Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands is the third largest archipelago in the South Pacific, comprising a total of 992 islands, with scattered in a chain in a south-easterly direction from Papua New Guinea. The bulk of the land area comprises seven large volcanic islands which form a double chain running from northwest to southwest and converging on the island of Makira. The Santa Crus Islands (Temotu Province) are a second group of three larger volcanic islands lying to the east, and separated from the main archipelago of the country by the 6000m deep Torres Trench.

The coastal marine ecosystem of the Solomon Islands includes wide areas still largely unimpacted by human activities, although there are also areas where such pressures are large and increasing. The islands have one of the fastest population growth rates in the world, and 86 percent of the people are rural. Dependence on coastal marine ecosystems for protein remains high and subsistence fishing is widespread.

Southeasterly trade winds (Ara) blow from May through to October and the northwesterly monsoon winds (Koburu) blow from December until March.

Coral reefs are mainly fringing and intermittent around all of the islands. Seagrass meadows are a significant coastal habitat of the Solomon Islands Seagrasses are a functional grouping referring to vascular flowering plants, which grow fully submerged and rooted in soft bottom estuarine and marine environments. In the Solomon Islands, they are found in habitats extending from the intertidal to subtidal, along mangrove coastlines, estuaries, shallow embayments, as well as coral-reef, inter-reef and offshore island situations.

Solomon Islands rapid ecological asssessment

In May and June 2004, a broad-scale assessment of the biodiversity and status of the marine ecosystems of the Solomon Islands was conducted.

The survey focused on the core island group, stretching from Choiseul Island in the northwest to Makira in the southeast. The marine assessment was conducted from the research vessel FeBrina, by a multi-disciplinary team focusing on coral reefs (corals, fishes, and key invertebrates), seagrasses and mangroves, capacity building, community liaison and communications. This was the first comprehensive survey of the seagrass resources of the Solomon Islands archipelago.

Seagrass resources were assessed by Len McKenzie (QDPI&F), Ferral Lasi (TNC) and Stuart Campbell (WCS) who found 10 species of seagrass, 80% of the known seagrass species in the Indo- Pacific region. Some very large meadows were surveyed, including one that was more than 5000 hectares in size and some deep meadows, down to 37m.

Seagrasses were found in habitats extending from the intertidal to subtidal, along mangrove coastlines, estuaries, shallow embayments, as well as coral-reef, inter-reef and offshore island situations.

Throughout the survey, the team found seagrass meadows associated with a high biodiversity of fauna including dugong, fish, sea cucumbers, seastars, algae and coral. The highly productive meadows, and associated mangrove forests, are often found on the fringe of coastal communities, supporting important artisanal fisheries and providing extensive nursery areas for juvenile fish.

The survey was a cooperative project between The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Solomon Islands Government, local and international non-government conservation agencies (WWF, CI, WCS), Australian research organizations (AIMS, CRC Reef, QDPI&F, APEX Environmental) and Triggerfish Images. It was supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Homeland Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Click here to download Solomon Islands Rapid Ecological Assessment key findings (371kb)

Mbanbamba Island

Principal watchers: Bruno Manele (WWF Solomon Islands) & local community members
Location: Mbanbamba Island near Gizo in New Georgia, Western Province.
Site code: BA1, BA2, BA3
Issues: overfishing, sewage and algae culture
Comments: The island has several villages and a tourist resort. The local community is concerned about overfishing and the impacts from sewage and the adjacent algae culture (Kappaphycus alvarezii) farms.

Status (Feb05):

The sites are all subtidal and dominated by Cymodocea rotundata, Cymodocea serrulata, Thalassia hemprichii, Halodule uninervis with some Halophila ovalis and Enhalus acoroides.
Sites have only been monitored in April 2004
Seagrass at the sites provides a suitable habitat for sea cucumbers, as a large number of juvenile sea cucumbers of commercial importance (Holothuria scabra) were observed to have recently settled within the meadow.
Current condition is unknown.