Neu: 2001-12-19 Contents of this issue:
1. Fiji Scores 2. Fun Day 3. Samples Taken 4. Women To the Fore 5. Poison Fish ======================================================================== December 19th 2001 1. Fiji Scores: The African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) Council of Ministers has unanimously approved Fiji's offer to host the 3rd ACP Heads of State and Government Summit in 2002. The first summit was held in Libreville, Gabon, in West Africa in 1997 and the second was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean in 1999. The third will now be held in Fiji before September of next year. Niue will be represented at the conference. Fiji's Ambassador to the European Union, Isikeli Mataitoga, submitted the government's offer. Ambassador Mataitoga said in getting unanimous approval of the ministers of 78 developing countries, Fiji's road to full acceptance in the family of nations is well and truly established. "These are important signals that Fiji has now recovered from the recent political upheavals," Ambassador Mataitoga said. Ambassador Mataitoga said Fiji will now have an opportunity to showcase itself to the world. "Our tourism industry will benefit from the visit to our shores of so many dignitaries and delegations," Ambassador Mataitoga said. The Fiji Summit is expected to consider and approve the mandate of the ACP Group to start the negotiations for a new trading arrangement with the European Union.(PIR). 2. Fun Day: Niue businesses have chipped in to provide a fun day for kids at the Commercial Centre Alofi. Its the second annual sponsored Christmas gala and island youngsters will be able to participate in karaoke and lots of games and celebrate the arrival of Father Christmas. The event has been organised by Des Hipa of Ali's Giftware. 3. Samples Taken: Fisheries officers on Niue have taken samples of algae growing around the Alofi wharf to try and identify a toxin which has been affecting reef fish caught in the area.Several people who have eaten the fish have been ill suffering from vomiting and diahorrea. Samples of algae will be sent to the SPC for analysis. 4. Women To the Fore: Myths about career options for women are successfully being dispelled at Samoa Polytechnic. At this year's graduation, women gained certificates in carpentry, refrigeration, electrical, fitting and machining, and maritime studies. The school's Gender Equity Chairperson, Leufisa Seumanutafa, said the school has been trying to encourage women and support them in areas which in the past were dominated by male students. The Gender Equity Project commenced in July 1997. At the time there were only three women in the trades area. On completion of the first phase of the project, 160 women had achieved trades certificates. Niue trained several women tradespersons in auto electrical and heavy plant mechancial trades. One runs a private auto electrical business and a woman is at present working as a trainee joiner. (Various/PINA Nius Online). 5. Poison Fish: A health warning has been issued in New Zealand against eating imported fish because of the fear of the tropical fish toxin which caused ciguatera poisoning. Ciguatera can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps, weakness, reversal of normal sense of cold and hot, high blood pressure, paralysis, and sometimes coma and death. It is usually found in Pacific Islands fish eaten in the islands or imported into New Zealand. Niueans have recently been warned about eating reef fish which may be affected by a toxin after several people reported to be suffering from effects similar to ciguateria.. It is understood the island does not import fish to New Zealand. The Auckland District Health Board said the most recent case of ciguatera poisoning involved a family which had privately imported fish from Fiji. Four family members experienced difficulty walking, had numbness and tingling lips, hands and legs, itchy skin and joint pain. Tropical marine fish which contained the ciguatoxin were not normally found in waters below 35 degrees south and ciguatera poisoning was most likely to have occurred as a result of eating imported fish, said the Auckland District Health Board. Some restaurants offered speciality dishes containing rare, imported fish. There was no laboratory tests which would confirm ciguatera poisoning in humans and diagnosis was based on the consumption of fish followed by the symptoms. Cooking or freezing would not destroy the toxin which accumulated in larger reef fish. There was also no treatment but symptoms usually subsided in a few days and in rare cases, weeks or months. The health board warned against selling or eating tropical fish weighing more than 2.5kg, importing species such as grouper, sea bass, barracuda, snapper, mackerel and coral trout. In a food safety advice brochure, it also said internal organs should not be eaten and if the symptoms developed, the leftover fish should be kept for analysis. __END__
