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The people of Nauru are highly dependent on coastal resources for their food security, which has resulted in many invertebrate species being overharvested. Their decline is exacerbated by a lack of regulations to manage and control the impact of fishing. Local residents expressed the need for a status assessment and a request was made to the Pacific Community (SPC) to provide technical assistance. This report presents the findings of the resulting assessment, conducted in the Republic of Nauru in May 2015. The main objective of the work was to assess the population abundance and size structure of several key species, including turban snails (Turbo setosus and T. argyrostomus), belligerent rock shell (Reishia armigera), spiny rock lobster (Panulirus penicillatus) and species of interest to foreign markets, in particular sea cucumbers. Six survey methods were applied to suit the different coastal habitats of Nauru. These were reef benthos transects, reef front timed walks at night, manta tow, reef front timed swims in the daytime, lobster night searches (reef front timed swims at night) and deep-water timed scuba searches. Where possible, information from this assessment was compared with that collected during the PROCFish survey in 2005, to explore changes in resource status over time.

Climate change exacerbates the magnitude and impacts of climate variability and some natural hazards. The existence of some Pacific Island countries (PICs) is threatened by climate change. Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) are highly exposed to a range of natural hazards of hydro-meteorological origin (such as cyclones, droughts, landslides and floods) and geological origin (including volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis). These hazards often lead to disasters, which affect thousands of people and exacerbate existing development challenges in the region. Climate change predictions identify changes for the Pacific including an increase in extreme hot days and warm nights, extreme rainfall events, intensity of tropical cyclones in the South Pacific, sea level rise and ocean acidification. Climate change is increasing the risks from weather related disasters and posing new impacts to the region. Climate change impacts also cause progressive long-term degradation to the natural environment, to critical ecosystems (e.g. coral reefs), and to social and economic systems, resulting in loss and damage to the system upon which Pacific Island communities depend for their subsistence and livelihoods.

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are characterized by light-dependent corals and associated communities typically found at depths ranging from 30-40 m and extending to over 150 m in tropical and subtropical regions. They are populated with organisms typically associated with shallow coral reefs, such as corals, macroalgae, sponges, and fish, as well as species unique to mesophotic depths or deeper.

Summary for Mesophotic coral ecosystems - A lifeboat for coral reefs?

Fisheries address book by the Division of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems & SPC

Marine litter (or debris)* is waste created by humans that has been discharged into the coastal or marine environment. It is defined as “any anthropogenic, manufactured, or processed solid material (regardless of size) discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in the environment, including all materials discarded into the sea, on the shore, or brought indirectly to the sea by rivers, sewage, storm water, waves, or winds” (UNEP and NOAA, 2012).

Pacific Island countries and territories already face a range of development challenges due to their specific geographic and socio-economic characteristics, and their generally high exposure to natural hazards. The projected changes to the climate of the Pacific Island region over the coming decades present another challenging dimension that the region will need to grapple with. These changes could compromise the very ability of Pacific communities to meet their economic development needs.

This report describes a preliminary economic (cost-benefit) analysis of deep-sea minerals (DSM) mining in the Pacific Island region. Since mining has yet to occur anywhere in the world, the analysis is based on realistic yet hypothetical mining scenarios developed for three mineral deposits thought to have a high potential for economic viability: Seafloor-massive Sulphide (SMS) Deposits in Papua New Guinea (PNG),? Polymetallic Manganese Nodules (MN) in the Cook Islands, and? Ferromanganese Cobalt-rich Crusts (CRC) in the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI).?