SPAWNING Potential Surveys methodology is currently underway at the Honiara Hotel aimed at providing avenue for fishermen and women to discuss opportunities on management of marine resources.
Dr Gregory Bennett, Conservation Program Manager on behalf of the World-Wide Fund (WWF) Solomon Islands, said the program will enable participants to discuss the opportunities towards established and effective management of important marine resources.
Bennett said today threats are increasing due to rapid population growth expanding commercial interests and decision-making constrained by incomplete information.
“Events such as climate change and coral bleaching, cyclones and tidal waves have devastating impacts on our country’s biodiversity,” Bennett said.
“WWF-SI recognises the critical need to safeguard and manage the marine and coastal resources as people of Solomon Islands exhibit a high dependence on coral reefs and fisheries for their food and livelihoods,” he added.
Bennett said the WWF-SI values the partnerships that will be created in the three days training especially from the government line ministry and Marine Resources, Provincial fisheries officers from three provinces, Sepi Women’s Fisheries and Snap Fisheries.
Minnie Rafe, Ifuto’o Community Base Fisheries Management (CBFM) Program Coordinator, said the importance of the training is getting the communities to understand, especially community people and fisheries officers, what WWF do in terms of promoting sustainable fisheries through this spawning potential survey methodology where they introduced to Sepi women in Isabel province.
Paul Tay Tua, Chief Fisheries Officer, Research Section Inshore fisheries on behalf of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, said the training is more on capacity building of fishers and officers who are responsible to collect data in terms of sustainable management.
