Consultants prepare to report pearls progress
By Charles Pitt

New Zealand consultants Dennis Radford and Ginette King have completed work on an economic model for pearl farmers which will be presented to them for comment.
The two consultants are part of the Institutional Strengthening Group from New Zealand led by Geoff Mavromatis.
They are assisting the Cook Islands through the Cook Islands Marine Resources Institutional (CIMRI) Project to develop its own capability to protect and sustain its natural resources. It is a three-year project.
On Friday, Mavromatis spoke with the Times.
He said the CIMRI project is wide ranging and is in its eighth month.
Developing the economic model for pearl farmers, said Mavromatis, included visiting Rakahanga and Manihiki and surveying farms of various sizes to collect data to find out why some farms were more successful than others.
The concern is how to utilise the knowledge and expertise that already exists among farmers. And to see how this can be shared so the whole industry moves forward and becomes more profitable.
Mavromatis said obviously no single plan will suit every farmer but aspects of it might. Flexibility is therefore important.
ISSUES
The pearl project is to support the Pearl Authority. One of the key issues was that farmers were leaving the industry resulting in a drop in production.
The need was to strive for quality and profitability. The team looked to identify what led to profits and losses and looked at best practice.
As to the other projects, Mavromatis said there would be a stakeholders’ meeting next Monday to report on progress to date, get some feedback and do some fine tuning.
The projects underway covered: Takitumu lagoon pilot project, off shore fishing, inshore fishing, Aquaculture, Black Pearls, Sanitation and Environmental impact reports.
Although the focus was on marine related issues, the project included land based activities that impacted on marine area.
The outer islands were included through fishing and pearls said Mavromatis. For instance, at Palmerston Island the focus was on sustainability of Parrot fishing.
The team was also preparing information on tuna management. Mavromatis said they were looking at what was good for private companies involved and the country as a whole. There was a lot of emphasis on training and support.
EMPHASIS
Mavromatis said a lot of emphasis has been put on the Takitumu Lagoon pilot project. Now there is a need to get more remedial activities underway. One objective will be to provide more information to the community.
Mavromatis has been impressed with the input by Cook Islanders to date.
Locals. he said. have a lot of knowledge and skill and with more training they will achieve a lot. After all the projects started will have to be sustained beyond three years by Cook Islanders.

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