SADDLED BUTTERFLYFISH AQUACULTURE WITH SUSTAINABLE -WILD INDIGENOUS SEED EXTRACTION (SBA S-WISE)

OBJECTIVES: 1. Determine the most efficient technique for sampling abundance of juvenile and sub-adult C. ephippium. 2. Document the abundance of juvenile and sub-adult C. ephippium on fringing and patch reefs. 3. Determine the lasting effects of low impact harvest methods on saddled butterflyfish populations and their associated communities. 4. Rear wild-capture juvenile saddled butterflyfish C. ephippium to three inches using gelatin and commercial feeds while documenting their growth rate and food conversion rate. 5. Evaluate wholesaler, retailer and consumer reaction to cultured C. ephippium. 6. Determine if C. ephippium juvenile populations can be increased by enhancement. 7. Communicate results to the scientific community.

APPROACH: Snorkel surveys that note time and mark location of C. ephippium will be conducted until 200 fish are observed. Two-dimensional coordinates of each marked location will be measured after snorkeling through the area. The temporal and spatial data for each of the 200 fish will then be use as a statistical population to determine if timed snorkeling counts or random transects will produce more accurate population estimates. Methods will be repeated for juvenile and sub-adults. A second component of this objective will be to determine the capture efficiency of snorkel counts; this will be in conjunction with Objective 3 and 4 when fish are removed from the reef. The abundance of C. ephippium will be determined by snorkel survey transect counts through fringing and patch reef habitats. Appropriate areas to count will be determined from visual inspection of aerial photographs and a random subset of 30 locations will be selected. An island wide estimate ofjuvenile C. ephippium abundance will be made from counts, aerial photographs, and habitat area estimates digitized from charts. Total removal of 2 to 3 cm C. ephippium will be attempted from three fringing and three patch reef locations. Abundance counts of C. ephippium juveniles will be made monthly for 36 months at these locations and an equal number of control locations. Abundance of sub-adult C. ephippium in adjacent reef edge areas will also be monitored monthly. Counts will be made at all locations for three months prior to the removal as well. Long term monitoring of control locations will be continued to study seasonality and annual variations in abundance. Juvenile C. ephippium of a 2 to 3 cm size will be captured using barrier nets. Fish will be anesthetized, weighed, measured and transferred to 15 L buckets or to 340 L tanks for rearing trials. Ten fish will be cultured individually. Thirty fish will be cultured as groups of five in the 340L tanks. One-half of the fish will be offered the gelatin diet and the other fish a commercial feed. Food type and group size will be the treatments statistically tested. Fish will be fed five percent of their body weight daily 112 in the morning and 112 in the afternoon. Fish will be weighed and measured every 28 days as the experiment progresses; mortalities will be recorded. Cultured 3-inch C. ephippium will be shipped to wholesalers in the United States for evaluation. Five wholesalers that regularly sell C. ephippium will be chosen. Interview forms will include a short paragraph about the project; questions about the fish's vitality, color, and behavior; a request to compare the fish to similar fish (including a value comparison); and a name-address section. Three types of fringing-reef habitat that are less used by C. ephippium would be enhanced; C. ephippium recruitment and abundance would be monitored in three replicates of each type of enhanced area. Abundance and recruitment would be monitored monthly for three months prior to enhancement anp 36 months after. The results of this research will be published as three scientific journal articles and presented at two scientific meetings.

NON- TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Pacific islands depend on natural resources for subsistence and income. Culturing wild caught butterflyfish juveniles for the pet trade requires minimal technology and training, avoids export of subsistence species, and links income to healthy environments that can produce juveniles. The project determines juvenile abundance, sustainable harvest, culture requirements, and market reaction in preparation for industry development.

PROJECT CONTACT:
Name: Brookins, K. G.
Phone: 691-320-4063
Fax: 691-320-2972
Email: drfishead@comfsm.fm