Waitabu Marine Park Blog

ICE Interns build and place 20 new fish houses at Waitabu

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 ALUMECI NAKEKE Okostino Apao ... protecting the sea The love for his fishing ground and a request from his dying mother prompted 23-year-old Okostino Apao to put his studies on hold and look after the village marine protected area. Apao is originally from Rotuma but grew up in his mother's village of Waitabu on Taveuni . As Apao grew up, he never really understood the importance of the work his late mother Sala did, which is to manage the village marine protected area, now known as the Waitabu Marine Park as it is frequently visited by tourists. Sala was the force behind the setting up of the park with the help of Marine Ecology Fiji Consultant, Helen Sykes . After completing Form Seven on Taveuni, Apao enrolled at the Fiji Institute of Technology, but had to return to help his sick mother with her work. Sadly, she died in 2006. Since then, Apao said, he has continued to do the work his mother did and has never regretted leaving FIT because he love...

Calling Fish Geeks....... Thought you may be interested - lots of us have had trouble identifying the Tomato Anemone fish in Fiji, and it has just been identified as a new species, plus the new wrasse ID'd a couple of years ago is described. See link Fiji Amphiprion and Cirrhilabrus new species…mainly by DNA data http://www.aqua-aquapress.com/latest_issues.html Cheers, Helen Helen Sykes The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count 2 - 8 November 2008 e: info@fijibutterflyfishcount.com http://www.fijibutterflyfishcount.com www.fijibutterflyfishcount.blogspot.com marine ecology consulting =================================================== Aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology Gerald R. Allen, Joshua Drew and Les Kaufman: Amphiprion barberi, a new species of anemonefish (Pomacentridae) from Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa , pp. 105-114 Abstract Amphiprion melanopus , underwater photograph of adult, about 75.0 mm SL, Milne Bay, Papua New...