NEWSROOM 17 July
2009

(Photo: Sav Schulman)

NEW ZEALAND: Tongan architecture postgraduate wins international arts award

(Photo: Samoa Observer)

SAMOA: Minister calls for greater access to reproductive health services
Source: Samoa Observer

Unwanted pregnancy and high rates of infant deaths are predicted to increase without access to reproductive health information and services.

So warned Minister of Health, Gatoloa’ifaana Amataga Gidlow, on Monday at Moto’otua. She was speaking during the local celebrations of the World Population Day, under the theme; “Responding to the Economic Crisis: Investing in Women is a Smart Choice.”

“During this current economic crisis, less access to reproductive health information and services, such as family planning and access to contraceptives could be a result of funding cuts and lower development aid,” she said.

“Without these services we will see an increase in unwanted pregnancy, the rates of infant deaths, sexually transmitted infections and HIV.

In 2008, Samoa reached close to ten per cent in the rate of adolescent pregnancy, she revealed.
“There is increase in the number of cases of sexually transmitted infections as well as confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS,” she said.

“We predict that if less funding is invested in women, the cases of domestic violence and rape will increase.”

Samoa cannot afford to allow this to continue, she said.

“There is no smarter investment, with such high economic and social returns than investing in the health and rights of adolescent girls and women by increasing resources for reproductive health,” she said.

“We must support prioritisation of public funding towards interventions with long lasting impact. Priorities include interventions that yield high returns in terms of public health cost savings, as well as long term effects on economic growth.

“These services include: voluntary family planning in the context of reproductive health and rights, safe delivery including basis and comprehensive emergency obstetric care, access to contraceptives, information and services for adolescents and young people about safe sexual practices and the importance of linking HIV and AIDS to sexual and reproductive health services.
The Minister also highlighted the importance of women.

“She carries the source of not her family and community generation,” said Gatoloifaana.

“She is strong advocate for her family and community surrounding her. She alone can face great challenges with the power of her voice."

“We must remember though that even a woman’s voice can be strained after great use. We must support our women and supply them with the voice they may need to stay strong and succeed. This is our time to support our women and give tribute to all that they have done for us.”

Photo Caption: Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi (left) celebrates World Population Day.
 

(Photos: Special Broadcasting Service / Mai TV)

AUSTRALIA: Broadcast agreement ensures free-to-air coverage of FIFA events
Source: Oceania Football Confederation Press Release

Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has welcomed the announcement by SBS Australia yesterday (July 13, 2009) that it will work with Fiji’s MAI TV to ensure free-to-air coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ to millions of fans across the Pacific region next year.

As the Official Broadcaster of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, SBS has signed an Oceania sub-licence agreement with Mai TV which OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas says will bring significant benefits to Oceania’s football family.

“This agreement means that a large number of Pacific territories will be able to show the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and other FIFA tournaments on free-to-air television,” said Nicholas, speaking at a press conference in Fiji.

MAI TV Managing Director Richard Broadbridge says his company is delighted to have the responsibility of sub-licensing the FIFA World Cup™ rights into the Oceania territories of American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

“For such a young broadcaster - only thirteen months old - MAI TV is extremely happy to be awarded this task,” said Broadbridge.

“With the acquisition of FIFA content, football will be lifted to a new level in the Pacific region with more support for Oceania football as well as local associations.”

SBS Managing Director Shaun Brown explained that MAI TV will transmit SBS Australia’s broadcast and commentary for all LIVE matches in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

“SBS is well respected in the Australian market for its experience and expertise in broadcasting some of the biggest sporting events from around the globe, and the FIFA World Cup™ is considered the pinnacle,” said Brown.

“We are delighted to be working with MAI TV to ensure even greater coverage of FIFA events throughout Oceania.”

Photo Captions: Official Broadcaster of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, SBS has signed an Oceania sub-licence agreement with Mai TV which will enable a large number of Pacific territories to show the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and other FIFA tournaments on free-to-air television.

(Photos: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council)

USA: Fishermen, public invited to participate in Fishers Forum

Source: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Press Release

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council—which was established by Congress to manage fisheries in the offshore waters of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNNI) and other US Pacific island areas—will
convene July 22 to 25, 2009, at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Prior to decision-making, the Council will consider public comment and review recommendations of its advisory groups, including the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which meets
July 20 to 22, 2009, at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel. Public comment on the Council's agenda items will be taken throughout the Council meeting as well as through written testimony. Public comment on non-agenda items will occur from 3:30 to 4 p.m. July 23, 2009. Council
decisions are transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce for approval and implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Fishermen and the public are also invited to participate in the Fishers Forum “Marlin on the Menu,” 6:30 to 9 p.m. July 23, 2009, at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel. The Forum will discuss the past, present and future of the fisheries for marlin in the US Pacific Islands and management measures to ensure that these fisheries remain sustainable and viable.

Complete agendas for these public meetings and additional information on the major items under consideration by the SSC and the Council may be found at the Council’s website at www.wpcouncil.org or by contacting the Council by phone (808) 522-8220, fax (808) 522-8226, or email [email protected].

Major items to be considered by the SSC and the Council:

Fishing Regulations in the Pacific Marine National Monuments

The Council is expected to take preliminary action on definitions and management measures for the new Marianas Trench, Rose Atoll and Pacific Remote Islands Area Marine National Monuments designated by President George W. Bush. Potential definitions to be considered include sustenance fishing, recreational fishing, traditional indigenous fishing, non-commercial fishing, and culturally significant subsistence, cultural and religious uses of fish resources.

Hancock Seamounts Groundfish Moratorium

Pelagic armorhead at the Hancock Seamounts has been considered overfished and subject to a
moratorium on domestic fishing since the inception of the Bottomfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) in 1986. The current moratorium expires in August 2010. The Council will consider ending the moratorium in August 2010, extending the moratorium to August 2016 or designating the Hancock Seamounts as a Large Marine Ecosystem Management Area for scientific research on seamount fisheries to facilitate the establishment of management measures to effectively rebuild the armorhead stock. Only 3 to 5 percent of the pelagic armorhead stock and habitat lies within US jurisdiction, so rebuilding of the stock must be accomplished through coordinated international management.

Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) Bottomfish
2009-2010 Season

The Council will consider a range of alternatives for the 2009-2010 TAC that are based on the 2009 assessment provided by NMFS. The alternatives would allow between 241,000 and 262,000 lbs of seven deepwater bottomfish species to be harvested commercially in the MHI.

Catch Shares for the MHI Bottomfish Fishery

Catch shares is a general term for fishery management programs that allocate allowable catches or portions of allowable catches to individuals or groups. Because initial allocation of catch shares is likely to be based on the catch history of fishery participants, the Council will consider options for compiling catch histories for MHI commercial vessels targeting Deep 7 bottomfish species, including linking the catches to vessels, vessel owners, vessel captains and/or crew members.

Annual Catch Limits

Based on advice from the SSC, the Council will consider the development of annual catch limits for the following managed species: Hawaii Precious Coral Beds, Hawaii Akule, Hawaii Opelu,
Hawaii Deepwater Shrimp, Hawaii Bottomfish Complex, American Samoa Bottomfish Complex, CNMI Deepwater Shrimp, CNMI Bottomfish Complex and Guam Bottomfish Complex. The Council is expected to recommend preliminarily preferred annual catch limits and to direct Council staff
to hold public meetings on these catch limits prior to final Council action.

Cross Seamount/NOAA Weather Buoy Fishery Limited Entry Program & Control Date
The Council will continue ongoing discussions on implementing a limited entry program for one or more gear types or areas fished by Hawaii’s offshore non-longline pelagic fisheries. The Council will consider the area of application, affected gear types, participation criteria and transferability of the permits. The Council is expected to take action to select preliminarily preferred alternatives for each of the above issues including the establishment of a new control date if appropriate, and/or to recommend additional alternatives for analysis, and direct Council staff to hold public meetings on these alternatives prior to final Council action.

Tuna Quota Monitoring

The Hawaii longline fishery is subject to an annual bigeye catch limit in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean and, based on historical landings, the quota could be reached prior to the end of the fishing year. The current catch reporting and data logging system cannot adequately monitor fishery catches to avoid inadvertent quota underages and overages. The Council will consider the options to improve the monitoring of tuna catches in Hawaii’s longline fishery.

Tuna Quota Management

The Council will consider a range of actions to further manage the longline fishery in the Western Pacific Region. Options include a region-wide limited entry longline program, region-wide port access program, catch shares or a limited access privilege program, sector allocations, trip limits for non-target sector, temporary bigeye or yellowfin prohibition trigger, seasonal tuna prohibition, change in the fishing year, monthly landing limits, domestic bigeye catch limits for the US territories and CNMI, waiver of observer requirements when no observers are available, three-year rolling catch limits and effort limits. The Council is expected to recommend one or more of these approaches and/or additional approaches for analyses. The Council may recommend pursuing one approach for the long-term, while recommending one or more different approaches for the immediate future.

Catch Shares for the Hawaii-based Longline Fleet

Because the initial allocation of catch shares is likely to be based on the catch history of
fishery participants, the Council will consider options for compiling catch histories for Hawaii-based longline vessels. These options could link catch histories to federal permits (which is transferred with a vessel or permit to its new owner), federal permit holders, vessels, vessel owners, vessel captains and/or crew members. The Council is expected to take action to recommend a preliminarily preferred alternative or alternatives for compiling catch histories for
Hawaii-based longline fishery, and/or to recommend additional measures for analysis, and to direct Council staff to provide an overview of those results at its next meeting.

Scientific and Statistical Committee Members

Dr. Stewart Allen (NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center), Dr. Judith Amesbury (Micronesian Archeological Research Services), Dr. Brian Bowen (Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology), Dr. Paul Callaghan (University of Guam retired), Dr. Frank A. Camacho (Guam Community College), Dr. Milani Chaloupka (University of Queensland), Dr. Charles Daxboeck (BioDax Consulting Tahiti), Dr. Richard Deriso (Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission), Dr. John Hampton (Secretariat of the Pacific Community), Dr. Pierre Kleiber (NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center), Dr. Molly Lutcavage (University of New Hampshire), Dr. James
Parrish (Hawaii Cooperative Fishery Research Unit retired), Dr. Dan Polhemus (Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources), Dr. Marlowe Sabater (American Samoa Marine & Wildlife Resources Department), Dr. Craig Severance (University of Hawaii at Hilo retired), Dr. John Sibert (Pelagic Fisheries Research Program), Dr. Robert Skillman (NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center retired) and Mr. Michael Trianni (Northern Mariana Islands Division of Fish & Wildlife).

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Members

Designated state officials

Ignacio Dela Cruz, CNMI Department of Land & Natural Resources; Joe Torres, Guam Department of Agriculture; Laura Thielen, Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources; and Ray Tulafono, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources.

Designated federal officials

Bill Robinson, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office; Jerry Leinecke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife; RAdm Manson K. Brown, District Commander, U.S. Coast Guard 14th District; and Bill Gibbons-Fly, U.S. Department of State.
 

Appointees by the Secretary of Commerce from nominees selected by Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and CNMI governors

William Sword, recreational fisherman/civil engineer/manager (American Samoa); Stephen Haleck, business owner (hotel and gas station) (American Samoa) (Vice Chair); Manuel Duenas, Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association (Guam) (Vice Chair); Frederick Duerr, resort and hotel consultant (Hawaii) (Vice Chair); Peter Young, environmental consultant (Hawaii); David Itano, researcher (Hawaii); Sean Martin, Pacific Ocean Producers (Hawaii) (Chair); and Benigno Sablan, cultural practitioner (CNMI) (Vice Chair).

Photo Captions: The Fishers Forum “Marlin on the Menu” is designed to provide fishermen and other interested stakeholders a venue to discuss the past, present and future of marlin fisheries in the US Pacific Islands. Three panels will cover the cultural use of marlin prior to Western contact, the historical and socioeconomic importance of marlin for commercial and non-commercial fishermen and restaurants, and the marketing and management of marlin. The ultimate goal is, through expert presentations and public discussion, to elicit suggestions for future management initiatives to ensure that the US Pacific Islands can enjoy marlin on their menu forever.
 

VANUATU: Chinese Club donate VT1.4m supplies to landslide victims
Source: Vanuatu Daily Post

Thanks to the generosity of the Chinese Community in Port Vila the victims of the recent disastrous landslide which shattered four big villages in Tongoa early this month will know they are not forgotten.

While the recent call by the newly appointed Ambassador to Beijing, Willie Jimmy Tapangararua for China to have a foot firmly planted in the Pacific through Port Vila no doubt caused ruffled feathers among other foreign diplomatic partners, the local Chinese Club in the Capital were the first to donate much needed disaster relief supplies worth approximately Vt1.4 million to the victims of the landslides caused by the tremors that hit the villages of Mangarisu, Matangi, Kurumambe and Lupalea in the first week of this month.

The Chinese Club is now headed by second and third generation young Chinese businessmen and women who were born in the country. Members of the Committee had personally witnessed the birth of the country from colonial rule and seen and felt the challenges that have continued to affect ordinary people in the last 28 years.

The President of the Chinese Club Kevin Fung said the Executive Committee was pleased to be able to help with emergency supplies of rice, tinned fish, biscuits, noodles, flour, water and other much needed supplies “to our brothers and sisters in Tongoa”.

Fung indicated the Club’s willingness to provide more help (if necessary, when the supplies have all been distributed to the victims).

Shefa Disaster Coordinator thanked the Chinese Club for their prompt, generous response on behalf of the President of Shefa Province and Disaster Management Office in Tongoa.

He assured the Club a team of senior Officers including with Assistant Head of NDMO who is based in Tongoa will travel with the supplies to make sure they are distributed fairly among the victims.

“We will issue our report on how the supplies have been distributed to help potential donors to the victims and the Chinese Club will get a copy of the report”, the Coordinator told the President.

While the supplies are locked safely away by the Club, they will be released as soon as transportation is ready to ship them to Tongoa.

The Chinese Club has 300 members but the President said there are other members of the Chinese Community who have yet to become members.
 

(Photo: International Institute for Sustainable Development)

WORLDWIDE: Forum Secretary General praises success of RAMSI
Source: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Press Release

The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has been commended for its success as a regional initiative of the Pacific Islands Forum since it started in July 2003.

RAMSI is a regional activity under the Biketawa Declaration supported by all members of the Pacific Islands Forum. It is being lead by Australia and New Zealand. It was put together following the invitation of the then Solomon Islands Government after several years of unrest in the country.

In his opening remarks to the Pre-Forum Session of the Forum Officials Committee which began at the Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji today (July 16, 2009), Forum Secretary General Tuiloma Neroni Slade said there was cause to celebrate the special regional experience of RAMSI.

“I am very pleased to acknowledge significant and continuing progress in strengthening relations between the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) and the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), particularly the new SIG/RAMSI Partnership Framework recently endorsed by the Solomon Islands Cabinet,” Mr Slade said.

“The continued success of this unique regional partnership under the Biketawa Declaration continues to draw on the support of all Forum member countries and remains an outstanding achievement on our regional security agenda.”

Mr Slade also used the occasion to inform FOC, which is the governing council of the Forum Secretariat, of the corporate reforms that the Secretariat is implementing in reaction to both the challenge and opportunity for the Secretariat to perform better.

“They are reforms that respond to your interest and concern for the Secretariat to be more strategic and focused and to be smarter in undertaking its core functions.”

The reforms include a new Corporate Plan 2008 - 2012 and four Programme Strategic Plans for 2009 - 2011 covering the four programmes of the Secretariat. There are also reforms in the Secretariat’s accounting systems, financial and staff regulations, risk management and its monitoring and reporting framework.

Besides security issues and activities under the Biketawa Declaration, the two-day FOC meeting will also discuss the Secretariat’s Annual Work Programme and Budget for 2010. The Secretariat is also tabling a Revised 2009 Budget which will show the financial plans supporting the operations of the Secretariat during this year.

Photo Caption: Forum Secretary General, Tuiloma Neroni Slade.