PICES member countries have significant resources for monitoring environmental conditions and fisheries in coastal waters. At the same time developing nations are far more limited in their capacity for collecting data needed to advance their management practices in these waters. Citizen-based monitoring is an approach designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of monitoring efforts when technical and financial resources are not sufficient. There are many successful examples of citizen-based monitoring in developed countries. However, this approach has not been widely applied yet to the collection of environmental and fisheries data in developing nations. Based on such recognition, PICES has conducted two citizen-based monitoring projects funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan: “Building capacity for coastal monitoring by local small-scale fishers” (FishGIS: November 2017 – March 2020) and “Building local warning networks for the detection and human dimension of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in Indonesian communities” (Ciguatera: April 2020 – March 2023).
The overall objective of the new PICES-MAFF project, entitled “Creating a phytoplankton-fishery observing program for sustaining local communities in Indonesian coastal waters” (FishPhytO), is to establish, in collaboration with local fishers, research institutes and universities, a phytoplankton-fishery observing program in the Lombok Island region (Indonesia) using tools developed and modified/refined during the previous two PICES-MAFF projects (2017–2023) to enable the detection of toxic benthic Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) species that can threaten tropical reef fisheries, and to record images of the fishery catches for enumeration of fish species and sizes. The long-term objectives are to: (1) provide local communities with the capacity and knowledge to sustainably manage their fisheries resources and ensure seafood safety, and (2) identify research needs for deploying these tools in PICES member countries. This 3-year (June 1, 2023 – March 31, 2026) project is funded by MAFF, through the Fisheries Agency of Japan (JFA), from the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Fund.
Benthic HAB species, such as the causative organism underlying Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP), arguably have the greatest human health and economic impacts of any algal-based poisoning syndromes. CFP stems from the human consumption of fish containing toxins produced by benthic microalgae of the dinoflagellate genera Gambierdiscus and Fukuyoa, which are the initial sources of ciguatoxin, and is endemic in many tropical Pacific regions. The effect of CFP on the human dimension extends far beyond the proximate health and economic outcomes – chronically impacted communities in the Pacific region and elsewhere can become fearful of local and other fish sources and transition from their traditional ways of life to one where all protein is imported from foreign sources, altering their cultural heritage.
Communities must understand the risks of exposure to keep the impact of benthic HABs to a minimum. The highest risk is when the reefs, which communities depend on for fish, have large patches of dead coral or large seagrass mats, as these surfaces are ideal for the growth of benthic algal cells. The project will offer technology-assisted, community-based training that drives community awareness of emerging problems and will foster surveillance and management skills that can reduce the incidence of illness. Three levels of surveillance can engage communities in the maintenance of a healthy environment: the health of the corals, the biology of the benthic species, and the harvesting of potentially contaminated fish to the community.
Four long-term goals guide this project. First, consumers will come to rely on information from local communities and researchers about benthic HABs when purchasing marine goods or services. Secondly, the socio-economic basis of local communities will gain resilience by not depending on products with CFP risks. Thirdly, coral reef health, and signals of declining health, are better understood by developing countries. Through these capacity-building goals, coastal Indonesian communities can be sustainably improved, with less uncertainties and risks from CFP and degradation of coral ecosystems. The fourth long-term goal, and most directly relevant to PICES, is that lessons learned in this project inform and benefit PICES member countries facing the emergence of climate-driven benthic range extension of HAB species into their marine systems.
The project is proposed to focus on the following major initiatives:
The request to undertake the FishPhytO project has been approved by PICES Governing Council at their inter-sessional meeting in May 2023. The project principles agreed to by MAFF/JFA and PICES can be found here.
The project is expected to have strong connections and interactions with the PICES Scientific Committees on Human Dimensions (HD), Fishery Science (FIS), and Marine Environmental Quality (MEQ) (through the Section on Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms in the North Pacific – S-HAB), PICES Technical Committees on Data Exchange (TCODE) and Monitoring (MONITOR), and the PICES FUTURE (Forecasting and Understanding Trends, Uncertainty and Responses of North Pacific Marine Ecosystems) science program (specifically, Research Theme 3 on “How do human activities affect coastal ecosystems and how are societies affected by changes in these ecosystems?”). HD serves as the parent committee for the project.
To direct the project, a Project Science Team (PST) has been formed by Science Board based on principles and procedures detailed in the PICES Policy for approval and management of special projects (Decision 2017/A/7), with membership as recommended by relevant scientific and technical committees (see the membership below). Considering the focus of the new project, HD and MEQ have decided to nominate several members. As there are strong links between the FishPhytO project and the previous two PICES-MAFF projects:
FishGIS (2017–2020) and Ciguatera (2020–2023), the majority of FishPhytO PST members were involved in one or in both of these projects. As the leading Indonesian collaborators are also those who participated in the previous PICES-MAFF projects, retaining this core group is important to facilitate efficient implementation of the FishPhytO project. Selection of Dr. Mitsutaku Makino (HD Chair, Japan) and Dr. Mark Wells (S-HAB Co-Chair, USA) as FishPhytO PST Co-Chairs warrants the desirable geographical balance and the balance of expertise between the human dimension and HAB components of the project. The PST Co-Chairs are responsible for the detailed planning and execution of the project and annual reporting to MAFF/JFA and to Science Board through the HD Committee.
Dr. Alexander Bychkov was appointed by the PICES Executive Secretary to serve as the Project Coordinator and is responsible for the management of the fund and annual reporting on its disposition to MAFF/JFA and to PICES Finance and Administration Committee.
Annual reports to MAFF/JFA are to be submitted within 90 days after the close of each project year ending March 31. Within PICES, Science Board takes the responsibility for reporting to Governing Council on the progress and achievements of the project, and the Finance and Administration Committee takes the responsibility for reporting to Governing Council on the financial and management aspects of the project.
Funding for Year 1 (FY 2023, ending March 31, 2024) is set at $73,813.
The collaboration PICES scientists have developed with the Indonesian government agencies and research institutions during four PICES-MAFF projects conducted in the period from 2007 to 2023 – “Development of the prevention systems for harmful organisms’ expansion in the Pacific Rim” (2007–2012), “Marine ecosystem health and human well-being” (2012–2017; MarWeB), “Building capacity for coastal monitoring by local small-scale fishers” (2017–2020; FishGIS), and “Building local warning networks for the detection and human dimension of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in Indonesian communities” (2020–2023; Ciguatera) – provides a strong foundation for the FishPhytO project. Connecting with such organizations in a developing country is critical for facilitating and advancing a project – these organizations and key people are needed to understand the project and to translate it into the local context.
The National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN) has been our major partner since the Ciguatera project (previous major partners, the Indonesian Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), are now integrated into BRIN). In addition, PICES has established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU, signed in March 2022) with the Institute of Technology of Indonesia (ITI), with the goal of integrating both faculty expertise and student involvement into the project to enhance its longer-term sustainability. ITI’s focus on the application of technology across environmental science and industry is well suited as a framework for supporting the current and future PICES-MAFF projects in Indonesia. Multiple cooperation agreements among Indonesian national and local government agencies and universities signed during a Ciguatera project’s community training and knowledge dissemination workshop in January 2023 in Lombok have also strengthened support for collaborative research with PICES and the sustainability of the observation network after the project is completed.
In addition, the Provincial Government of West Nusa Tenggara, which provided invaluable assistance in organizing the January 2023 workshop, has indicated strong interest in implementing the FishPhytO project. This support is essential for sustaining the planned observation and response activities after completion of the project.