Fiji National University

High early spat losses after seeding hinder productivity in global mussel aquaculture. Integrating FLUPSY into nursery stage offers promise for reducing these losses. However, as FLUPSY use in mussel culture is new, key factors such as spat size, density, rearing duration, and husbandry practices need clarification. This study aims to identify the optimal spat size for transfer into FLUPSYs and for seeding onto mussel farms to improve overall success. This study monitored growth, biomass, and mortality of small (1.0 mm) and large (2.6 mm) hatchery-produced spat in a FLUPSY over three months. Subsequently, retention and growth of FLUPSY-raised spat (2.6 mm and 4.4 mm) were observed for eight months after seeding onto a coastal mussel farm. Results showed that large spat outperformed small spat in the FLUPSY, with 59% greater biomass gain, 30% lower mortality, and nearly double the daily growth rate. After seeding onto a mussel farm, loss rates were similar for both sizes (~87–88%), but the large spat demonstrated an 11.8% higher daily growth rate. Over the entire 10.6-month period, including nursery and seeding phases, small spat experienced 4.4% more cumulative loss than large spat. The findings suggest while nursery-rearing of mussel spat to a larger size in a FLUPSY prior to seeding to coastal farms is likely to improve subsequent retention, there is a need to improve the nursery husbandry to better suit smaller spat, as well as improving the methods for seeding singulated nursery-raised spat onto coastal mussel farms to increase their subsequent retention and growth. • Large spat are better suited for FLUPSY nursery culture. • FLUPSY-raised spat size at seeding does not affect their retention. • Integrating FLUPSY nurseries in mussel farming reduces spat losses.

Abstract Although artificial intelligence (AI) has become a game-changing general-purpose technology, evaluations of its development are still dispersed over the technological, social, and economic spheres. By offering a thorough, multifaceted evaluation of the global AI trajectory and incorporating metrics for innovation, computational scaling, industrial power, and societal impact, this report fills this vacuum. The study looks at the rate and direction of AI innovation across fields and research affiliations using global data on patent activity, academic publications, large-scale model creation, training computation, parameters, and datapoints. According to the report, significant AI systems require exponentially more computing power to train, but they also exhibit quantifiable gains in performance across knowledge and capability benchmarks when compared to human performance. These technological developments are strongly associated with structural changes in industrial power, such as concentration in the production of logic chips, quick increases in GPU performance per dollar, and significant outside funding for privately held and generative AI firms. The spread of AI as a general-purpose technology throughout the economy is further supported by data from labor markets and firm-level adoption. The study links technological advancement to actual societal impacts, going beyond innovation and industrial dynamics. The rising interface between AI capabilities and daily life is highlighted by indicators including the deployment of autonomous vehicles, publicized AI events and controversies, public opinions of AI's long-term societal influence, and attitudes about the safety of self-driving systems. The speed at which laws pertaining to AI are being passed highlights the growing influence of government on the creation and application of AI. This study offers the first comprehensive worldwide analysis connecting technical scaling to industrial concentration and social reaction by combining these several empirical strands. The results provide a cohesive framework for comprehending AI's changing course and its effects on economic competitiveness, innovation policy, and public confidence in new technologies.

Massive losses of mussel spat shortly after it is seeded onto coastal farms is a significant challenge for aquaculture. This initial study examined the potential for separating wild Greenshell™ ( Perna canaliculus ) mussel spat that were at high risk of being lost during seeding operations and then re-settling them onto new substrate and subsequently transferring them onto coastal mussel farms to recover spat that would be otherwise lost from production. Simply immersing the harvested wild spat material in seawater for 5 min prior to seeding onto a mussel farm resulted in the detachment of 11.2 % of the spat present in the material and enabling their recovery. A total of 82.0 % of the recovered spat could be re-settled onto cotton stocking substrate and seeded onto a coastal mussel farm, alongside the remaining harvested wild mussel spat material from which the spat had been separated. After 3.5 months, 9.5 % of the re-settled spat remained compared to 3.5 % in the originally harvested wild spat. Overall, this spat recovery process enabled more mussel spat to be retained after 3.5 months relative to the normal process for directly seeding harvested wild spat material directly onto coastal mussel farms. Further developing and applying this approach to harvested wild spat has the potential to greatly reduce overall mussel spat losses and lead to increased mussel aquaculture production. • Mussel spat that are at high risk of being lost during seeding operations can be recovered. • Detached spat can be re-settled onto new substrates and seeded for on-growing on mussel farms. • The spat recovery process has the potential to help reduce spat losses.

Abstract Crop yield decline, primarily caused by soil erosion, is a major challenge in rain‐fed agriculture. Massive soil and water conservation (SWC) practices are conducted each year in the country of Ethiopia, including the study sites, to tackle the problems, but there is not enough information about the impacts those practices on crop yields in the study area. The impacts of different soil conservation practices on finger millet yield ( Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) were evaluated on conserved and non‐conserved croplands during the 2021/2022 cropping season. The experimental fields were blocked based on slope classes to account for topographic variation. A total of 27 plots having 3.2 × 3 m size were established. The highest plant height (73.24 cm), biomass yield (2.50 t ha − 1 ), and grain yield (1.57 t ha − 1 ) were recorded from soil bunds stabilized with grass. The interaction of conservation practices and slope gradient positively influenced plant height, biomass, and grain yield. Biological soil conservation practices + foot slope yielded the highest plant height (79.71 cm), biomass (3.08 t ha − 1 ), and grain yield (1.57 t ha − 1 ). The result showed that there was a significant difference of millet yield and yield components in conserved and non‐conserved fields ( p < 0.05). This study implies that implementing suitable soil conservation techniques based on slope characteristics is the best solution to improve finger millet yield in northwestern Ethiopia. It is recommended that farmers adopt slope‐specific SWC measures, such as soil and grass‐stabilized bunds, to reduce erosion and improve soil fertility and finger millet yield.

The emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant organisms is a major global health challenge. We report on the approach and outcomes of a programme which aimed to take a One Health approach, incorporating an understanding that the health of humans, animals and the environment are linked. Combating the Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance in Pacific Island Countries (COMBAT-AMR) was funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Trade and designed to build capacity across human and animal health to address the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands between 2020 and 2023.Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with implementers, key stakeholders and participants across the programme themes (n=53). Evaluation of specific activities included participant surveys, competency assessments and document reviews.Both the human health and animal health sectors made significant progress in capacity-building and mentoring of local staff and collection and analysis of surveillance data. However, the sectors largely operated in parallel, with limited planning or resources allocated for explicit intersectoral activities. Resources allocated to animal health were also insufficient to compensate for under-resourced animal health sectors in comparison to human health sectors in the target countries.The increasing use of One Health approaches to address AMR necessitates careful consideration of strategies to support intersectoral collaboration at the design and implementation stages. The comprehensive evaluation of the COMBAT-AMR programme contributes to the current evidence base regarding operationalising One Health principles in building capacity in AMR in low- and middle-income countries.

Education systems worldwide are increasingly positioned at a critical crossroads, shaped by intensifying policy pressures, rapid technological advancement, labour market volatility, and profound social uncertainty. Across many contexts, education has been instrumentalised as a servant of policy agendas, prioritising employability metrics, human capital accumulation, and economic competitiveness, often at the expense of broader humanistic, ethical, and civic purposes. This paper critically interrogates whether education should continue to function primarily as a policy instrument or be reclaimed as an architect of possibility capable of preparing young people for uncertain, complex, and rapidly changing futures. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature from education policy, sociology of education, futures studies, and moral philosophy, the paper examines how contemporary policy frameworks increasingly narrow the purposes of education through standardisation, accountability regimes, and skills-based discourses. It argues that such approaches risk producing technically competent yet ethically unanchored learners, insufficiently equipped to navigate uncertainty, social fragmentation, and global challenges such as climate change, technological disruption, and widening inequality. In contrast, the paper advances a future-oriented, human-centred conception of education that foregrounds ethical reasoning, critical consciousness, emotional intelligence, cultural identity, and democratic engagement alongside cognitive and technical skills. A theory-driven conceptual framework is proposed to illustrate the tension between policy compliance and educational possibility, highlighting pathways through which education systems can move beyond narrow performativity towards holistic and transformative learning. The discussion situates these debates within both global and small-state contexts, including the Pacific, where structural constraints, cultural values, and post-colonial policy legacies further complicate educational reform. The paper concludes by arguing that reclaiming education as an architect of possibility is not a rejection of policy, but a reorientation of policy itself, towards enabling education systems that cultivate resilient, ethical, and future-ready citizens capable of shaping, rather than merely surviving, an uncertain world.