Sione with the no-take mpa presentation

Sione with the no-take mpa program with the presentation on the different types of mpa in American Samoa, the benefits of having an mpa and why mpa's are important.  There was a fishing activity after the presentation.  It is an example to the community that you can only fish outside of the marine protected area but not inside the no take.  Swimming, Research and Diving is only allowed in this area. Destructive fishing methods was another topic that the community talked about.

Faga'alu Community at No-Take MPA Program Outreach

Member of the Faga'alu village during an outreach by the No-Take MPA Program in the Department Of Marine and Wildlife Resources.  Approximately 40 people attended the outreach along with the mayor of the village of Faga'alu Mr. Uso Lago'o.  Thanks to the mayor for a job well done contacting the community to participate the outreach, because during the Planning of their Watershed Action Plan the committee agreed to have a marine protected area in their village.  DMWR is waiting for the village council to discuss the issue and then they will contact Tafito Aitaoto the leader for the program for the next step.

Climate Resilience Committee Plan Team

On March 3rd 2012 the Amouli Committee finalize their Climate Resilience

Josh and Fale sorting out the catch during the cobb trawl on Thursday March 15, 2012. Sorting the catch was one of the hardest thing to do because we have to use tweezers to sort the catch in to 4 to 5 different groups. John, Don and Jennifer thanks the boys for their help and they make the job look easy for the scientists on the Oscar Elton Sette.

Sione Lam Yuen Jr assisting Jennifer Fry, John Denton, Aimee Hoover, Megan Duncan and Don Kobayashi with measuring Myctophids, Non Myctophids, Crustaceans, Cephalopods and Gelatinous Plankton's mass, volume, weight and length.

Sharptail Mola (Masturus lanceolatus) caught during cobb trawl

During a Cobb Trawl on March 15, 2012 Thursday at 12:00am, scientists on the Oscar Elton Setter caught a Sharptail Mola in the net when they were trawling at night for Myctophids. The ship crew and scientist were busy during this time to free the fish and you can watch how the fish was released in the water by clicking the link: capture of a large sharptail mola

Conductivity, Thermal and Depth (CTD) station

Tafito Aitaoto working with Scott Allen, Megan Duncan, and Evan Howell at the CTD station. Sione Lam Yuen Jr was assisting Louise Giuseffi and Emily Norton with their Issacs-Kid mid water trawl (IKMT), Manta Net and 1 meter ring oblique net which collects plankton from the water column down to approximately 230 meters. Josh started the trip with helping Jamie Barlow, Meagan Sundberg and Ryan Nichols with the small boat operations and Fale Tuilagi assisted John Denton, Aimee Hoover, Jennifer Fry and Donald Kobayashi with the Cobb Trawl.