The University of the South Pacific OCPP PhD Scholar, Mr. Allan Rarai, participated in the International Symposium on Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in the Pacific, 19 to 22 May 2025, at the Cawthron Institute, Nelson, New Zealand.
Mr. Allan Rarai, an Ocean Community Partnership Programme (OCPP) PhD scholar from the School of Agriculture, Geography, Oceans, and Natural Sciences at the University of the South Pacific, was among the scientists, public health officials, and marine researchers from across the Pacific who gathered in Nelson from 19 to 22 May 2015 for the International Symposium on Ciguatera Poisoning in the Pacific.
Mr. Rarai presented his work on Vanuatu’s ciguatera early-warning system based on his PhD research. Ciguatera Fish Poisoning is a major health risk in tropical areas, including the small islands in the Pacific. Mr. Rarai developed an early warning platform called “The Gigila Framework” to show how indigenous knowledge and science can inform local communities in Vanuatu to predict ciguatera outbreaks and protect the community from environmental health risks. Other Pacific island countries and territories can adopt and modify this model to fit their situations. Mr. Rarai also has a chance to share and build networks with participants to strengthen the work on ciguatera poisoning in the Pacific.
The symposium was hosted by the Cawthron Institute and funded by the French Embassy in New Zealand through a Fonds Pacifique project in partnership with the Institut Louis Malardé from Tahiti. Funding for Mr. Rarai was sourced from his OCPP research fund, which the University of the South Pacific managed.
The symposium brought together representatives from over a dozen countries and territories, including New Zealand, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Australia, and Japan. The event focuses on deepening global understanding of Ciguatera Poisoning (CP) – a foodborne illness caused by consuming reef fish and other organisms contaminated with ciguatoxins – and advancing coordinated strategies to monitor, predict, and mitigate its impacts.
Cawthron Institute, a leading algal research organization in New Zealand and the Pacific, hosted this event. This symposium presents a vital chance to exchange scientific knowledge, tools, and traditional knowledge practices across borders to enhance detection, prevention, and response efforts. The symposium includes sessions on surveillance systems, ecological risk, toxin detection methods, and the impacts of climate change on harmful algal species such as Gambierdiscus, the microalgae responsible for producing ciguatoxins. In the coming months, the participants will publish a joint paper on this symposium as part of the awareness of ciguatera poisoning in the Pacific.
