Fishy business. The Social Impact of SST.pdf - Act Now!

anticipated that members of local Wewak NGOs, and others in the community, will want to beinvolved in assessing these plans prior to giving approval. In addition, as for the social andeconomic monitoring, independent agencies should peer review the proposed monitoringprogramme.One area of uncertainty is the level of technical expertise available to ensure the project iscomplying with the required environmental standards. For example, monitoring data needsto be assessed by an outside agency with expertise in the area. An example is marine waterquality. Has such an independent agency or group of agencies been identified?The SSTC says it will hire consultants from time to time as required, establish a laboratory forquality control and a process for environmental monitoring. This could be the basis forestablishing the independent process noted above.Another area of uncertainty is the proposed handling of organic sludge: how will this be initiallytreated and stored prior to barging, and will any of this process create unacceptable odoursand/or visual impacts? In addition, what are the risks of sharks being attracted in shore due tothe dumping? Details of the monitoring results of such impacts from other similar operations inthe Pacific, information I understand the SSTC has access to, would be helpful here.Odour control (Section 8.4.1.6, p8.18) appears to be properly addressed, but again anindependent assessment by an agency or consultant involved in a similar process elsewherewould be helpful. While the theory is sound - and both myself and the Sepik CLC Project CoordinatorSimon Towle have some direct experience with such control systems in New Zealand- it does depend on the microbiological culture being well maintained. Questions to be askedhere include:•how often do these cultures fail?•what contingencies are in place if they do fail?Sustainability of the Tuna FisheriesDiscussions with fisheries scientist confirm SSTC's position that the stocks of available tuna inthe Western Pacific Ocean can cope with increased fishing pressure. Indeed, tuna are consideredthe best monitored and best understood of any deep water commercially fished species.However, the following issues still remain to be clarified:•while deep water yellow fin tuna fishing will be unlikely to have an effect on inshore fishingstocks, intercepting skipjack tuna may deplete inshore fishing stocks of this species. Monitoringof this impact is apparently feasible and therefore should be done;•will the cumulative effect of several deep water fisheries targetting tuna around the WesternPacific cause an unacceptable impact?•do Maximum Sustainable Yield estimates take adequate account of the overall ecologicalimpacts of industrial fishing (such as the impact on by-catch)? And is the fishing methodproposed (purse seining) adequate for protecting non-target species? There are concerns thatwhile the by-catch is returned to the sea, a proportion does not survive, and the impact on nontargetspecies is insufficiently understood. Thus while tuna stocks may withstand increasedcumulative fishing pressure, other species may not.•while skipjack and yellowfin tuna fishing capacity is about half the theoreticaly MSY, what isthe recommended cumulative perecentage take of the MSY for the Western Pacific Ocean (thatis, is it less than 100% of the MSY?).82