Wednesday, 24 January 2018 09:29 Zarin Khan 11 Dec 2017 | Suva

More than 1,800 Tide Prediction Calendars for 20 Pacific locations were distributed this week to National Meteorological Service offices, port authorities and other key ocean stakeholders around the region.

These annual calendars are a popular product of the Australian-funded Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac) and are designed and produced in the region by the Pacific Community (SPC)’s Ocean Intelligence Unit.

Users of the tide calendar range from local fishermen and tourism operators, to private sector shipping companies and government agencies.

“The Tide Prediction Calendars are lifesaving in the Marshall Islands,” says Director of Marshall Islands Weather Service, Mr. Reginald White. “People are using these products to know when to cross between islands to avoid boats capsizing and loss of life.”

Calendar predictions are calculated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Tidal Unit with information from the Pacific Sea Level Monitoring stations and a few additional tide gauges around the region.

Pacific National Meteorological Services (NMS) frequently serve as distributors of these calendars. To further support the release of such ocean information products, five NMSs have hosted COSPPac Ocean and Tides Workshops in their countries since 2015.

In the Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Tonga the workshops have brought together national focal points from fisheries, shipping, disaster, coastal planning, marine and ports, conservation, tourism, and other ocean-related sectors to learn about ocean science and discuss applications for ocean data such as tidal predictions.

The workshop includes analysis of the local Tide Prediction Calendar and discussion of tidal phases, attributes, and local tidal knowledge.

Another two Ocean and Tide workshops are scheduled to be held in Niue and Samoa in 2018.
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