Projects - Periodically Harvested Marines Reserves - Fiji

[BRUV and DOV]

From Jordan Goetze

I am currently enrolled in a PhD at the University of Western Australia studying variation in the harvest regimes of periodically harvested marine reserves (Tabu areas) in Fiji, with collaboration from the Wildlife Conservation Society http://wcsfiji.com/. During my first field trip to Fiji I undertook a method comparison which compared 3 commonly used sampling techniques; Stereo-BRUVs, Stereo-DOVs and UVC and their ability to detect the impacts of a harvest event on targeted fish assemblages. The results of this study will be used to choose the most appropriate method to sample further Tabu areas with varying harvest regimes. This will allow me to compare some of the most commonly used harvest regimes and determine which has the least impact on target fish assemblages. This data coupled with data from other collaborative sources will be used to perform a meta-analysis that looks at the overall effectiveness of Tabu areas as a fisheries management technique and examines factors which impact on this effectiveness. For more information feel free to contact me via emailger...@gmail.com.

Regards Jordan

[Jordan Goetze]

Attached is a newsletter with a brief update of my latest trip to Fiji. It has lots of nice pictures!