Marakei Island is one of Kiribati’s unique outer islands, regarded for its rich fishing grounds and diverse marine life. While it provides an abundance of reef fish for local communities, it also a well- known island for major ciguatera poisoning outbreaks which posed serious health issues to the community at large.

To get more insight on fishing grounds that are susceptible to ciguatoxins, the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources sent three officers on a mission to this island to conduct fish sampling, plot coordinates of fishing areas where fish are collected from. Additionally, fish species are weighted, measured and clearly labelled according to their common and scientific names as these fish species will be further analysed at the laboratory in New Zealand.

The team members convey their sincere gratitude to MFOR Secretary for his unwavering support, and also acknowledge the funding support from the World Bank through the PROP project to make this mission successful.