Fishing For The Canoe House - Yap, FSM
Each day a meal of fresh fish is serviced to the elders and boys at the canoe house. The fish is either bought in the local market, or someone goes out beyond the reef to catch it. Yellow fin tuna, Mahi Mahi, and Skip Jack are usually on the menu. For more details on the canoe project see waggey.org and fsmnavigator.org. More vids coming!
Micronesia's Clam Gardens
Our beautiful new 222-page ebook, SAVING GIANTS: Cultivation and Conservation of Tridacnid Clams (by Gerald Heslinga, 2013) is now available for download [or go to blurb.com and search for SAVING GIANTS]
References:
In this interview conducted in the Republic of Palau in October, 1987, Mr. John You, then Chief of the Marine Resource Office in Yap State, Federated State of Micronesia, describes a conservation program in which thousands of cultured giant clams, Tridacna derasa, were shipped from Palau and planted in clam gardens in the villages of Yap, including Yap proper and the Outer Islands.
At the time of this interview in 1987, Yap had already imported some 8,000 Tridacna derasa of age 1-2 years from Palau's MMDC Giant Clam Hatchery and planted them in 53 locations on Yap proper and another 25 locations in the outer islands.
Thanks to John You, the Yap Marine Resource Office and the collaborating clam farmers of Yap. Thanks also to the Government of Palau, the staff of the Micronesian Mariculture Demonstration Center (MMDC), the Pacific Fisheries Development Foundation (NMFS/NOAA) and the International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) in Canada.
Interview and videography by Gerald Heslinga (NMFS/NOAA).
See also these published reports on the Yap clam seeding program:
Selected MMDC References:
Beckvar, N. 1981. Cultivation, spawning and growth of the giant clams Tridacna gigas, T. derasa and T. squamosa in Palau, Caroline Islands. Aquaculture 24: 21-30.
Fitt, W. K., C. R. Fisher, and R. R. Trench. 1986. Contribution of the symbiotic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium microadriaticum to the nutrition, growth and survival of larval and juvenile tridacnid clams. Aquaculture 55: 5-22.
Fitt, W. K., G. A. Heslinga, and T. C. Watson. 1992. Use of antibiotics in the mariculture of giant clams (F. Tridacnidae). Aquaculture 104: 1-10.
Fitt, W. K., G. A. Heslinga, and T. C. Watson. 1993. Utilization of dissolved inorganic nutrients in growth and mariculture of the tridacnid clam Tridacna derasa. Aquaculture 109: 27-38.
Hastie, L. C., T. C. Watson, T. Isamu and G. A. Heslinga. 1992. Effect of nutrient enrichment on Tridacna derasa seed: dissolved inorganic nitrogen increases growth rate. Aquaculture 106: 41-49.
Heslinga, G. A. 1989. Biology and culture of the giant clam. In: Manzi, J. and M. Castagna (eds.), Clam Mariculture in North America. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 461 p.
Heslinga, G. A. and W. K. Fitt. 1987. The domestication of reef-dwelling clams, BioScience 37: 332-339.
Heslinga, G. A., Perron, F. E. and Orak, O. 1984. Mass culture of giant clams (f. Tridacnidae) in Palau. Aquaculture 39: 197-215.
Heslinga, G. A., Watson, T. C. and T. Isamu. 1990. Giant Clam Farming. Pacific Fisheries Development Foundation (NMFS/NOAA). 179 p.
Maruyama, T. and G. A. Heslinga. 1997. Fecal discharge of zooxanthellae in the giant clam Tridacna derasa, with reference to their in situ growth rate. Marine Biology 127: 473-477.
Perron, F E., G. A. Heslinga and J. O. Fagolimul. 1985. The gastropod Cymatium muricinum, a predator on juvenile tridacnid clams. Aquaculture 48: 211-221.
Yap to Guam: 9 days in 9 minutes
Our longest crossing of our 2013 voyage. The trip took a bit longer than expected. Currents and shifting and dying winds made it a challenge to go east. Our engine was having some trouble which we made worse by trying to evaluating while rocking about on the windless waves. Eventually, we were able to get the engine to run at partial capacity to help us along. When land came into sight early the last morning it was pretty exciting, but it was still bittersweet to bid the sea farewell, returning back to cars and businesses, and the people (whom we love).
Vertigo Dive Site Yap, Micronesia
Black tip reef sharks at Vertigo
Megalithic Micronesia - What Is Our True Story
The world is covered in Megaliths and Micronesia is no different.
The Micronesian Conservation Coalition
Holy Thursday Mass for Outer Islanders living in Yap, Micronesia
The Holy Thursday liturgy recorded here is from the village of Gergey, an area on Yap set aside for Outer Islanders who have moved to Yap proper. As Outer Islanders, they speak Chuukic languages (and usually English) but not much Yapese. They have been given a special plot of land to share because as non-Yapese they do not belong to the lineage kinship system that regulates land ownership on the rest of Yap’s main islands.
The chapel at Gergey is a solid building designed by the government to safely shelter the whole village in the event of a typhoon, but absent that circumstance, villagers mostly use as their church. The men of the community designed and built a boat-like altar, and a processional cross in the form of a boat paddle. Worshippers in the church sat on the floor, which is a sign of modesty and humility. Many milled outside the church, though there was room inside.
For the offering on Holy Thursday, members of the community prepared flower garlands and beautiful woven baskets decorated with flowers, each containing food and destined for the poor of the community.
Learn more at
This video is part of Catholics & Cultures, an initiative of the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
Voices of Micronesia
This is a re-edit and expansion of the video I uploaded in July 2010. The Voices of Micronesia, from Pacific Islands University (Guam) gave a concert at Hope Covenant Church in Chandler, Arizona on July 13, 2010. It was a part of their first US tour that summer.
Liquid Soul - Yap DEC 2015
8/7/2008 island pictures
Island pictures
YAP ISLAND VERTIGO - PACIFIC OCEAN - WORLD BEST DIVING - 4K VIDEO
Made up of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean, Micronesia is a sub-region of Oceania. It has a shared cultural history with two other island regions, Polynesia to the east and Melanesia to the south. Yap is located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean.Scuba diving in Yap is truly outstanding. There is an extensive barrier reef protecting many of the dive sites in Yap as well as channels and even lagoons .The highlight of Yap are its resident Manta Rays and reef shark population
Yap Tribal Life, Micronesia by Asiatravel.com
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Yap, also known as Wa'ab for locals[1], is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands.[2] The island of Yap actually consists of four continental islands (hence the alternative name of the Yap Islands). The four are very close together and joined within a common coral reef and entirely formed from an uplift of the Philippine Sea Plate. The land is mostly rolling hills densely covered with vegetation. Mangrove swamps line much of the shore. An outer barrier reef surrounds the islands, enclosing a lagoon between the fringing barrier reef.
Colonia is the capital of the State of Yap. It administers both Yap proper and 14 atolls reaching to the east and south for some 800 km (500 mi), namely Eauripik, Elato, Fais, Faraulep, Gaferut, Ifalik, Lamotrek, Ngulu, Olimarao, Piagailoe (West Fayu), Pikelot, Sorol, Ulithi, and Woleai Atolls, as well as the island of Satawal (municipalities in bold).
2003 population was 6,300 in both Colonia and ten other municipalities. The state has a total land area of 102 km² (38.7 sq mi).
Yap is notable for its stone money, known as Rai: large doughnut-shaped, carved disks of (usually) calcite, up to 4 m (12 ft) in diameter (most are much smaller). The smallest can be as little as 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) in diameter [3]. There are five major types of monies: Mmbul, Gaw, Fe' or Rai, Yar, and Reng, this last being only 0.3 m (1 ft) in diameter. Many of them were brought from other islands, as far as New Guinea, but most came in ancient times from Palau. Their value is based on both the stone's size and its history. Historically the Yapese valued the disks because the material looks like quartz, and these were the shiniest objects around. Eventually the stones became legal tender and were even mandatory in some payments.[4]
The stones' value was kept high due to the difficulty and hazards involved in obtaining them. To quarry the stones, Yapese adventurers had to sail to distant islands and deal with local inhabitants who were sometimes hostile. Once quarried, the disks had to be transported back to Yap on rafts towed behind wind-powered canoes. The scarcity of the disks, and the effort and peril required to get them, made them valuable to the Yapese. However, in 1874, an enterprising Irishman named David O'Keefe hit upon the idea of employing the Yapese to import more money in the form of shiploads of large stones, also from Palau. O'Keefe then traded these stones with the Yapese for other commodities such as sea cucumbers and copra. Although some of the O'Keefe stones are larger than the canoe-transported stones, they are less valuable than the earlier stones due to the comparative ease in which they were obtained. Approximately 6,800 of them are scattered around the island.
As no more disks are being produced or imported, this money supply is fixed.[5] The islanders know who owns which piece but do not necessarily move them when ownership changes. Their size and weight (the largest ones require 20 adult men to carry) make them very difficult to move around. Although today the United States dollar is the currency used for everyday transactions in Yap, the stone disks are still used for more traditional or ceremonial exchange. The stone disks may change ownership during marriages, transfers of land title, or as compensation for damages suffered by an aggrieved party.
Info Taken from Wikipedia.com
Axel Defngin - What's Our Story?
Axel Junior Defngin
Leader, Pacific Students Media
Resident Assistant - Pacific Islander Summer Bridge Program, Pacific Islander Student Center at UH Hilo
Yap, FSM
Island of the Sleeping Lady (Micronesia)
The island of Kosrae in Micronesia is a hidden jewel. Trapper eats a raw Tuna heart. Unusual fish, tidal lagoons, massive coral heads and blue water dropping thousands of feet just outside the reef lure Trapper Rudd and Paul Hansen on this Polynesian-style angling adventure.
MAysak sqraj featuring jaris wid da fsm anthym
Typhoon maysak
Fish hiding behind fin, Pohnpei, Micronesia
This little fish was hovering near my mask and then moved to my fin for lack of anything better to hide behind in the open water.
Coral Reef at Awak Marine Park, Pohnpei, FSM
A bit of coral seen while swimming at Awak Marine Park in Awak, Pohnpei, FSM
Jayson and Pohnpei Sharks
Saturday afternoon tour of Manta Road offshore of The Village, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.
Yap Island snorkeling
Piccola uscita di snorkeling lungo la barriera corallina dell'isola di Yap, in Micronesia. Famosa per le mante e gli squali che abitano queste acque.
Rapid snorkeling journey along the coral reef of Yap Island, Micronesia. Famous for the manta rays and sharks that inhabit these waters.