Editor's note

Welcome to the tenth issue of the Women in Fisheries Special Interest Group Bulletin.

This issue reports on the activities of the Community Fisheries Section, and includes an article about the departure of Lyn Lambeth, SPC's Community Fisheries Officer and former coordinator of this bulletin. Section activities include a gender study for tuna management and development in Fiji Islands; participation in the global symposium on Women in Fisheries held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in November 2001; a new community-based fisheries management programme in the Marshall Islands; and a New Zealand fisheries training course that specifically targets trainers of women engaged in small-scale, post-harvest fishing activities.

From the region, we have articles and news briefs covering a variety of topics, including an FAO study urging the promotion of sustainable fishing practices, a ban on phosphates designed to save coral reefs in CNMI, the presence of high levels of PCBs in fish from Guam, a ban on scuba fishing in American Samoa, women and sea turtle conservation in Palau, Australian native title and the sea, and more.

From outside the region we include a report on 'Where are the women in fisheries?', red tides in Kenyan waters, fisheries management in the Philippines, a workshop on HIV/AIDS for Malaysian fishing communities, and fishermen replanting mangroves in Malaysia.

I encourage you to submit contributions in the forms of articles, technical papers, or news briefs to future issues. Articles need not be strictly limited to women and fishing, but may also cover issues of concern to all members of the fishing community, including marine environmental or health concerns. I also encourage you to write in with comments and suggestions about the bulletin. These can be sent to:

Fisheries Information Section
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex

Ph. +687 262000, Fax: +687 263818
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

As the new coordinating editor for the Women in Fisheries Bulletin I hope these articles and news reports will be of interest to readers.

Kim Des Rochers