the fishing trips to be carried out during the project. The work with NFC
focussed on three areas: vessel management and marketing strategies; vessel operations and
maintenance; and fishing operations including fishing gear construction, on-board handling of sashimi
grade tuna, seamanship and ship safety.
6
After NFC, the work with the Coastal Fisheries section of NFMRA was carried out over two weeks,
but the starting date was changed to coincide with the availability of funds and a delay in completing
the NFC assistance as scheduled. The workshop on mid-water FAD fishing techniques and night
fishing methods using lights was carried out with assistance from the Fisheries Technical section.
2.2
Overview of NFC operations
2.2.1
NFC operations briefing
After being briefed on NFC’s standard operations and on the fishing operations system, it was
determined that the shore-side and vessel operations management systems needed to be coached in
several strategic areas. Discussions with
the General Manager of NFC revealed
several operational setbacks. The
company’s two fishing vessels, NF5 —
F/V Victor Eoaeo II (Figure 5) and NF6 —
F/V Austin Bernicke II (Figure 5), were not
operating to their full efficiency. The NF5
was lifted out of the water and was drydocked on the Anibare wharf undergoing
complete rewiring, re-equipping of
electronic gears, complete overhaul of
main engines and installation of a new
generator. The work is covered under an
aid programme by the Overseas Fisheries
Cooperation Foundation (OFCF) of Japan,
who is funding the costs of the restoration.
At the completion of this work, the NF5
will need to be restocked with new fishing
gears as well as a complete top-up of the
mainline after the mainline reel has been
serviced and restored. Although plans have
been made to get the NF5 back into
operations by the last quarter of the year,
this may not be possible until the first
Figure 5: F/V Victor Eoaeo II dry-docked on Anibare
quarter of 2006.
wharf and F/V Austin Bernicke II alongside the wharf
Since the inauguration of the company, the shore-side operations and the fishing vessels have
undergone several inadvertent and detrimental changes in its supervisory management, skippers,
engineers and crew. In an earlier trip to Nauru the SPC Fisheries Development Officer conducted a
briefing with all members of NFC to run them through as much of the tuna longline operation as
possible. This was further strengthened in another briefing when the same officer returned, this time
round to carry out the fishing operations.
2.2.2
Recommendations before the commencement of the project
During the briefing several points were stressed and starting recommendations were laid out as a base
to commence the project.
The fishing vessel should never be in port more than two nights unless there was a legitimate reason
for the vessel to be tied up, such as engine repairs, extremely poor weather conditions, etc. Each crew
had to understand that if he could not make the trip then he was free to remain behind and a replacement
could be found, but he had to give advanced notice so that preparations could be made as long as he
did not delay the vessel or prevent it from going to sea at the designated time.
7
While at sea, the fishing vessel should not return to port unless there was a major engine problem that
could not be fixed at sea, a crew member needed major medical attention, the bait had run out, ice had
finished, or the vessel was filled with fish to its capacity. The fishing vessel should stay out at sea for
at least five sets before returning to port. Prior to the project the NF6 carried out only two to three sets
per trip, or only two to three nights at sea.
Even though it was not intended to export fish at this stage, the skippers were advised that it would be
better to start practicing export scenarios. They were advised to set their departure time to coincide with
the flight to Brisbane on Friday. It was recommended that they depart for the fishing grounds on
Saturday evenings, make five sets beginning on Sunday and last haul on Thursday evening. This would
enable them to be back in port by 10:00 am on Friday morning at the latest, in time to offload and pack
the fish for the outbound flight. If the skipper selected a fishing ground that was further away from the
island then he could carry his sets out by setting towards the island from the third set onwards.
The crew have to develop a desire to be out at sea fishing in order to earn more income. The fishermen
get paid a retainer plus 30 per cent on the sale of fish to the fish market. The impact of earning more
income through commission on the catch had not sunk in yet as the returns to the fishermen was
minimal due to the low catch sent to the fish market from their previous trips. Local price for tuna
received by the boat is quite good at AUD $3.50 to $5.00/kg. They were advised that if they were to
return with bigger catches they would be able to experience the impact of a larger pay packet, especially
if the fish gets exported overseas, but in order to export overseas, at least 1000 kg of prime tuna needed
to be exported consistently to make the shipment viable.
The crew have to work as a team to produce quality products for export. Every effort has to be taken
to follow the proper procedures for boarding, processing and icing fish on board and onshore
processing for export or local sales. Even if the catch gets sold on the local market, the crew should
maintain standard procedures as a practice to producing quality products at the opportune time.
The crew have to know all the duties required on board fishing vessels the size of NF5 and NF6,
including engine room and watchkeeping duties. Management highlighted the excessive expenses
faced in continually supplying the vessels with wet weather gear and fishing gears. At the moment, the
crew are not burdened with any deductions from the total fish sales before their percentage is given to
them. To be in line with current commercial fishing practises in most places of the world, it was
suggested that management consider deducting expenses for victuals, fishing gear and other
accessories such as wet weather gear etc. Only when the crew understand that they will have to bear
the costs for these items can cutbacks be experienced and extravagance controlled. Management was
advised to phase this in gradually and to keep the crew informed of the changes.
After each unloading, the crew should be shown the actual figures for the fish sales and how their
percentage was derived. A copy should be given to the skipper and the paymaster has to take the time
to run each crew member through the details of deductions when he is paid.
Management were advised that they should consider implementing a stores maintenance system to
ensure that the requirements for the fishing vessels are kept in stock at all times. Fishing gears, engine
room requirements and spares, and perishable items required by the fishing vessels should be kept up
to date and replenished as soon as half the stock of each item was reached. When re-stocking,
management should separate the new stock from the old to be able to keep track of price changes and
the outgoing rate. Management should liaise often with the boat skippers on the type of gear that they
preferred and only order what they required.
2.3
Identifying NFC’s problems
The F/V Austin Bernicke II is currently charged with continuing the fishing trips to keep the fish market
supplied. However, the vessel was not catching fish to the expectations of management and was not
supplying sufficient fish for the export market to Japan and the US, let alone sufficient fish for the local
8
market. Several factors contributed to this predicament. The fishing gear on this vessel was in need of
upgrading, the crew required further training in carrying out the tuna longline operations, while the
skippers needed to know more on the habits of the target species – bigeye and yellowfin tuna. The bait
that was used had long exceeded its ‘use by’ date. After having been thawed out and refrozen several
times, most of the moisture in the flesh has gone. The bait is now dry and the flesh has a wooden
texture, although the silvery colour and fish oil still coat the outer skin layer, which is probably why
fish was still caught during the project. Whenever the vessel managed to go out fishing it had to return
not long after to correct a defect. The vessel could not complete a full fishing trip, mainly due to the
fact that it kept breaking down or returning to port for minor repairs that were crucial to the tuna
longline operations. Most of the breakdowns that happened at sea required only a small part to be
changed, but since there were no spares on board, the vessel had to abort the fishing operation and
return to Nauru.
The operations management have been running the vessel on bare necessities only. None of the crucial
spare parts were kept in the engineering workshop on shore or on the vessel itself. Whatever spares that
were initially kept were not replaced when they were used up. The same goes for the fishing gear. No
proper stock taking and stock management was kept to monitor, upgrade and update spare parts and
fishing gear. Whenever a part was required, the vessel was held up while the part was purchased and
fitted back on; instead of an hour or two of downtime, this took several days. The vessel can have a
$10,000 downtime all because a $200 part was not kept in stock. When the company was originally
formed, it had all the spare parts and fishing gears recorded and maintained, but several disruptions and
the movement of personnel contributed to the deterioration of the system. Insufficient budgeting
towards maintenance and fishing gear was another contributing factor.
2.4
Survey of the F/V Austin Bernicke II — NF6
A survey was carried out on the NF6 to determine the vessel’s condition and the condition of the fishing
gear to be used during the project. At the time of survey, the starboard engine starter was under repair.
The starter had burnt out during the last fishing trip when the vessel’s starboard engine room was
flooded after the deck hose got detached from the pump hose connection in the engine room. The
flooding also engulfed the transmission box so the transmission oil had to be changed and the engine
given a good test before being approved for a fishing trip.
While looking through the particulars for the hydraulic system, it was found that there was no spare
hydraulic hoses for the shooter and mainline reel systems and also no emergency repair fittings or
hydraulic emergency repair kit. The vessel was in need of restocking spare parts for all its machinery
and fishing gear. The fishing gears needed to be upgraded and the vessel’s liferaft needed to be serviced
and certified safe for carrying on board. The liferaft had already passed its service date. Several of the
kids that hung around the wharf area had pulled off the rubber seal and left the casing open, exposing
the interior contents to pilferage and weather elements, reducing the crews’ safety margin in the
process. The outboard section of the propeller shaft needed to be cleared of branchlines, mainline and
floatlines that had become entangled during previous fishing operations. The skippers and engineers
were briefed on the importance of keeping the shaft clear of entangled lines. A build up of the tangled
lines on the shaft can eventually push the gland packing back into the engine room leading to sudden
flooding and endangering the vessel during fishing trips.
The vessel’s autopilot was disabled during its delivery trip from Samoa through Fiji and was left
disabled. It was found that the level of steering fluid in the fluid tank was almost empty and the valves
from the pump and the tank had been shut down. The wiring to the rudder transducer had been severed
earlier on while a piece of the guide indicating arm had been removed, thus cutting off communications
between the autopilot master and the transducer.
It should be noted that the shore engineers and the two ships engineers have the necessary skills to keep
the vessels operational if parts are made available. The senior shore engineer has the experience to
overhaul any of the machinery on vessels the size of the NF5 and NF6.
9
2.5
Crew assessment
When the individual crew members were interviewed, it was determined that all except one had some
tuna longline fishing experience and had a working knowledge of what the general duty was during
fishing trips, but not the reasons for carrying out most of these duties. The crew required more training
on how their mainline reel and shooter operated, the reasons for constructing the longline fishing gears
to specifications, the reasons for deploying and maintaining calculated spacing of hooks, the reasons
for keeping timer and shooter speeds, and the importance of maintaining safe fishing practises during
deploying and hauling the mainline.
NFC has three skippers that are confident of taking the vessels out on fishing trips. Unfortunately one
of the senior skippers, a Nauruan, was in Kiribati tending to personal business while the other senior
skipper, a Kiribati national, was coming to the end of his contract and would not renew it when it ends
in October this year. The third skipper, a Nauruan, showed good potential for development and had
leadership and seamanship skills that should be developed. Given this situation the SPC Fisheries
Development Officer consulted with the General Manager of NFC to identify two other potentials from
amongst the crew, and include them as trainee skippers. The two seagoing engineers were
recommended to be trained in this capacity and two engine operators were to be drafted, possibly from
the Fisheries Technical section.
Appendix A contains the names of the captains, engineers, crew and operational personnel that were
involved in the project.
2.6
Preparing the hydraulic mainline reel and line setting gear
The NF6 has a Seamech 1.8 m marine high grade aluminium alloy smart reel capable of holding up to
30 nm of 3.0 mm monofilament mainline, and the latest Seamech belt shooter or line setter. In an earlier
visit to Nauru, the SPC Fisheries Development Officer found that the line setting system was not used
to its full capabilities, so the crew were shown how to tune their gear and use it to its full advantage.
However, when the officer returned for this project, the crew were still not fully confident so the
vessel’s skipper, crew, sea-going engineers and shore engineers were once again instructed in the
operations of the hydraulic system.
Previously during line setting, the crew preferred to set the reel on ‘free-wheel’ or ‘free spool’ and run
the line straight off the stern through a guide block. While this system is easier to work, it takes longer
to carry out, and the mainline takes time to settle at its maximum depth. Therefore a longer soaking
period is required, and the settling depth for the same amount of hooks is not as deep as when a shooter
is used. The reason that the crew stopped using the shooter was that they previously had bad
experiences with the mainline spilling onto the deck when they carried out line setting. This occurred
because whenever the shooter was used the crew had the ‘free spooling’ valve on full open instead of
opening the valve in coordination with the diminishing diameter of the line on the reel. As the diameter
diminishes and the reel starts to oppose the pull of the shooter, the valve should be gradually opened
until it eventually reaches its maximum. Normally the mainline diameter should be below the halfway
mark when the maximum stage is reached.
The NFC operations staff were advised that one of the advantages of having the Seamech Smart reel
was that it eliminated problematic line setting using the shooter. Instead of trying to control the line
setting operation in three places, this can be done only at the shooter. The normal procedure for this is
to preset the shooter with the desired RPM for deploying the line, and then turn the shooter off at the
on/off valve. The mainline should then be directed through the shooter wheels for deployment while
the valve on the mainline reel should be set in the ‘on’ position and not on ‘free-wheel’. When directing
the line to the shooter, guide blocks should be minimised to avoid undue friction. On the NF6, only one
guide block was required.
10
In resetting the system, coordination between the reel and shooter was first established by tuning two
valves on the shooter while the vessel was alongside the wharf. The caps covering the valves were
removed and an ‘Allen’ or ‘Hex’ key was used to tune the valves. The seaward valve adjusted the line
pulling strength from the shooter while the inboard valve adjusted the tension between the reel and the
shooter. Both valves were set to its minimum by winding the keys all the way anti-clockwise and the
mainline was connected to the shooter. After turning on the shooter the seaward valve was gradually
turned clockwise until the shooter started pulling the line off the reel with reasonable strength. The
inboard valve was then adjusted so that just enough slack existed in the line between the shooter and
the reel. Over adjusting will result in too much slack and a mainline spill on the deck, while insufficient
adjusting will leave undue stress on the mainline and cause rapid ‘wear and tear’ on the shooter rollers,
rubber and belt. Once the appropriate setting was reached, the valves were locked in place and the caps
screwed on.
2.7
Repairs and construction of fishing gear
Most of the fishing gear were repaired, upgraded or new ones constructed. During this process the crew
were advised on why the branchlines were constructed to the specifications (Figure 6). Ideally, the
longer the branchlines the better it is for preventing fresh fish from having ‘burnt’ flesh when caught.
However, if the branchlines were too long it would make it hard to store in the bins and to deploy
without tangles. The longer branchlines also cost more and is an unnecessary additional cost to fishing
vessel owners. It was found that branchlines up to 15 m long were adequate to keep fish alive long
enough on the line to avoid ‘burnt’ flesh; they were easy to deploy and re-stow, and were more
economic to construct than the longer lines. Due to a shortage of gear available in NFC’s gear stores,
improvisations were carried out on some of the gear constructed.
Figure 6: Crew preparing longline gear for the fishing trips
The branchlines were constructed with 12 m of 2.0 mm monofilament line from the snap to a 38 gm
leaded swivel and 3 m of 1.8 mm monofilament line from the swivel to a number 16 tuna circle hook.
Some of the branchlines were constructed with 60 gm swivels instead of 38 grams. Luminescent tubes
and beads were attached to the newly constructed and upgraded branchlines to enhance the chances of
fish being lured to the hook.
The vessel had only 30 floatlines on board so to be better equipped another 30 floatlines were
constructed. It would have been preferable to construct floatlines from 20 m of tarred 7 mm Kurolon
line with a 3.8 x 125 DM snap spliced to one end and a 15 cm eye splice at the other end. However,
only a limited length of 6 mm green polypropylene rope was available, so this was cut into 15 m lengths
in order to make up the extra 30 floatlines that were required.
An additional 40 floats were added to the fishing gear. Fluorescent tape was stuck on all the floats to
make it easier to spot should a line breakage occur at night. Attachment ropes and snaps were spliced
onto the floats.
11
Three radio beacons were spruced up and the batteries changed. The crew were instructed to ensure that
each radio beacon had an attachment line with two snaps on the end. The batteries on all the beacons
were tested to ensure that they had sufficient power for the upcoming fishing trips. Two of the beacons
had low battery power so the batteries on these were renewed with 36 ‘D’ cell batteries each.
The mainline on NF6 was topped up with 5 nm of 3.5 mm monofilament that was driven off the reel
on the NF5. The line was wound to within 3 cm from the reel edge so that sufficient space was left to
prevent an overspill of the mainline.
3.
FISHING OPERATIONS
3.1
Fishing trips
In preparing for the first fishing trip, several delays were encountered that set the vessels sailing time
back. Eventually, the fishing trip had to undertaken in less than preferable circumstances that related to
safety issues and spare parts that should be kept on board. On the day of departure, two attempts were
made to flush water out of the transmission casing and fill it with transmission oil, the main engine was
tested and the transmission was engaged while the vessel was alongside the wharf. After running the
engine for two hours the transmission oil turned milky so the oil had to be drained out again and refilled
with new oil. The trip was delayed when the engineers found it difficult to procure oil on the island since
the islands stock had run low due to the delayed arrival of an oil tanker that normally supplies the island.
Although preparations were carried out a week ahead to prepare the vessel for the fishing trip, there
was not sufficient ice available at the fish market to load the vessel to its full capacity. The flake ice
machine at the fish market that can produce up to 2 t of ice overnight had broken down leaving only
the smaller capacity (500 kg/night) chip ice machine running. In order to accumulate sufficient ice the
chip ice had to be transferred from the chip ice room to the flake ice cooler so that the chip ice machine
could be operated overnight to fill the room again. In doing this another problem was encountered. The
cooler in the flake ice room had broken down so the storage of ice in the room was under the
temperature introduced by the ice. By the time it came to load up the vessel a quarter of the ice that
was stored in the room had melted while another quarter was lost when the tractor transferring the ice
to the boat broke down and had to sit for several hours on the side of the road waiting for another
vehicle to move the ice. By the time the ice got to the vessel only about 1000 kg were left. This was
further depleted while chilling the fish holds to ice temperature and later through the movement of the
vessel on the ocean.
A major safety factor that had to be solved before making the trip was that the service date for the ships
liferaft had expired and the liferaft had been interfered with, although the inside contents still looked
to be intact. The liferaft for the NF5 was requested as a backup to be kept on board since the NF5 was
under repairs. However the service date on this liferaft was also expired, but that was the best safety
measure that could be taken under the circumstances in order to allow the vessel to sail.
Just prior to departure, an overall check was made on the vessel’s deck and shipside general condition.
This is an important procedure for aluminium, wooden and fibreglass vessels. Immediately, one of the
crew spotted a 6 cm gash on the port side of the vessel that was probably caused by another small craft
ramming into the NF6 at sometime while it was berthed at the wharf. The area was above the water line
but in a vulnerable position where water could get in and fill the engine room bilges. In heavy weather
conditions, the aluminium side can begin ripping open from that spot. The departure was again delayed
for two hours while the shore engineers patched the spot with an aluminium covering plate.
When the vessel finally departed for the fishing grounds, it was at night instead of the morning
departure as planned. The bait that was carried on the fishing trip was low grade Sanma (Pacific saury:
Cololabis saira) that was originally ordered several years ago in its fresh condition, but was defrosted
and refrozen several times until it lost its moisture and texture and the flesh became dry and wood-like
in nature.
12
3.2
Line setting
During the first trip, in order to get the crew proficient in tuna longline operations, the shooter was used
(Figure 7) in the first three sets. On the fourth set it was ‘free spooled’ after hydraulic problems
developed towards the end of hauling on the third set. It was found that the crew were slow to keep in
coordination with the timer, which was set at seven seconds. However, by the third set their
performance had improved tremendously. Their previous operations were based on deploying from one
branchline bin at a time without anyone standing by to set branchlines in case of tangles from the bin
being used. The crew were then instructed to work two branchline bins at a time in order to develop
their coordination with the setting timer, and to work with a lot more urgency and precision to get the
baited branchlines deployed and attached
correctly to the mainline. They were reminded
that this was the most important stage of the
fishing operation. If they did not deploy their
line correctly then the whole operation would
be wasted. To strengthen this, the crew were
told to thaw the bait out at least three hours
before line setting so that when it is used it will
still be firm and still maintain its shiny colour
opposed to being saggy and soft after using the
deck hose for quick thawing. They were also
told to keep the bait from being contaminated
or tainted with diesel fuel or other smells that
Figure 7: Crew setting the line on the NF6 —
were not naturally associated with baitfish.
F/V Austin Bernicke II
Another problem encountered during line setting was to try to maintain consistent parameters to
achieve the desired fishing depth, but this was hard to achieve as the line setter did not have an RPM
gauge to ensure that a consistent line setting speed was kept. In order to put in place some measures of
consistency, the shooter speed control was adjusted to throw out at least three coils of line before being
washed away by the vessels wake with the vessel travelling downwind at between 6.5 and 7.0 knots at
1800 RPM on both engines. From previous experience the Fisheries Development Officer found that
this line setting technique accompanied by 6 or 7 seconds between hooks, had a hook spacing of around
40 to 50 m. However, on the NF6 this system was not easy to maintain. Once the mainline reel had
diminished one third of the way, the hydraulic system started to ‘hunt’ causing the shooter and reel to
lose coordination. In order to quickly rectify this, the revs on the port engine had to be reduced to 800
RPM while the starboard engine was maintained at 1800 RPM. This dropped the vessels speed to 6.0
to 6.5 knots instead of 6.5 to 7.0 knots. The spacing between hooks remained the same but the settling
depth from this point on was deeper. Another way to get around the ‘hunting’ problem was to open up
the ‘free spooling’ valve and adjust this as the reel diameter diminished, but careful vigilance had to be
maintained and the risk of accidents increased with this method.
Eighteen hooks per basket were spaced approximately 40 to 50 m apart during the first three sets; while
on the fourth set 21 hooks were used. Several Vemco Minilog probes (record temperature and depth at
set time intervals) were attached to the 9th and 10th hooks in the 18 hook sequence and next to the 11th
hook in the 21 hooks sequence. These probes showed that the deepest hooks settled in depths between
200 and 320 m. On the third set during the first trip, a single probe (#8358) was placed immediately
after the 2nd hook and this probe settled around 130 m. The Minilog readings can be found in
Appendix B.
Normally the Fisheries Development Officer liked to have the gear fishing in depths ranging from 200
to 500 m, depending on the moon phase, conditions of the vessels hydraulics, and sea conditions. The
same shooter and vessel speeds are kept but the number of hooks between floats is varied. It is not
unusual for the deepest hooks to reach depths greater than 600 m, especially on the ends of the mainline
which have greater collapsing capabilities.
13
3.3
Line hauling and hydraulic problems
The line hauling operations went smoothly for the first two hauls but while hauling in the third set the
6.5 mm (1/4 inch) hydraulic line that enabled the shooter and the mainline reel to coordinate, burst
from a chaffed hose in the engine room and most of the hydraulic oil was lost to the bilges before it
was realised that there was a problem. Unfortunately, the vessel did not have any spare hydraulic oil
or hydraulic hoses, or any ‘screw on’ repair fittings for 6.5 mm (1/4 inch) hoses. In the week prior to
the fishing trip the Fisheries Development Officer had found several ‘screw on’ repair fittings in a
corner of the fishing gears storeroom and these were brought on board. However, these fittings were
only for 13 mm (1/2 inch), 19 mm (3/4 inch) and 25 mm (1 inch) hoses. Before coming out on the
fishing trip the Fisheries Development Officer was aware of the lack of spare parts and basic
necessities for keeping the vessel operational in case a small problem such as this arose, but the vessel
would have had to remain in port for the next month or two (probably more) before all the basic
necessities were re-installed.
In order to keep the vessel operational, sixteen litres of engine oil was mixed with four litres of diesel
(4 parts to 1) to make up sufficient oil to keep the hydraulic system going. The leak on the hydraulic
hose was tightly bound with a strip of stretched tire tube (Figure 8) then four hose clips were spread
out and tightened along the repair tube. Although this did not stop the leak it slowed it down and
directed the flow to a dripping point. The engineer was asked to collect the dripping oil in a drum and
recycle this by pouring it back into the hydraulic oil tank. The third set was successfully hauled back
in and it was decided to go ahead with the fourth set since the leak was manageable. The fourth set was
successfully deployed and hauled back in but the operations had to be carried out at a slow pace with
the hydraulics running on low power to prevent high pressure from making the leak bigger. At the end of
hauling the fourth set back in, the
leak in the hose got bigger. There
was no way to stem the flow of
hydraulic oil and continue the
recycle method so the vessel had to
return to port one day ahead of
schedule.
Figure 8: Engineer repairing
hydraulic hose
During the hauling operation, all fish were gaffed in the head and
landed onto a foam mattress on the deck of the vessel (Figure 9).
The fish were bled by making a small cut under the pectoral fin
(Figure 9). The fish were then gilled and gutted, then washed before
being packed in ice in the fish hold. The crew were trained in the
correct handling, processing
and preservation methods to
ensure the fish were to
export standards.
Figure 9: Hauling in,
boating and bleeding fish
Even though the catch for the trip was reasonable, considering the circumstances, it could have been
much more. In this exercise the crew learnt that to be able to use the old bait to advantage, the line had
to be hauled in at a fast pace to capitalise on the bait’s silvery colour that was still there. The results of
this showed in the first and second sets. Most of the fish that were caught came up fighting and looked
14
to be freshly caught. Once the hauling speed dropped in the third and fourth sets, the catch rate also
declined. Most of the live fish that came up in the third and fourth sets were caught in the last quarter
of the line. At this point the diameter of the mainline on the spool was bigger than at the beginning, so
even though the RPM was kept the same on the starboard engine to run the hydraulics, the bigger
diameter meant that the line had a faster pull with each turn of the reel.
3.4
Continuing fishing operations with a lack of resources
Carrying out the repairs for the simple defect that occurred on the first trip took far longer than
necessary. It had to be stressed that such a simple repair could have been done at sea within ten minutes,
had there been the necessary spare hose or ‘screw on’ repair fitting on board. Even on shore, there were
no spare hoses or fittings in NFC’s stores, plus hydraulic oil was hard to come by on the island. NFC
managed to procure 40 litres of hydraulic oil from a local trader, but this was insufficient to top the
hydraulic holding tank as well as to have at least 20 litres spare on board. The additional 40 litres was
drained from the NF5’s holding tank and filtered into the NF6’s tank and a 20 litre drum. The shore
engineers had to shop around the island for someway to get the hose replaced or repaired. This was
later done at the National Phosphate Companies topside workshop but it took a full week before the
vessel was ready to sail again. No work was carried out during the weekend so on the third working
day after arrival back in port the hydraulic system was ready to be used but it took another two days in
port before the vessel could depart on the second fishing trip. While the hydraulic repair was going on,
the production and accumulation of ice had stopped because of a misunderstanding with financial
arrangements between NFC and the water supply company. Ice production commenced again when the
vessel was ready to sail so the vessel had to sit another two days while enough ice was accumulated.
When the vessel finally departed for the second trip the sailing time was again delayed from morning
departure to evening departure because the preliminary departure preparations were left to the last
minute. During the second trip a new set of crew were taken out for training and the same training
procedures applied to group one was given to the second group. Unfortunately, after thirty minutes into
hauling back the first set, the hydraulics again developed problems. This time part of the rubber bushing
in the coupling between the clutch drive assembly and the main engine drive shaft had sheared and
again there were no spares on board. Two options were considered; either to cut three 6 cm pieces off
the end of the rubber deck hose and wedge it in the coupling, or try to use the same bushing and
strengthen it with a piece of timber cut to size. The coupling was opened up and the second option was
applied for temporary use. Several adjustments had to be done during the hauling to ensure that the
main engine drive and the clutch drive assembly were in line and that there was no overheating in the
system due to misalignment. This worked very well to get the rest of the line back in, albeit having to
haul at a slow pace and the coupling having completely sheared 120 hooks away from the end of the
line. The rest of the line was hauled in manually and the vessel returned to port for repairs and to
discharge the fish from the first set. Had there been a spare coupling onboard, the repairs would have
taken around 15 to 30 minutes and the vessel could have stayed for the rest of the trip.
Since there was no spare rubber bushing in the NFC stores or in any of the industrial workplaces, a full
set of rubber bushing plus a spare set were improvised from a trailer’s solid rubber tire. This fit well
and tested okay before the vessel put out to sea the next morning to complete the fishing trip. However,
just before setting the line the same clutch drive assembly gave way. This time the bearing inside the
casing had completely shattered. The unit was disengaged from the main engine drive and the vessel
returned to port. This problem resulted from the clutch assembly shifting slightly while travelling to the
fishing grounds causing a slight misalignment with the main engine drive shaft. Meanwhile, during the
return journey the auto-pilot system was repaired and tested for future use.
Even though the same type of bearing was readily available on the island it took another six full days
before the system was repaired and the vessel departed on the seventh day to continue with the fishing
operations for trip two. While travelling to the fishing grounds and during line setting, the temperature
at the clutch drive assembly was monitored very carefully and the temperature turned out normal and
warm to the touch even at the end of the line setting operation. However, when the mainline was hauled
15
back in, disaster struck from a different quarter. Ten minutes into the hauling operation, the 1 m x 19 mm
(3/4 inch) main supply hose from the pump to the brand valve control developed a leak in an area that
was previously chaffed from contact with a strengthener in the engine room. The full length of the hose
was damaged since oil had got in between the wire reinforcements and the rubber. It was decided to
repair the hose where the leak was and move on from there if the leak spread. The crew were instructed
to haul the line in manually while repairs were undertaken. The hose was repaired with a female/male
‘screw on’ fitting, but unfortunately the vessel did not have the correct tool to cleanly sever the hose at
the leaking spot so a hacksaw had to be used. This was the only hacksaw blade on the vessel and it did
not last long trying to cut through the stainless steel wires reinforcing the hose. Despite this the ‘screw
on’ fittings were installed after the hose was finally severed using a wire cutter.
The hose sprung leaks twice more during the hauling operation, but were repaired in the same fashion
and hauling continued at a slow pace to avoid exerting too much pressure on the weak hose. However,
three hours after the second repair and 5 nm from the end of the line, the leak finally spread along the
full length of the hose and nothing could be done. The system was shut down and the hydraulic pump
turned off. The rest of the line was hauled in manually and the vessel returned to Nauru. It took 16 hours
to carry out the full hauling operation. There was no other alternative but to return to base to replace
the damaged hose. When the hose finally gave in, the vessels hydraulic system was carefully
scrutinised but there was no way that another hose could be removed from somewhere else to replace
the damaged hose; the system was fully interconnected.
Having gone through these continuous disruptions, the Fisheries Development Officer advised the
engineers to carefully assess the vessel’s full hydraulic system and to eliminate as much of the
problematic areas as possible before the vessel returned to sea. They were asked not just to deal with
the situation on hand, but to put in counter measures before hand. This was difficult because the whole
breakdown problems centred on lack of spare parts and a poor maintenance programme. However,
small things could be done like searching out the chaffed areas in the hoses and getting it fixed
immediately and insulating areas that are in contact with edges or areas that can cause chaffing.
To prepare the NF6 for the next fishing trip, the engineers had to replace the damaged hose with a new
hose using the same fittings that were on the old hose, since there were not any spare crimp fittings on
the island. A Standby hose was also made up with a male and female ‘screw on’ fitting on opposite
ends. The hydraulic tanks were drained out and all the valves in the hydraulic system had to be opened
up, inspected, cleaned and fitted back. During this process, wire and rubber cuttings from the repairs
were found clogged in the valves and cleared.
It took four days to get the vessel ready for another fishing trip but unfortunately the Fisheries
Development Officer’s term with NFC had run out by the time the vessel was ready to put to sea. He
had to transfer to the Coastal Fisheries section of NFMRA, to assist the staff in the next part of the
project. Meanwhile, the skipper and crew were briefed to continue the tuna longline operations as
planned and to maintain the same operations procedures that were accomplished in trip one and two. If
any problems or queries arose, they could still liaise with the Fisheries Development Officer, since he
would still be in the country.
The shore management staff, ships captains and engineers, and the shore engineers were advised to
carefully read through the SPC’s manual on horizontal longline fishing’ (Beverly et al 2003). The
details of what NFC operations staff need to assist them in their operations can be found in the manual.
3.5
Fish catches for the two longline fishing trips
During trip one, four sets were carried out with a total of 3990 hooks set. The saleable catch was
comprised of 17 yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) weighing 522.6 kg (average weight of 30.5 kg),
9 bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) weighing 323.9 kg (average weight of 35 kg), 10 skipjack tuna
(Katsuwonus pelamis) weighing 33.1 kg, 1 sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) weighing 15 kg (estimate
as not weighed), 5 broadbill swordfish (Xiphias gladius) of which three weighed in at 67.45 kg, and
16
3 blue marlin (Makaira mazara) weighing 101.65 kg. Total saleable catch was 45 pieces, of which 42
weighed 1048.7 kg. When looking at the catch of higher value tunas (yellowfin and bigeye), 26 fish
were taken with a weight of 846.5 kg. This would give a catch rate of 21 kg/100 hooks for the higher
valued tunas.
In addition to the saleable catch, several other species were taken and not retained for different reasons.
The non-retained catch consisted of 24 sharks (18 released live, 6 discarded as they were already dead
— 22 oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus) and 2 blue shark (Prionace glauca)), 3 longnose
lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox) discarded, 1 escolar (Lepidocybium flavobrunneum) retained for crew, and
21 shark-bitten tuna (bigeye, yellowfin and skipjack) — some retained for crew and others discarded.
The second trip was made up of two separate sets, due to the hydraulic problems experienced. The first
set was of 1000 hooks, with a saleable catch of 2 bigeye tuna weighing 90.75 kg, 1 yellowfin tuna
weighing 23.35 kg, 2 albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) weighing 32.25 kg, 2 blue marlin weighing
74.20 kg, and 20 skipjack tuna weighing 102.6 kg. This gave a total of 27 pieces weighing 326.15 kg.
The saleable catch from the second set was made up of 5 yellowfin tuna weighing 191.85 kg, and
1 wahoo weighing 7.75 kg, giving a total of 6 fish weighing 199.6 kg.
The unsaleable catch from the two sets made on the second trip consisted of 14 Oceanic whitetip sharks
(6 released alive, 4 discarded as they were dead, and 4 retained for the crew), and 18 shark-bitten tuna
(some retained for the crew and others discarded).
When the saleable catch was unloaded to the fish market, they were weighed and measured (Figure 10)
before being processed and sold locally. Although many of the fish taken were of export quality, the
small volume did not make it viable to export. With increased catches in the future, export of the prime
fish will be essential, as the local market will not be able to absorb all of the fish being caught when
both of NFC’s longliners are operating.
Figure 10: Fish being measured and ready for processing at the NFC fish market
4.
4.1
WORKSHOP ON MID-WATER FAD FISHING METHODS
General
The Fisheries Development Officer assisted the staff of the Coastal Fisheries section of NFMRA to
organise and implement a mid-water FAD fishing methods workshop focussing on safety issues that
affect small craft operations in the region, fishing methods to catch bait species as well as the larger
pelagics, small craft management for efficient fishing, proper handling of fish to enhance quality, and
hygienic practises. Most of these fishing methods are described in detail in the SPC’s manual for
fishermen, ‘Vertical longlining and other methods of fishing around fish aggregating devices’ (Preston
et al 1998).
17
During the first week of the Fisheries Development Officer’s time in Nauru, plans were made to carry
out the workshop at the waning stage of the lunar cycle, between the setting crescent to the rising
crescent period. During this period there would be whole night darkness, which would be ideal to carry
out the night fishing methods. However, because of delays in clearing funds for the workshop and
outstanding work with NFC, the workshop was delayed for a week and this coincided with the waxing
stages of the moon phase between the rising crescent and full moon. With this in mind, a meeting was
held to decide whether to implement the night fishing methods or to just demonstrate the gear and
explain how the method was carried out, but it was explained that the fishermen would like to observe
the fishing methods in actual performance regardless of whether fish was caught or not. They could
later carry out fishing trips in ideal circumstances at a later stage. This left no choice but to go ahead
with the sequence of the workshop as planned.
Initially, it was planned to run the workshop for the Coastal Fisheries staff and a handful of private
sector participants. The trained staff could later carry out workshops for the rest of the community, but
pressure from the community necessitated a review of the plan to include as many participants in the
workshop as would make it effective. It was suggested that there were about 80 applicants interested
in attending the workshop but given the resources on hand and in order to achieve effective results the
number of participants was restricted to 48 participants from the private sector plus 15 NFMRA staff. A list
of the workshop participants is at Appendix C, with Appendix D providing the schedule for the workshop.
The workshop was carried out using both theory and practical sessions. The theory sessions were held
at the NFMRA office area at Anibare (Figure 11). The fishing materials and sea safety equipment were
displayed for local fishermen (Figure 11), before constructing the gear took place under the direction
of the Fisheries Development Officer. All practical fishing sessions were conducted from the NFMRA’s
two vessels, the F/V Doguo and F/V Dabage.
Figure 11: Preliminary briefing at commencement of workshop
4.2
FAD associated mid-water fishing methods including night fishing using lights
The mid-water FAD fishing methods workshop was conducted to achieve two purposes; one to endow
the fishermen with alternative fishing methods to assist them in their small scale fishing operations
either for commercial gain or for domestic supplement, and two to draw the fishermen away from
excessively fishing the strained bottom reef fish species by fishing the readily replaceable pelagic
species. Trolling for pelagics around the FAD areas is the common method used by the islanders. The
fishermen were encouraged to use mid-water fishing methods such as vertical longline, small scale
horizontal longline using the vertical longline gear with slight variations, Palu-ahi (scatter or chum bait
fishing), and night fishing methods using lights to attract bait, then jigging for live bait to catch the
larger pelagic species. The bait jigging methods included jigging for scads using Sabiki jigs and jigging
for squid using various types of squid jigs. Although it would have been preferable to do so, the Paluahi method was not performed during the nights because the gear for this method was not yet ready,
especially the sinkers and the denim cloth. Unfortunately, because of rough weather conditions
throughout the week, part of the night fishing had to be shifted away from the FADs to calmer, sheltered
18
waters in order to involve all the participants in the fishing activities. Out in the exposed waters only
the seasoned fishermen stood to gain since the rest of the fishermen were disabled with sea-sickness.
Responding to requests from the participants, deep-bottom fishing was also demonstrated, but at the
same time the mid-water fishing methods was focussed on. While the boats were moored in 200 m of
water, Palu-ahi jigging was carried out as the priority fishing method while two deep-bottom lines were
fished to keep the fishermen occupied during the time that it took the chum bait to attract pelagic fish
to the vessel. An advantage that came from carrying out this exercise was that it further strengthened
the principle that shallow water FADs or FADs moored closer inshore can be strategic to attract pelagic
fish. For fishermen running on a tight budget, the closer FADs should give him a better chance to
achieve good catches at minimum costs. If several of these FADs were placed strategically around the
island, this would lead to less congestion around a particular FAD and give the fishermen around the
island a shorter distance to travel by fishing the FADs closer to them. Even though this depends on the
aggregating capabilities of the individual FADs, the idea is there to be expanded and improved on
unless proven otherwise.
4.2.1
Vertical longline
Four standard vertical longline rigs were constructed. The mainlines were constructed with 2.0 mm
monofilament line (180 kg test) with 20 swivels on the length of the line spaced 20 m apart, giving the
line a full length or depth of 400 m. On both ends of the line a 12 cm loop was formed, so that the sinker
or floats could be snapped on (Figure 12).
The sinkers for the vertical longlines were constructed from 4 x 30 cm x 13 mm (1/2 inch) rebars joined
together with rubber straps that were cut from tire tubes. These sinkers weighed 1 kg. Several other
sinkers were constructed from cut steel rods with 6 cm diameters. These sinkers weighed 1.5 kg and
had a half cut chain link welded on as an attachment lug.
The float arrangement for the vertical longlines were constructed from a 2.7 m (9 foot) bamboo pole
rove through three purse seine floats with a balancing sinker attached to the bottom of the pole and an
attachment line at the centre tied above and below the floats (Figure 12).
Flag/light marker buoy
Mainline
support
buoy
Flag
Swivels used in
the mainline
Mainline
Strobe light
Branchlines
Pole
Purse seine floats
Bridle made from 6 mm
polypropylene rope
Swivel snap
Weight
Weight
Figure 12: Vertical longline and flagpole arrangement
19
Branchlines consisted of 6 m x 1.8 mm monofilament lines (140 kg test) with a .135 snap with 8/0 swivel
crimped on to one end, and a Maruto 15/0 tuna circle hook crimped on to the other end (Figure 13).
One hundred and twenty branchlines were constructed for the two
boats (60 hooks per boat) which allowed 20 hooks per line and 20
hooks spare. The branchlines were stored in a 1.0 m x 0.5 m x
0.5 m rectangle plastic bin (Figure 13)
with a 3 mm monofilament line
stretched tight along the top edges. The
snaps were hitched onto these lines
beginning from left moving right so that
when the branchlines were deployed
Swivel
they were unhitched from the right movsnap
ing left. This sequence can be reversed
as long as the order is maintained to pre1.8 mm
vent the branchlines from tangling if
monofilament
Figure 13: Branchline
they were wrongly hitched.
6 m long
Hook
construction and
branchlines in bin
Three nights were allocated during the workshops to deploy vertical longlines. The four lines were set
twice on each night, however the catch results for the vertical longlines at this time was not good. On
the first night only two brown sharks and four barracuda were caught. On the second night only one
barracuda and a small sailfish was caught. On the third night no fish was caught at all. One of the
reasons attributed to the poor vertical longline catch was the condition of the bait that was used. These
were the same bait used on the tuna longline catamaran. The bait, sanma and sardines alike, were all
dehydrated and had a wood-like texture to it. Unfortunately, these were the only bait available for the
exercise. Had there been sufficient time, the coastal and technical fisheries staff could have been
assigned a week earlier to jig for scad bait and keep it for the vertical longline exercises. However,
while the vertical longlines were drifting, the course participants were shown how to carry out Sabiki
and squid jigging to catch live bait for catching bigger pelagics.
At the end of the exercise the participants were shown a vertical
longline rig that was constructed with the bare necessities. The
mainline was constructed with a tied loop on both ends while the
swivels were replaced with
‘butterfly’ knots every 20 m
(Figure 14). The branchlines
were constructed with the
hooks and snaps tied on instead
of being crimped.
Figure 14: Vertical longline with
butterfly knots
No swivels used
in mainline
The main components for constructing this line were only the
hooks, snaps, monofilament for branchlines and monofilament for
mainline; no other accessories were used. This was to demonstrate
to the fishermen that the gear for this method as well as other methods could be constructed using the essential components; hooks,
snaps and monofilament lines. The construction of the gear need not
be too expensive if the fishermen can not afford it, however using
the additional accessories enhanced the performance of the gear and
resulted in less tangles.
20
Flag/light marker buoy
Mainline support buoy
Mainline
Branchlines
Weight
4.2.2
Lights used for attracting bait
One of the focuses of the workshop was to use gear that was readily
available on the island and accessible to fishermen without being too
expensive to procure. Four Kerosene hurricane pressure lamps (Figure 15)
were obtained for use during the workshop, but surprisingly enough only a
few of the participants knew anything about these lamps and how they were
lit and maintained. Several of the participants who had these types of lamps
at home were given the task of showing the others how to work them.
Aside from the kerosene lamps, the participants were told that any bright
lamp with an ‘all-around’ white light would be suitable for attracting fish,
the brighter the better. A similar exercise was successfully carried out in an
earlier project in the Solomon Islands, in which SPC provided technical
assistance to enhance the fishing methods of fishermen attached to rural
fisheries centres (Sokimi and Chapman 2004).
Figure 15: Pressure
kerosene lamp
Several battery operated lamps were constructed using the light holders from a wrecked cars. The
reverse lights, brake lights and signal light holders were ideal for good ‘all-round’ light illumination.
The 20 to 50 watt bulbs were easy to purchase and the lights were connected to the boats batteries that
were continuously charged by the engines. A fully charged 12 volt car battery, normally 100 amp hours,
can theoretically power a 50 watt bulb for 24 hours. If a safe margin of 50 per cent of amp hours is used
for effective lighting, then the fully charged 100 amp hour battery can at least power the bulb for 12
hours. To make the lamps waterproof, silicone was pumped into the light holder and left to dry. Car
headlamps can be used but the light beam is directional and consumes more power that may prevent
lighting for the whole night, unless the battery is continually charged by a charging system on the boat.
These were not tried out during this workshop.
The Fisheries Development Officer also had an ‘all-round’ 100 watt light that was waterproof and could
be used as an underwater light. This light had a lasting rate of up to 6 hours if powered off a fully
charged 100 amp hour battery and keeping to the 50 per cent effective power usage margin. However,
with one engine running to charge the batteries, the light lasted the whole night. The underwater light
was used as an overhead lamp since the light was an ‘all around’ white light. On the second vessel, a
light made from car light holders was used.
During the workshop, it was decided to put aside the pressure kerosene lamps and to concentrate on
using the battery operated lights (Figure 16), even though the kerosene lamps had good bright light.
The main reason for this was the safety factor. Both boats have under-deck fuel tanks with breather
pipes on the sides of the vessel. In order to fire the lamps up, an
open naked flame is required at the Bunsen burner to heat up the
mantle. Since there were constant fumes at the stern of the vessel,
it was decided that for safety reasons, the lamps would not be
used on board. These lights though, can be effectively used on
canoes and open punts where fuel is contained in 25 litre fuel
cans normally carried to power outboard engines.
12V power
cable
Positive and negative
crocodile clips
Lamp made from
car lamp holders
Sealed underwater light
Figure 16: Lamps made from car lamp holders and the ‘all-round’ underwater light
21
4.2.3
Jigging for scads and squid, and using them as live bait
The Sabiki jigs that were used during the workshop were the standard manufactured rigs that can be
ordered or bought from fishing tackle stores. These jigs were constructed with a full trunk line length
of 2.4 m x 0.37 mm x 9 kg (20 lb) test. Branchlines were 8 cm x 0.29 mm x 6.5 kg (14 lb) test, with a
size 6G hook (approximately 1 cm) with plastic illuminable skirts (Figure 17).
However if the fisherman prefer, these jigs can be made to his own preferences by using size 10 or
smaller ‘J’ hooks and attaching illumines skirts or feathers to it. A common rig consists of a 9 kg
(20 lb) test trunk line with 3 to 6 hooks on 10 cm x 7 kg (15 lb) test branchlines attached 30 cm apart.
The hooks are commonly wrapped with illumines skirts or coloured feathers. On both ends of the trunk
line, swivels with snap locks are attached so that one end can be attached to the mainline while the other
end is attached to a 10 to 20 grams sinker
(Figure 17). The mainline is normally the
Snap
same as the trunk line or slightly bigger.
with
Smaller lines are also used to construct the
swivel
Sabiki jig depending on the species and
15 lbs (6.5 kg)
test trunk line
size of fish targeted. However, the smaller
lines can be awkward to work with and
10 lbs (4.5 kg)
tangles are common, especially when
test snood
more than one fish is caught in a single
haul. During the workshop the fishermen
were told that another good method of
Hook size 10 J
catching scad is to use a size 10 ‘J’ hook
attached to 9 kg (20 lb) test mainline and
Illuminable
to bait it with dough bait. The dough bait
skirts
can be made out of flour and tinned fish
mixed together with just sufficient water
Snap
to make it firm and elastic, not too dry or
with
40
g
sinker
too watery. Once scad has been attracted
swivel
to the vessel, bread crumbs or rice tainted
Sinker
with tinned fish oil can be used as chum to
keep them around the vessel while the
baited hooks can be used to catch them.
Figure 17: Sabiki jigs used during the workshop
Squid jigging was carried out concurrently with Sabiki jigging, after the vertical longlines were
deployed. It took a long time for squids to come around the vessel and when they did, mostly small size
squids were visible and caught. Some bigger squids did make themselves visible but these were not
caught on the jigs. When the squid bait was used as live bait these were immediately seized off the
hooks and it was suspected that this was done by small barracudas or pikes.
Squid jigging was carried out by connecting a prawn type squid lure (Figure 18) to a casting rod and
jerkingly winding the lures in, or by connecting a series of bulb squid jigs (Figure 18) to a 9 kg (20 lb)
mainline with a sinker on the end and lowering this to between 50 and 100 m depth and winding the
lures back with jerky movements.
Bulb jigs for
setting in series
Prawn jigs with
illuminable colours for
use with casting rods
Jigs for use with fresh bait
Figure 18: Squid jigs used during the project
22
The fishing arrangement was simple. The project vessel was taken outside the reef or to the FAD in the
evening, and a parachute sea anchor used to control the drift. The lights were turned on as night fell
and baitfish were attracted to the boat (Figure 19). Sabiki jigs and squid jigs were used to catch the bait,
with this hooked onto larger lines to target the larger pelagics attracted to the boat by the light and
baitfish (Figure 19). The live bait lines were made from 45 kg (100 lb) test monofilament with a ring
wire rod with lead weight attached to the end. A 2 m piece of flexible wire was attached to the other
side of the ring wire rod, with the other end of the flexible wire having a hook attached (Figure 19).
100 lb (45 kg)
test line
Rigid
wire rod
Swivel
Lead
sinker
60–100 g
2 m flexible wire
Figure 19: Night fishing arrangement for bait and larger pelagics
The fishing arrangement was simple. The project vessel was taken outside the reef or to the FAD in the
evening, and a parachute sea anchor used to control the drift. The lights were turned on as night fell
and baitfish were attracted to the boat (Figure 19). Sabiki jigs and squid jigs were used to catch the bait,
with this hooked onto larger lines to target the larger pelagics attracted to the boat by the light and
baitfish (Figure 19). The live bait lines were made from 45 kg (100 lb) test monofilament with a ring
wire rod with lead weight attached to the end. A 2 m piece of flexible wire was attached to the other
side of the ring wire rod, with the other end of the flexible wire having a hook attached (Figure 19).
Since this exercise was carried out during the visible moon phase, it was thought that the bright
moonlight would be a big competition for the battery and pressure kerosene lamps. However, 15 kg of
scad was jigged on each of the first two nights, and on the last night only about 4 kg was jigged. Only
about 0.5 kg of squid was jigged during this time. When the live baits were hooked on the live bait line,
the results were very poor. On all four nights of fishing, only one barracuda and one small yellowfin
tuna about 8 kg was caught using the live bait. Most of the live bait just stayed on the line alive all
night. The lights did not attract bait fish as abundantly as it should, but at least the exercise turned out
better than what was expected. At least live bait was jigged and fish was caught. Even though a handful
of squid was caught, the lures used and the method of jigging for squid was demonstrated so the
fishermen were confident they can perform this well if they do it in the right circumstances. The
application of these fishing methods demonstrated to the fishermen that given the right circumstances,
there is good potential to use the methods effectively.
4.2.4
Small-scale horizontal longline
Small-scale horizontal longlining was only conducted during the first night of the workshop, due to
rough seas and heavy weather conditions. However, the method was later explained to the other
participants and the concept was easily grasped. The small-scale horizontal longline method was
conducted using the same gear for vertical longlining, with the inclusion of sufficient floats and
floatlines to suspend the line in the ocean.
The four vertical longline reels were collected together on one vessel, which was selected to be the
deploying vessel while the other vessel hung off and observed the operations. At midnight the vessel
23
that did the observing became the hauling vessel and re-set the line. The first vessel hauled up the line
in the morning to give all the participants an experience in setting and hauling procedures.
When the longline was set, the flagpole was deployed first followed by a float to take the full weight
of the line. A light was taped onto the flag pole so that the longline drift could be monitored. After
deploying the first float, hooks were baited and snapped onto the swivels that marked the 20 m spacing.
A float and 15 m floatline was attached after every ten hooks. Once a full reel was deployed, the next
reel was connected to the end of the outgoing mainline and the setting continued. Since there were four
horizontal longline reels on board, all four were connected together and deployed. This resulted in
72 hooks being deployed, with 9 sets of floats and floatlines including the two flag markers on the ends.
The longline was deployed over a distance of 1300 m with 1600 m of mainline paid out. The horizontal
longline was left to soak for 6 hours before being hauled up and sectioned back onto the appropriate
reels. The branchlines were relocated to the branchline bins and the gear made ready for the next set.
The two longline sets caught only two brown sharks and a 10 kg great barracuda. The morning set
drifted close to the reef and most of the bait had somehow dislodged from the hooks while the line was
drifting; either the bait had deteriorated and fell off the hooks or skilfully removed by dolphins. The line
had curved round the centre forming a ‘U’ pattern and a school of dolphins were in the immediate area.
4.2.5
Debriefing of night fishing methods
Once all the four groups had completed a session of night fishing methods, the workshop participants
were gathered altogether for a debriefing. During the briefing the fishermen were satisfied that there
was potential to the night fishing methods and they would carry out these methods in their own time.
However, most agreed that the vertical longline/small-scale horizontal longline methods would be a bit
on the expensive side for them to implement. Not only would the cost of procuring and constructing
the longline gear be expensive, the methods require large amounts of fresh whole fish bait to be used
effectively, but the fishermen suggested that given time, and a bit more practise with the other methods,
the longline methods would be easier to tackle.
All the participants were excited about the night fishing methods using lights to attract bait. They all
agreed that there was good potential to catch scads for live bait or for their domestic supplement. Most
of these fishermen have previously engaged in or witnessed scads being caught from shore casting and
nets, but the ability to aggregate them around the vessel using lights as attractors appealed to them. If
squid could be jigged at the same time then this would suit them better, since squid is a delicacy among
the islanders. Most of them, especially the I-Kiribati and Tuvaluan canoe fishermen know that given
the right circumstances and appropriate fishing area, the use of live bait can result in big pelagic species
being caught.
4.2.6
Deep-bottom fishing and fabrication of gear
With the night fishing methods out of the way, the rest of the workshop concentrated on carrying out
the deep-bottom fishing and the Palu-ahi fishing methods. Both fishing vessels were outfitted with two
deep-bottom reels and three Palu-ahi lines, as well as 300 m of anchor rope and grapnel anchor, a float
with a shackle to assist in retrieving the anchor, sufficient bait for the trip, enough waste fish to be used
as chum, and a bucket of sand to be mixed with the mashed up chum bait.
The deep-bottom fishing method was an extension of the shallow water reef fishing method, except that
the participants had to be able to distinguish between fish bites and the heavy sinker. Details of the
deep-bottom method can be found in the SPC fishermen’s manual, ‘Deep-bottom fishing techniques for
the Pacific Islands’ (Preston et al 1999). Two FAO wooden handreels (Figure 20) were erected on the
side of the boat but not directly opposite each other. This prevented the lines from tangling when the
current crossed from one side of the boat to the other.
24
Stanchion post
Rubber shock absorber
Lever support
Lever arm
Lever support/
brace plate
Handle shaft
Cerammic spike insulator
Reel shaft
Reel
Figure 20: FAO design wooden handreel
The reels were wound with 350 m of 100 kg
test monofilament line. A terminal rig with a
swivel at one end and a 1–2 kg sinker at the
other was attached to the end of the mainline.
The terminal rig consisted of four 70 cm
lengths of 80 kg test monofilament line tied to
3-way swivels (Figure 21). A 20 cm length of
80 kg test monofilament snoods with a circle
hook was tied to each of the 3-way swivels
(Figure 21). A cone shaped denim chum bag
constructed from 30 cm square denim cloth
was also attached to the top of the terminal rig
to contain chum bait to attract fish to the area.
The fishing gear was constructed with
removable components so that parts could be
changed if it became damaged.
Corkscrew swivel
175 lb (80 kg)
test monofilament
line between
3-way swivels
1/0 coast-lock clip
175 lb (80 kg) test
monofilament line
and circle hook
11/0–13/0
70 cm spacing
between 3-way
swivels
10 cm loop
Figure 21: Deep-bottom terminal rig with detachable snoods
1–2 kg rebar
sinker
Deep-water fishing operations were conducted in a depth of 200 m, although during the course of the
day the vessel drifted slightly into 180 m. When the fishing site was selected the anchor was dropped
in deeper water and in a position chosen so that the wind or current would carry the boat back over the
fishing site as the anchor line was paid out. After the anchor rope was fastened and the boat settled in
position facing into the wind and current, the lines were baited and lowered to the seabed. Fresh
skipjack tuna was the preferred bait. This was caught prior to the day trips and replenished by staff of
the technical section who trolled for bait while the workshop fishing trip was carried out.
The participants were taught to keep the line taut once the sinker reached the bottom to respond to bites
of the fish and to reduce the possibility of the lines tangling. Chum bait was mixed with sand so that
25
when the chum was released the sand tainted with bait would settle on the bottom and continue to
attract fish while the floating bits moved with the current and attracted fish to the spot. The sand also
helped to increase the chum capacity. Once the bite was felt the participants had to quickly pull the line
up a few metres to determine whether the fish was hooked or not. When a fish was hooked, the reel
was wound in and the fish removed from the hook.
4.2.7
Palu-ahi (scatter or chum bait) fishing
The Palu-ahi method is also a good night fishing method to be used around FADs, but because the gear
was not ready on time, this was left to be carried out during the day trips. Using the Palu-ahi method
during the day is also very effective, especially in the early mornings and evenings around FADs.
Three Palu-ahi lines were constructed for each vessel and spare components were carried in case one
of the lines broke or got badly tangled. The three Palu-ahi lines carried on each vessel were constructed
with different types of mainlines. Each was equally successful when fish was finally attracted to the
vessel. One line consisted of a 100 m x 4.0 mm black purse seine netting twine, 2 m of 45 kg (100 lb)
test monofilament line, 1 x 250 gm flat oval sinker, 1 x 30 cm square denim cloth, 1 x circle hook 11/0
with the barb slightly offset with the shank (12/0 and 13/0 hooks or ‘J’ Hooks 6/0 to 8/0 can also be
used depending on the size of fish that is being caught), 1 x 4/0 3-way swivel or equivalent, and 3 x 1/0
barrel swivel with interlock snap.
The mainline on the second type of gear consisted of 100 m x 45 kg (100 lb) monofilament test line
with 2 m of 45 kg (100 lb) trunk line, while the third line consisted of a 100 m x 45 kg (100 lb) test
monofilament mainline and 2 m of 36 kg (80 lb) test monofilament. The rest of the gear components
were the same.
The Palu-ahi gear was constructed so they were detachable and any component could easily be changed
if it wore out or was damaged in any way. The idea behind the Palu-ahi gear was to have the sinker and
the square denim cloth attached 2 m or more away from the hook. The participants were instructed in
the procedures for preparing and baiting the gear. The following steps were demonstrated:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
lay the denim cloth on a flat surface;
bait the hook with a cut piece of bait;
coil the trunk line and lay it in the centre of
the denim cloth;
lay the oval flat sinker on top of the coiled
trunk line and the baited hook on top of the
sinker;
place a handful of chum bait on the sinker;
wrap the chum, sinker and coiled line by
bringing the opposite corners of the denim
cloth together (Figure 22);
bind and wrap with the mainline and apply a
slip knot (Figure 22);
cast the wrapped parcel into the water and let
it sink to the desired depth, between 30 and
100 m;
jerk strongly on the mainline to release the
slip knot and open the parcel; and
Be prepared for fish to grab the bait and run.
If the line stays in the water for 10 minutes
and there is no result then the process is
repeated until fish is attracted to the area.
26
Figure 22: Fishermen preparing Palu-ahi
before deploying the baited lines
The crew were warned that when using the Palu-ahi method, they had to be alert at all times. When
some of the bigger pelagics hit the line they do so in one motion and mostly at high speed, so when a
fish is hooked the participant has to be prepared and not have the line wrapped around his hand or
fingers, but at the same time they would be able to give a final tug to ensure that they embed the hook
in the fish’s jaw.
The chum bait used for Palu-ahi contained very little sand at first to avoid the sand from drawing the
fish deeper. When fish finally got to the area only plain chum was used. Eventually the chum cloth and
the oval sinker were removed and bait was hand chummed from the boat to bring the fish to the surface.
Only the baited hook and line was then used to catch fish at the surface.
4.3
Catch results for the mid-water FAD fishing methods workshop
The deep-bottom and Palu-ahi fishing trips resulted in good catches. In two days of fishing, 213 fish
were caught weighing a total of 472 kg. Of the species caught rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata)
was the most common fish caught with 131 fish weighing 302 kg. This was followed by black trevally
(Caranx lugubris), with 46 fish weighing 85 kg; rosy jobfish (Pristipomoides filamentosus), with 16
fish weighing 49 kg; triggerfish, with 5 fish weighing 8 kg; skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), with
4 fish weighing 7 kg; coral cod (Cephalopholis miniata), with 4 fish weighing 2 kg; red bass (Lutjanus
bohar), with two fish weighing 13.5 kg; marbled grouper (Epinephalus fuscoguttatus), with 2 fish
weighing 620 grams; great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), with 1 fish weighing 4 kg; bluestripe
snapper (Lutjanus kasmira), with 1 fish weighing 160 grams; and unicorn leatherjacket (Aluterus
monoceros), with 1 fish weighing 100 grams.
5.
FAD SITE SURVEY
Immediately after the workshops were completed, arrangements were made to gear up the NF2 with
the deep-water echo sounder (Figure 23), to carry out a FAD site survey for close offshore FADs. A site
off the Ewa/Anetan area was chosen for the survey since this was an area where running schools came
close to the reef during the day, and it was close to the area where the mid-water fishing workshop was
carried out. The location was also central to Anibare and Aiwo launching areas and just off areas where
canoes were sometimes launched.
Figure 23: Echo sounder used for FAD site survey
The site survey was carried out using the standard SPC practice as described in Chapman et al (1998),
with the data collected and a plot of the site survey provided at Appendix E.
27
6.
6.1
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
General
As stated earlier, the NFMRA and NFC are charged with the responsibility to implement and oversee
the management of sustainable community fisheries development and commercial fisheries
enhancement in Nauru, especially given the nations present state of affairs. Aside from the declining
export of depleted guano phosphate extractions, marine and fisheries resources are the countries main
natural resources that should seriously be marked for sustainable exploitation. Government has to pay
a lot more attention to the operations of NFMRA and NFC. Nauru’s future in marine and fisheries
resources development is in the hands of the people selected by government to lead and manage these
two organisations. NFMRA’s fisheries officers are the country’s experts to direct developments to
achieve the goals that the government and Nauruan people aspire. The NFMRA board is selected to
make major decisions, and should consist of professionals who have genuine industrial skills and know
how. The decisions made by the consensus of the board and organisation management should not be
undermined by personal preferences, opinions or untrained aspirations, or by political interference.
This is especially so for commercial fishing organisations where a diversion from these concepts can
lead to unsustainable and unprofitable operations.
6.2
Suggestions to improve standards at NFC
One of the observations made during the project with NFC was that the crew were eager to make
fishing trips and complete the full week out at sea before returning. When the hydraulics developed
problems at sea, the crew were still eager to continue the fishing operations until there was no other
option. While the vessel was alongside for repairs, it was the vessel’s crew that turned up everyday
waiting for word to prepare the vessel again for another fishing trip. The shore engineers also were just
as keen to get the boats out to sea so that the fault for the vessel’s downtime did not lay with them and
they avoided return jobs as this would reflect on their abilities to fix the problem in the first place. So,
it was not the vessel’s crew that were delaying the vessel or disrupting fishing operations as was
originally purported to by other personnel. They genuinely want to get out there and catch fish so that
their income was supplemented with the additional catch bonus and bycatch fish to take home. One of
the skippers though, expressed discontent with the way the operations were run. His initial enthusiasm
disintegrated with every trip because the vessel had to return to repair ongoing defects due to lack of
maintenance. However, this should not be an excuse for his slack leadership. His attempts to get the
vessel back in operation were to leave everything to the shore engineers and wait for the call when the
vessel was ready. If he had been more constructive he would have identified ways to overcome the
current situation. If he could not stand the way the operations were run then he should have moved
aside and opened up the position for a skipper with more push and leadership skills.
But again, the problem comes back to lack of spare parts and the laxity or urgency to ensure that these
parts were kept in stock. Each problem was dealt with when it occurred; no counter measures were
prepared. This also reflects on the maintenance of the fish market. The air-conditioning unit in the
market had broken down, the flake ice machine had also broken down, while the cooler for the flake
ice storage room was also down, but no genuine attempt was made to get these machines operational
again. When the boat was ready to sail, there was not enough ice for the full fishing trip so the vessel
had to sail with a half ice load or wait for another 3 days for the rest of the ice. Even with only one ice
machine running, the person in charge of ensuring there was enough water to produce ice did not do so
and only filled the tank the night before the vessel should have departed. This resulted in another day
downtime so that sufficient ice could be made to get the boat out to sea with only a half ice load.
These problems were solely the responsibility of the person in charge of ensuring that sufficient spares
were kept and that the operations progressed smoothly. Since this was a recurring problem then the
person in charge was not doing his job and was letting the company down as well as the whole country.
It was identified during the project that the major cause of failure was poor operations management.
The quest to catch fish needs good vessels to endure the trials before the ships skipper and crew develop
28
sufficient skills to return with reasonable catches that make the fishing trips worthwhile. However, if
these vessels are not maintained to reach that stage then the chances of progress is minimal. NFC
management should look into this situation and restructure the way operations are run, but at the same
time it should be noted that with only two boats the structure should not be ‘administratively heavy’.
The General Manager can handle marketing and financial monitoring while a suitably qualified
Operations Manager or supervisor can handle the operations management of the two vessels, fish
market and equipment stores. Since NFC currently has its financial accounts managed by the NFMRA
accountant, the General Manager can liaise regularly with the accountant to monitor NFC’s progress. If
absolutely necessary, NFC can employ a clerk to perform all the menial errands and secretarial duties.
NFC is an important tool that can be utilised to boost the countries economy and contribute to the
Nauruan people’s prosperity; if it is handled right. But the organisation is not functioning as planned,
not even half as good as it should do. Although this is common knowledge, nothing serious is being
done to correct the situation in terms of accountability and performance indicators. The company’s
assets are not intended for artisanal scale operations but rather for small to middle scale export
operations. The cost of running the fish market requires an upbeat operation to keep it supplied with
fish, mainly to supply overseas markets and secondarily to supply the local market because the local
market cannot support the operations of the fish market if the market was to operate at maximum
standards with all its freezers, coolers, ice plants, and air-condition units operating. The organisation
cannot afford to hold on to non-profitable practices or ‘no show’ personnel. NFC’s current situation
may be the result of a poor feasibility study and consultancy advice before the formation of the
company; several unfortunate developments since the inception of the company; lack of proper
management guidance; and possibly political interference. However, this does not mean the company
should be doomed to operate unsustainably. In considering the management of the tuna longline
operations it can clearly be stated that the company is not conducting sustainable operations practices.
One of the indicators that the company is not functioning properly is that both the company’s vessels
are in poor operating condition and the company does not have an active stores management system.
Since Nauru does not have a private fishing fleet that can sustainably keep the fish market supplied
with fish, the two vessels, NF5 and NF6, are the company’s lifeline to survival. These are the gooses
that lay the golden egg, so in order to implement some form of efficiency:
–
the vessels have to be maintained to high standards and kept in operation continuously until such
time for an annual overhaul or unforeseen circumstances. All attention should be focussed on the
upkeep of the vessels. Whatever happens, if the company faces hardships or if there is a cash
flow problem within the company for a certain period, the controlling measures should be
focussed elsewhere within the company but not on the vessels; cutting measures on the vessels
should be resorted to as a last measure. Controlling measures can be applied to the General
Manager’s or shore staff’s salary and benefits, other company operations, and other company assets,
but the vessels upkeep should be maintained and pampered to keep high standards of operation;
–
the vessels should have a realistic operations plan in place identifying shore operations
procedures (in port, departure and arrival), ship operations procedures, fishing operations
procedures, and cargo handling procedures for discharge of fish from the vessel to the fish
market or export market;
–
daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly and annual maintenance plans, including drydocking plans, should be in place before the beginning of each financial year;
–
all the necessary spare parts and components should be kept on board the vessels as well as in
the shore storeroom. In order to do this effectively, the ships skipper and engineer as well as the
senior shore engineer should work together to identify as much of the mechanical items on board
subjected to wear and tear or ‘use by’ properties. This list should be a ‘living’ list that is updated
as circumstances arise;
29
–
a stores management system should be put in place to ensure that the parts listed on the stores
statutory manifest is kept in stock at all times;
–
the shore personnel, management as well as operations staff (including shore engineers), that are
selected to operate the company’s affairs should have the appropriate industrial skills to
effectively carry out their duties;
–
the vessels skipper, crew and engineers should be appropriately qualified to manage the vessels
efficiently and safely and be skilled in fishing operations and handling tuna for the export
sashimi market;
–
the board should consider implementing a performance monitoring system to encourage
productivity and accountability of the NFC staff’s activities. This will discourage lethargy and
unscrupulous work ethics and contribute to the company’s progress and the personnel’s professionalism;
–
an attractive pay system should be implemented to attract and motivate the vessels’ personnel.
This system should be based on allocating a percentage of the catch for the crew’s pay, but to
make the crew accountable for the replacement of fishing gears and victuals. At this stage NFC
management should not abolish the retainers that are being paid to the crew since this may
discourage the crew from remaining as tuna longline fishermen, but as the fishing vessels’
performance improves and the catch rate increases, the retainers should be reduced or abolished
and be replaced by a percentage payment system after the trips expenses are deducted; and
–
when the company is in a position to, NFC should consider implementing a training scheme for
all staff to advance in the qualifications specific to their work in the company and if practical,
periodically expose strategic personnel to industrial updates by attaching them to overseas
institutions or companies engaged in tuna longline and fish marketing occupations.
6.3
Mid-water and FAD fishing
The success of the NFMRA mid-water and FAD fishing methods workshop was credited to the hard
work and organisational skills of the Coastal Fisheries staff and the staff of the Fisheries Technical
section, as well as the genuine interest and participation by fishermen from the private sector. Despite
the large group of participants that turned up for the workshop and some adverse weather conditions at
the beginning of the workshop, the desired results were achieved. The NFMRA staff are now tasked
with carrying on supplementary programmes to focus on advancing the fishers awareness of marine
products and sustainable harvest methods.
The NFMRA Coastal Fisheries staff need to organise their offshore fishing programmes to concentrate
on rebuilding the reef fish stocks by encouraging the mid-water fishing methods and strengthening their
FAD programme. If the programme is effective, NFMRA and the reef fisheries stakeholders can
implement seasonable durations for fishing particular reef species or particular areas, temporary marine
reserves can be implemented on a rotational basis around the island.
However, in order to carry out the mid-water fishing methods effectively, an unwavering FAD
programme should be implemented. This should include FAD maintenance plans as well. The small
craft launching ramps are on opposite sides of the island, two at Aiwo (west coast) and the other at
Anibare (east coast), so the north and south FADs are equally accessible from both ramps. Since the
western coastline needs to be kept clear for the cargo and fuel ships that come to the island and there
are already two FADs in place off Yaren/Menen district (south coast) and Ewa/Anetan district (north
coast), this only leaves the waters off the east coast for deploying FADs in order to keep sufficient
spacing for aggregating advantages. Given the sea area around the island, possibly four FADs should
be the maximum if two are further offshore and two closer to the reefs but since there are already two
FADs deployed and another close offshore FAD is intended to be deployed in the near future, it would
30
be advisable to remain with the three FADs for the time being and deliberate whether a fourth FAD will
be advantageous.
7.
RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1
NFC operations
During the course of working with the NFC and the Coastal Fisheries section of the NFMRA, several
recommendations were made to put in place a starting platform for the project, ‘on the job’ advice to
keep the project focussed, or for future considerations to contribute to sustainable development of NFC
and the coastal fisheries activities.
Based on the activities carried out during the project, it is recommended that:
(a)
Above all else, NFC needs to employ a professional experienced Operations Manager to
coordinate the full operations of the company without interference, while being accountable for
performance. The person needs to be active and be in full control of the operations budget;
(b)
NFC management should consider restructuring the administrative roles of personnel while
keeping the administrative caucus to a bare minimum;
(c)
NFC management prioritise the operations of the two fishing vessels, NF5 — F/V Victor Eoaeo
II and NF6 — F/V Austin Bernicke II, to ensure that the vessels are in top condition at all times,
including being stocked with full spares and necessities;
(d)
An operations plan for the two vessels needs to be strictly implemented as soon as possible. This
plan must identify the vessels’ shore operations procedures (in port, departure, and arrival); ships
operations procedures; fishing operations procedures; and cargo handling procedures;
(e)
A maintenance plan for the two vessels has to be prepared for the next financial year depicting
daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, and annual routines. A checklist system has to be
implemented to ensure that the maintenance plans are adhered to;
(f)
NFC management should revive a stores management system to ensure that the fishing gears,
engine spare parts, electronic spare parts and other fishing operations necessities are in stock and
kept up to date;
(g)
NFC board should carry out a staff appraisal exercise to ensure that management, all shore
personnel, and operations staff are qualified and have the appropriate skills to be a part of the
company. This exercise will also identify areas that present staff need to be trained to advance
their skills;
(h)
NFC should implement a training scheme to ensure that all staff are kept in tune with industrial
developments pertaining to the company’s operations and acquire the appropriate qualifications
required by the company;
(i)
NFC management has to ensure that the vessel’s skipper, engineers and crew are fully qualified
to serve on the vessels as tuna longline fishermen;
(j)
NFC board should implement a performance monitoring system to ensure productivity and
accountability of the NFC management and operations staff; and
(k)
When the company’s performance and the catch rates improve, NFC management needs to
implement a ‘return of the catch’ pay system that is conducive to company survival as well as to
keep the fishermen motivated. The current retainer will then have to be reduced or removed.
31
7.2
Mid-water and FAD fishing
Based on the activities carried out during the project, it is recommended that:
(a)
The NFMRA Coastal Fisheries staff need to put together an ongoing programme to continue with
the promotion of FAD mid-water fishing methods;
(b)
NFMRA Coastal Fisheries staff consider deploying only three FADs and monitor this for
effectiveness and as a base to decide whether a fourth FAD would be necessary; and
(c)
NFMRA Coastal Fisheries staff need to implement a detailed FAD programme outlining the
number of FADs required for effective aggregation of fish around the island, spares and
equipment to keep in stock for replacement FADs, and a FAD maintenance programme.
8.
REFERENCES
Anon. 1998. National Fisheries Development Strategy 1996–2001 (approved by Board in November
1998). Nauru Fisheries and Marine Resources Authority, Republic of Nauru. 19 p.
Beverly, S., L. Chapman and W. Sokimi. 2003. Horizontal longline fishing methods and techniques —
a manual for fishermen. Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea, New Caledonia. 130 p.
Chapman, L., P. Watt, P. Wellington and P. Mead. 1998. Capture Section Report of Fish Aggregating
Device (FAD) site surveys, construction and development assistance to the Republic of Nauru (4
April to 2 May 1990; 15–26 October 1991; 6–14 March 1993; 28 April to 2 May 1993; and
14–23 November 1997). Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea, New Caledonia. 42 p.
CIA, 2005. CIA –– the World Factbook, 1, retrieved August 30, 2005 from the Web:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nr.html 9 p.
FAO, 2005. Information on Fisheries Management in Nauru. Retrieved August 30, 2005 from the Web:
http://www.fao.org/fi/fcp/en/NRU/body.htm 8 p.
Preston, G., L. Chapman, and P. Watt. (1998). Vertical longlining and other methods of fishing around
fish aggregating devices (FADs) — a manual for fishermen. Secretariat of the Pacific
Community, Noumea, New Caledonia. 64 p.
Preston, G., P. Mead, L. Chapman, and P Taumaia. (1999). Deep-bottom fishing techniques for the
Pacific Islands — a manual for fishermen. Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea, New
Caledonia. 82 p.
Sokimi, W and L. Chapman. 2001. Small-scale tuna longlining assistance and training for the Republic
of Nauru. Fisheries Development Section, Field Report No. 8. Secretariat of the pacific
Community, Noumea, New Caledonia. 19 p.
Sokimi, W., and L. Chapman. 2002. Technical assistance to the Republic of Nauru to provide training
in mid-water fishing techniques that can be used in association with fish aggregating devices
(FADs). Fisheries Development Section, Field Report No. 16. Secretariat of the Pacific
Community, Noumea, New Caledonia. 42 p.
Sokimi, W and L. Chapman. 2004. Technical assistance provided to four rural fishing centres under the
Rural Fishing Enterprise Project (RFEP III), Solomon Islands. Fisheries Development Section,
Field Report No. 24. Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea, New Caledonia. 48 p.
32
Appendix A
NFC skippers, engineers, crew and operations personnel involved with the project
1. Captain Nerr Diema
2. Captain Tebakatu Teanere
3. Engineer Ken Blake
4. Engineer Geoffrey Ribauw
5. NFC Operations Supervisor Camillo Scotty
6. Senior shore engineer Tuisama Lauti
7. Shore engineer Hudson Agadio
8. Electrician/Technician Jerome
9. Ronnell Hedman
10. Norman Quadina
11. O’Brien Aboubo
12. Malaki Tannand
13. Ruckus Moses
14. Lapana Talaka
15. Classen Heinrich
16. Lindell Aubiat
17. Falkland Agigo
18. Donald Detougwa
19. Johnson Tenang
20. Hanson Karl
33
Vemco Minilog temperature and depth recordings
35
Appendix B
36
Mid-water FAD fishing methods workshop participants
Group 1
1
Ricardo Ika
3
Manuel Quadina
2
4
5
6
7
8
Private sector
Group 2
Ioteba Neineia
Group 3
Allan Debao
Appendix C
Group 4
Dick Buraman
Glenn Gadoengin
Stera Raimon
Helmut Olsson
Cosmos Dongabir
Noel Agigo
Adoko Agege
Clint Dedenang
Peter Detanamo
Hunter Itaia
Daniel Tsiode
Omeri Agigo
Darnard Dongbir
Bure Ika
Luke Agege
Denanang Herman
Quillan Debao
Gerard Garabauan
Brian Tsiode
Norman Quadina
Otamotu Alona
Linse Thoma
Odanga Agigo
Cravern Detabane
Jeske Rasch
Dustin Tokan
Brahm Halstead
Bibidok Itaia
10
Anthony Ephrain
Mark Harris
Joey Harris
Pius Harris
12
Malaki Tannand
9
11
Ipia Gadubu
Wagi Aubiat
Boiya Ika
Marcus Stephen
Quin Karl
Donald Detougwa
Lapana Talaka
Peter Waidabo
Coastal Fisheries and Technical Section staff
1. David Uera
8. Oswin
2. Ricky starr
9. Jerome
4. Jiovanni Gioura
11. Tuisama Lauti
6. Camillus Reiyetsi
13. ??
3. Ebelina Tsiode
10. Hudson Agadio
5. Karlick Agir
12. ??
7. Gary Degia
14. ??
15. ??
37
Rolex Dabwido
Remick Tsiode
Geoffrey Ribauw
National fishing skills workshop schedule (13–23 July 2005)
DAY
Appendix D
ACTIVITY
Wednesday 13th
Opening of workshop/safety and small craft operations briefing/fishing
methods and fishing gears briefing/fishing gear construction.
Thursday 14th
All groups prepare vessels and fishing gears for fishing trip/night fishing
with lights: vertical longline, horizontal longline, squid jigging and sabiki
jigging using lights to attract bait. Group 1 carry out first fishing trip,
departing at 1700 hours.
Friday 15th
Groups 1 take a break. Groups 2 repair fishing gears and make up
new gear for next fishing trip. Briefing on safety and fishing gears for
Group 4.
Saturday 16th
Groups 2 prepare vessels for night fishing. Carry out night fishing: vertical
longline, squid jigging and sabiki jigging using lights to attract bait. Depart
at 1700 hours.
Monday 18th
Group 3 prepare vessels for night fishing. Carry out night fishing: vertical
longline, squid jigging and sabiki jigging using lights to attract bait. Depart
at 1700 hours.
Tuesday 19th
Group 4 prepare vessels for night fishing. Carry out night fishing: vertical
longline, squid jigging and sabiki jigging using lights to attract bait. Depart
at 1700 hours.
Wednesday 20th
Review night fishing methods/construct deep bottom and palu-ahi (chum
bait) fishing gears/prepare and rig vessels for fishing trip.
Thursday 21st
0600–1200: Group 1 carry out deep bottom and palu-ahi fishing methods.
Friday 22nd
0600–1200: Group 3 carry out deep bottom and palu-ahi fishing methods.
Saturday 23rd
0900: Review of fishing methods during the workshop.
1200–1800: Group 2 carry out deep bottom and palu-ahi fishing methods.
1200–1800: Group 4 carry out deep bottom and palu-ahi fishing methods.
1200: Presentation of certificates/workshop conclusion/BBQ.
39
Soundings and plot of the site survey conducted off Ewa/Anetan
Waypoint No.
Latitude
Longitude
Depth
166° 56.00'E
591
1
0° 30.00'S
166° 56.00'E
3
0° 29.50'S
166° 56.00'E
2
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
0° 29.75'S
0° 29.25'S
0° 29.00'S
0° 29.25'S
166° 56.25'E
782
166° 56.25'E
0° 29.75'S
166° 56.25'E
0° 30.00'S
166° 56.25'E
0° 30.00'S
166° 56.50'E
0° 29.75'S
0° 29.50'S
0° 29.00'S
0° 29.25'S
0° 29.75'S
0° 29.50'S
0° 29.00'S
996
609
859
308
58
94
166° 57.00'E
372
166° 57.00'E
877
166° 57.00'E
41
559
166° 56.75'E
166° 57.00'E
0° 29.25'S
16
1068
166° 57.00'E
0° 29.75'S
18
166° 56.75'E
166° 56.75'E
0° 30.00'S
205
773
166° 56.75'E
0° 30.00'S
514
166° 56.50'E
166° 56.75'E
0° 29.50'S
505
253
166° 56.50'E
0° 29.00'S
973
166° 56.50'E
166° 56.50'E
0° 29.25'S
796
1009
166° 56.25'E
0° 29.50'S
254
166° 56.00'E
166° 56.00'E
0° 29.00'S
Appendix E
655
1082
Ewa/Anetan FAD site survey
42