Grant Aid for the Economic and Social Development Programme:
Aid for Sustainable Fishing in Tonga: Recovery and Development from an Undersea Volcanic Eruption

Aiming to restore and revive Tonga's important fisheries industry

Fishing is a vital industry for the Kingdom of Tonga, but a 2022 eruption caused volcanic ash and a tsunami that damaged fishing grounds and fishing boats, leading to reduced catches. There were also concerns that volcanic ash contamination would affect water quality. Following a request from the Government of Tonga for fisheries-related equipment such as boats, water quality meters, and microscopes, the Government of Japan decided to provide grant aid to the country. JICS quickly began procedures to ensure prompt procurement of the requested equipment.

A microscope training session
(Photo courtesy of Tec International Inc.)

Support the progress towards sustainable fisheries and aquaculture

Among the procured equipment, optical microscopes were procured for the Ministry of Fisheries of Tonga to use for research activities at its Aquaculture Research Center. The microscopes are used in research to count the number of larval cells (survival concentration) of farmed oysters, giant clams, and sea cucumbers as well as to estimate growth rates. The use of the microscopes is expected to spearhead development of sustainable aquaculture.

Project Overview

Equipment Procurement with a Long-Term Restoration Perspective

This was one of three Economic and Social Development Programmes aimed at assisting Tonga with recovery and restoration from tsunami damage caused by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption on January 15, 2022. Fisheries-related equipment was procured for the long-term restoration of the country's fisheries industry, which suffered tsunami damage.

Counterpart of Agent Agreement	Ministry of Fisheries, Kingdom of Tonga
End-user	Ministry of Fisheries, Kingdom of Tonga
Grant amount	¥150 million
Exchange of Notes (Bilateral Agreement)	May 27, 2022