Solomon Islands Team

The Solomon Islands National University (SINU), through the Department of Fisheries Studies, is taking a significant step forward in ocean acidification research with the successful completion of specialised training for local scientists. The training was conducted in February 2025 by Ms. Miriama Vuiyasawa from the Pacific Community (SPC) and Dr. Kim Currie. This intensive training focused on setting up critical equipment for studying ocean acidification, including iSAMI sensors and laboratory space for performing titrations. The training was made possible with the support of The Ocean Foundation and SPC, through its Pacific Islands Ocean Acidification Centre. Course participants are pictured from left to right: Danny Shadrech, Edwin Koveke, Miri Vuiyasawa, Kim Currie, Lindon Havimana, Wycliff Tupiti.

New Zealand Horizon Scanning Exercise

During the 2023 New Zealand Ocean Acidification Community (NZOAC) Conference, the research community undertook a horizon scanning exercise to determine potential future activities. Actions focussed on engagement with policy-makers, risks and management, engagement between the NZOAC and the Pacific Islands & Territories Ocean Acidification (PI-TOA) network, Aotearoa NZ’s Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals, and future research topics. The five top priority actions were to (i) re-engage with policymakers to ensure OA is included in policies around climate change, oceans, fisheries, and education; (ii) maintain funding for current observation platforms; (iii) focus on solutions during engagement actions; (iv) obtain funding for new OA focused research; and (v) engage more with the public through community/public participatory science. Image Credit: NIWA.

Trainings in OA Monitoring

In an effort to increase expertise in ocean acidification monitoring in the Pacific Islands, recent trainings have taken place in Palau (supported by KIOST, PICRC and PIOAC), Samoa (supported by KIOST, SAMET, NSU and PIOAC), Fiji (supported by TOF, PIOAC) and the Solomon Islands (supported by TOF, SINU and PIOAC). Hands-on, in-country instruction in the lab and field environments specific to each research group is an effective way to advance expertise and practice beyond initial training. Field deployment, sensor maintenance, sample collection, lab analyses, data quality control and data / metadata management are covered as well as health and safety aspects. SAMET OA training participants are pictured from left to right: Dr. Jae Hoon Noh, Fuimaono L. Talia, Kim Currie, Katie Pogi, Asonei Leauga, Tina Mareko, Aleluia Taise, and Charity Lee.

Evaluation of Practical Best Practices for OA

The Practical Best Practices for conducting ocean acidification research is a progressive guide for using the GOA-ON in a Box Kit, a low cost kit used for collecting weather-quality ocean acidification measurements. In October 2024, Dr. Kim Currie and Azaria Pickering of the PIOAC, conducted a thorough review of the current version of the guide, ensuring it was rigorously tested and critiqued by potential users. Kim and Azaria also started to develop new SOPs for the next version of the Practical Best Practices guide, with a focus on data quality and data management tools, including worked examples and spreadsheet templates. Photo: Miriama Vuiyasawa and Azaria Pickering prepare dye.

Sensor Repair Workshop

In March 2024, The Ocean Foundation (TOF) organized a hands-on sensor repair and maintenance training at the University of Hawai’i. The training aimed at building the capacity of local staff from the Pacific Islands Ocean Acidification Centre (PIOAC) to work with pH and CTD sensors — key components of the GOA-ON in a box kit used for ocean acidification monitoring. The 4-day workshop included trainers from Sunburst Sensors, The Ocean Foundation (facilitator), support from the University of Hawaii, and trainees from the University of the South Pacific and Pacific Community (SPC). The workshop successfully trained 3 PIOAC staff, enabling them to repair and maintain iSAMI sensors in the Pacific Island region. Photo: pH sensors deployed in Fiji (Credit: The Ocean Foundation).

4th Pacific Ocean Pacific Climate Change Conference

In May 2024, the National University of Samoa (NUS) hosted the 4th Pacific Ocean Pacific Climate Change Conference (POPCCC), jointly organized with the Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). Themed "Our Ocean, Our Home – Climate Resilience for a Blue Pacific", the event brought together community representatives, researchers, policy makers, scientists and other climate change stakeholders to contribute to the climate change dialogue in the Pacific. Azaria Pickering, representing the Pacific Islands Ocean Acidification Centre (PIOAC), delivered a presentation on "Building Monitoring Capacity from Local to Regional Scales". Her talk highlighted the Centre’s efforts in the region and emphasized the need to elevate ocean acidification as a climate change impact. The 5th iteration of the POPCCC is scheduled to take place in the Solomon Islands in 2026.

Open Call for New PI-TOA Steering Committee Members

The PI-TOA Steering Committee (SC) would like to announce an open call for new members to join! Steering committee members are elected for three year terms and are expected to fulfill the duties outlined in the PI-TOA Steering Committee Roles and Requirements Document linked below. All interested ocean professionals within the Pacific Islands and Territories are welcomed to apply. We particularly welcome nominations from Pacific Island government agencies and countries not already represented on our SC and early career members, to increase our impact within the Pacific Islands! If you would like to nominate yourself, or a colleague, please send a CV and short letter of interest outlining how your (or your colleague's) experience will contribute to PI-TOA SC. Please submit your nomination to secretariat@goa-on.org by 30 November 2024. We look forward to hearing from you and gaining new PI-TOA SC members!

Raising Ocean Science Awareness Among Fiji's Youth

The inaugural Veivueti Kids Ocean Conference took place on June 12th at the International School in Suva, Fiji. The event aimed to ignite a passion for ocean conservation among students, empowering them to take meaningful action as stewards of marine ecosystems. Students were given the opportunity to select an Ocean Decade Challenge and develop solutions to address these challenges, beginning at the local level.

Solomon Team Update

During Summer 2023, the OA Solomon Team composed of Dr Lindon Havimana and Dr Wycliff Tupiti plus a teaching staff member, Fiona Meke, and two research assistant students, Miriam Sulu and Jasmin Rahii, from the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) made a first visit to a proposed OA monitoring deployment site, located west of Honiara. The Team met with the local landowning group, increasing awareness of OA, with plans to present to local villagers before monitoring activities, and ultimately gaining permission to conduct OA monitoring along the coastline and reef areas. The Team snorkeled around the proposed reef site, located within the barrier reef, where stony corals and seagrasses are abundant with high diversity of colorful reef fish, making this an ideal site for OA monitoring. Stay tuned for news about our next site visit!

OA in the Pacific Islands

A recent news article features PI-TOA Scientist Dr. Katy Soapi and her OA research in the highly vulnerable and undersampled Pacific Islands. Dr. Soapi is a pioneer of OA research in the Pacific Islands and the coordinator of the Pacific Community Centre for Ocean Science, one of the leading organizations within the Pacific Island Ocean Acidificiation Centre (PIOAC). PIOAC has been training dozens of ocean scientists from Pacific nations, including Azaria Pickering, who is taking the lead on the trial site near Suva, Fiji, where they are testing OA monitoring instruments that they received through GOA-ON in a Box Kits. Read the full article on the link below.

Recruiting PI-TOA Steering Committee Members

PI-TOA GOA-ON Regional Hub is currently recruiting new steering committee members since four current members' terms are up at the end of 2023. Steering committee members are elected for three year terms and are expected to fulfill the duties outlined in the PI-TOA Steering Committee Roles and Requirements Document linked below. All interested ocean professionals within the Pacific Islands and Territories are welcomed to apply and early career ocean professionals are particularly encouraged to submit applications to increase cross collaboration between the early career ICONEC Community and PI-TOA. To submit an application, please send an email by 6 October 2023 to the GOA-ON Secretariat (secretariat@goa-on.org) with a statement of interest, explanation of relevant experience, and a CV. Please spread this notice widely and reach out to the GOA-ON Secretariat with any questions.

Apply Now: GOA-ON in a Box Kits in the Pacific Islands

An application for institutions in eligible Pacific Island countries and territories to receive a GOA-ON in a Box ocean acidification equipment kit, a training grant, and research stipend is now open! Applications will be accepted via the linked form until 2 August, 2023. With the support of many partners, The Ocean Foundation (TOF) has distributed 22 GOA-ON in a Box kits to research teams around the globe, including 12 in the Pacific Islands. This kit, valued at around $25,000 USD, supports high-quality measurements of carbonate chemistry and comprises everything that is needed--down to the specialized rubber bands--to collect samples for laboratory analysis and conduct field research following established best practices. Selected kit recipients will also receive a travel grant to obtain hands-on training at the Pacific Islands Ocean Acidification Centre (PIOAC) in Suva, Fiji and payments to help support research activities over two years.

Ocean Acidification Activities in the Pacific

The Pacific Islands and Territories Ocean Acidification (PI-TOA) Regional Hub has created a map which captures the countries and locations where ocean acidification (OA) activities are happening. This map highlights the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network Kit (GOA-ON) recipients, equipment, and methodologies used. Prepared by the Pacific Islands Ocean Acidification Centre (PIOAC) the map provides a preliminary view of the OA landscape in the PI-TOA region of GOA-ON. This map is an excellent resource for scientists, policymakers, and anyone interested in learning more about OA activities in the Pacific Islands.

PI-TOA Supports OA Monitoring Capacity Building

GOA-ON Regional Hub PI-TOA engaged in a capacity building training in Suva, Fiji, 30 January to 3 February 2023. This training, organised by The Ocean Foundation (TOF) with support from NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP), U.S. Department of State (DOS), and Oceans and Fisheries Canada (DFO), took place at the Pacific Island Ocean Acidification Centre (PIOAC) and brought together 21 trainees from 10 Pacific Islands and Territories who will receive GOA-ON in a Box kits. The Centre was established in 2021 with funding from the DOS and is hosted jointly by The Pacific Community (SPC) and the University of the South Pacific, with technical support provided by the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and the University of Otago. The participants learned how to make ocean acidification measurements, including field sampling and laboratory analysis to aim for weather-quality data to establish regional OA monitoring programs and use sustained results to inform local policy, aquaculture, conservation, and management decisions. Data will also be submitted to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.3.1 Data Portal.