SPC Trochus Information Bulletin #6 – January 2000 12 The current status of introduced trochus in Fakaofo, Tokelau Kelvin Passfield 1 & Mose Pelasio 2 Demography The population of Tokelau consists of approxi- mately 1500 people, with between 400 and 600 people on each of the three atolls. A further 5000 Tokelauans live in New Zealand (SPC, 1998), with an unknown number living in Australia and Samoa. In 1996, Fakaofo, the location for this study, had a population of 564, living in 87 house- holds, on two islands (SPC 1998). The island of Fale currently has a population of about 340 living in 51 households, with approximately 220 people in 33 households living on the other inhabited island of Fenua Fala (M. Pelasio, pers. comm.). Survey methods Ten areas around the lagoon perimeter were sur- veyed for marine resources. There were usually three men either walking or swimming in the shal- low water on the reef flat. Observations of fish life were made, and transects were undertaken in areas where there were sedentary resources of interest, e.g. trochus, clams, sea cucumbers and sea urchins. An intensive search for trochus was conducted in one area where anecdotal reports indicated they were abundant. Snorkelling over the reef was undertaken where conditions permit- ted. Figure 2 shows the ten survey sites. Results Although extensive surveys for trochus were not conducted all around the atoll, the fact that n ews from Tokelau Introduction In late 1997, Tokelau requested assistance from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) to con- duct a stock assessment of marine resources in Fakaofo as a first step towards producing a man- agement plan for the lagoon. SPC recruited a con- sultant to conduct the survey in conjunction with local staff, and the survey was undertaken in July and August 1998. The consultant travelled on the Forum Tokelau, departing Apia on 27 July, arriving at Fakaofo on 29 July. The total duration of the stay on Fakaofo was 21 days. The other two atolls (Nukunono and Atafu) were not visited. This brief paper on trochus is extracted and modified from the larger report covering a greater range of marine resources of Fakaofo (Passfield, 1998). Geography Tokelau consists of three atolls stretching in a north-westerly direction from 9°23'S and 171°14'W for a distance of 170 km to 8°30'S and 172°30'W. The southern most atoll of Fakaofo is 65 km from Nukunono, with a further 105 km to Atafu, the northern most atoll. The total land area for the three atolls is only 10 sq. km., in an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 290,000 sq. km. None of the three lagoons has deep-water entrances, and access for the artisanal fleet of small aluminium skiffs and traditional canoes is through shallow passages in the reef, often inac- cessible at low tides. Figure 1 shows the location of Tokelau and Fakaofo. 1. Currently C/- Samoa Fisheries Project, P.O. Box 244, Apia, Samoa. E-mail: passfield@lesamoa.net 2. Tokelau Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Fakaofo, Tokelau.