• On Location with the SEASMART Program from PNG

    by
    Jessy
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    Published on 09-09-2010 01:52 AM
    6 Comments Comments
    David Vosseler talks about SEASMART's program.


    Exciting developments from Papua New Guinea! These small islands are teaming with life that until now has essentially unavailable to the aquarium trade. The Solomon Islands are populated by many tribes, and are known for the fact that they speak 800 languages. Pigeon English is but one, but the one thing they share in common are their beautiful waters and the life within. SEASMART's goal is to work with the native inhabitants, teaching them how to sustainably harvest corals and fish without disrupting their ecosystem. This is the area where the Lightning Maroon Clownfish came from earlier this year.

    With careful planning and good training, locals are taught to free dive (no SCUBA gear) to net fish and collect coral fragments, only taking a small portion of what is available so the ecosystem continues to thrive. If these items aren't sold to the distributors, they are released back into the reef. At MACNA this year, we were able to watch a brief video showing how this is being done. It was truly fascinating. Interested in interning for a couple of weeks? They'd love your help.

    To learn more about SEASMART, follow this link: http://www.seasmart.ecoez.com/
    Comments 6 Comments
    1. mro2you2's Avatar
      mro2you2 - 09-10-2010, 07:05 AM
      I want some Papua New Guinea coral!!!
      Reply
    1. Jessy's Avatar
      Jessy - 09-12-2010, 06:27 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by mro2you2 View Post
      I want some Papua New Guinea coral!!!
      I want to go there!
      Reply
    1. psokou's Avatar
      psokou - 09-12-2010, 07:16 PM
      One thing for sure we learned from MACNA 2010 that many people want fish and corals from us, we are now back in Port Moresby and we will surely start to expand into the provinces and capture breath taking rarity and variety organisms into US.
      Reply
    1. Jessy's Avatar
      Jessy - 09-13-2010, 02:12 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by psokou View Post
      One thing for sure we learned from MACNA 2010 that many people want fish and corals from us, we are now back in Port Moresby and we will surely start to expand into the provinces and capture breath taking rarity and variety organisms into US.
      Welcome Phillip from SEASMART! We look forward to regular updates on all that you're doing over there.
      Reply
    1. mro2you2's Avatar
      mro2you2 - 09-13-2010, 04:13 PM
      I am not sure my LFS would be able to buy from you so If you could start a website where people can but coral that would be awesome.
      Reply
    1. psokou's Avatar
      psokou - 09-13-2010, 11:55 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by mro2you2 View Post
      I am not sure my LFS would be able to buy from you so If you could start a website where people can but coral that would be awesome.
      Most of our fish ends up in SDC, Pacific Aqua Farms and QM in LA, they're our primary importers from day 1. It will be through them to your LFS unless we have other direct flight routes to where you're staying. Our trade management software database and website is still developing. This when complete, anyone can log on to and find out information about fishes, inverts and corals here in PNG as well as the prices and almost you can go in and pick on the list and place order online.
      Reply