The International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), based in Manila, Philippines, with its interest in increasing production and preserving biodiversity, has pledged to contribute to the implementation of IYOR. Three of ICLARM's programs, the Fisheries Resources Assessment and Management Program (FRAMP), the Aquatic Environments Program (AEP) based in Manila, Philippines and part of the Coastal Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement Program (CASEP), based at the Coastal Aquaculture Centre (CAC) in the Solomon Islands, conduct activities which are part of the worldwide effort to manage and conserve coral reef resources.

FRAMP includes studies of target fisheries those for species and communities which live on coral reefs. Coral reef fisheries are highly productive, but the community structure is fragile, and can be disrupted by heavy exploitation. It has become clear in recent years that such fisheries need to be managed at the ecosystem level. The program has developed numerous methods for assessing the status of multi-species fisheries, which are epitomized by those on coral reefs, and good progress has been achieved in modeling the exploited communities, using a program called ECOPATH II.

In attempts to manage coral reef fisheries, many marine protected areas (MPAs) or marine fishery reserves (MFRs) have been created worldwide. It has been clearly shown that such areas will quite rapidly develop a large biomass of adult fishes which can either contribute directly to adjacent fisheries by out-migration of stock from the reserve into exploited areas, or indirectly, by increasing the numbers of eggs spawned and thus the numbers of juvenile fish which are produced to replenish the exploited stocks. However, there is no reliable scientific information on the rates at which heavily exploited stocks will recover if they are given protection, nor on the optimum size for an MPA. We also know little of the fate of eggs and larvae that are produced in MPAs and whether the local communities who have foregone some of the fishing grounds will benefit or whether the effects will principally be realized in downstream areas.

Answers to some of these questions are being sought by FRAMP staff in three projects, located in Jamaica, the British Virgin Islands and the Solomon Islands. In the Solomon Islands, studies in the reefs around the remote Arnavon group are documenting the rate of recovery of stocks of giant clams, pearl oysters and sea cucumbers which have been devastated by overexploitation. In Jamaica and the British Virgin Islands, the projects are investigating comparative rates of replenishment of exploited coral reef fish stocks, the stocks in British Virgin Islands being relatively lightly exploited, while those on the north coast of Jamaica are overexploited to the extent that many important species have become virtually extinct. Additionally, coral reef fish in and around a small, newly created Marine Protected Area at Discovery Bay in Jamaica are being tagged and released in order to shed light on the potential degree of out-migration of various species from protected areas.

The Aquatic Environment Program is directly involved with the IYOR through its ReefBase activity. ReefBase is the global database of coral reefs and their resources. The ReefBase project, which began in late 1993, aims to gather information on the ecology, harvest practices, tourism, stresses and management of coral reefs of the world into a relational database designed to accommodate a wide spectrum of uses. The first version of ReefBase on CD-ROM was formally released at the 8th International Coral Reef Symposium in Panama in June 1996. ReefBase 2.0, which is currently in production, may be purchased for US$95 by June 1997. Aside from the CD-ROM, as much of the information as may be accommodated is available through the ReefBase website (http://www.cgiar.org/iclarm/resprg/reefbase).

ReefBase is the information resource center of the International Coral Reef Initiative and is also the repository of summary reports of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN). In addition to this, ReefBase, through its Aquanaut Survey Program, enables marine park rangers, resort operators, recreational and sports divers to be a part of efforts to monitor coral reefs via a simple methodology and certification scheme.

The information, gathered from the existing literature, through collaborations with national, regional and international organizations, volunteer divers, International Coral Reef Initiative and GCRMN, is made available to the general public through an annually produced CD-ROM and the worldwide web. The information will also be used to come up with sets of criteria to determine reef health. The ability to determine the state of health of a reef is necessary for proper management.

The Coastal Aquaculture Centre (CAC) in Solomon Islands is developing methods to improve the productivity of economically valuable species associated with coral reefs through aquaculture and stock enhancement. The methods are being tested in partnership with traditional villagers in Solomon Islands, but are intended for use by coastal communities throughout the Indo-Pacific. The current focus is on several species of giant clams and the blacklip pearl oyster. These species yield products of high value, and can be cultured in a way that is not detrimental to wild stocks or other species associated with coral reefs. For example, juvenile giant clams can be produced in simple hatcheries, grown-out at coastal villages and then exported to lucrative markets in the aquarium and live seafood trade.

The CAC is also developing methods for restoring overfished populations of giant clams and increasing the harvests of sea cucumbers by producing juveniles in hatcheries, for release into the wild. Giant clam farmers assist in nurturing a proportion of the juvenile clams until they are large enough to be "released" onto reefs. In the case of sea cucumbers, ICLARM aims to increase the catch rates of traditional fishers by augmenting wild stocks with juveniles reared in captivity.

International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM)