A comparison of two surveys of invertebrates at Pacific Ocean islands: The giant clam at Raivavae Island, Australes Archipelago, French Polynesia

Abstract

An assessment of invertebrate fisheries is currently taking place at several Pacific Ocean islands. The objectives are to obtain either detailed information on certain stocks at limited sites or to assess more broadly a variety of benthic resources across different islands. In French Polynesia, giant clam (Tridacna maxima) populations were surveyed by Service de la Pêche and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (SPE/IRD). Sampling was optimized to determine stock abundance as a tool to enhance management of the clam fishery. Currently, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is investigating throughout the Pacific the status of invertebrate resources; a large-scale study not necessarily establishing a precise stock estimate for resources such as clams, but comparing resource status for several target species using coverage, density, and size measures. Raivavae Island (French Polynesia) was investigated by both programmes and offered an opportunity to verify whether the different sampling schedules provided consistent perspectives of the status of the T. maxima resource. The different strategies that SPE/IRD and SPC adopted resulted in no direct spatial overlap between the locations investigated: nevertheless, the ranges of densities and clam sizes recorded were generally consistent between surveys, and both programmes described similar spatial variation in clam presence at an island scale. SPE/IRD provided a detailed map of clam densities per habitat using a high-resolution satellite image, which yielded an estimated standing stock of 8.16 ± 0.91 million clams, representing a flesh biomass of 354 ± 41 t. SPC's study delivered coverage, density, and clam length, but no stock estimate. Unavailable from SPE/IRD, SPC also described the status of a variety of important invertebrate species targeted by fishers in the Pacific. Both programmes independently made similar fishery management recommendations. The relative merits and complementarities of the two approaches in the context of Pacific Ocean Island resource management are discussed. © 2009 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved.