Aleipata

Aleipata Marine Protected Area is one of Samoa's two district-level marine protected areas, on the south-east coast of Upolu^[1]. It runs from Utuele Headland at Tiavea in the north to Nonoa at Lalomanu in the south, from the high-water mark to half a mile seaward of the reef drop-off, and takes in the offshore islands of Nu'utele and Nu'ulua and the inshore islands of Namua and Fanuatapu^[2].

Nu'utele and Nu'ulua hold the most significant remaining turtle nesting area in Samoa and its last nesting seabird colony, including red-footed and brown boobies, black and white terns and frigatebirds, and are a refuge for the rare ground dove and bats^[2]. Giant clams and turbo shells survive in the islands' waters^[2].

Coral reef and mangrove ecosystems are the habitats protected by the district MPAs^[1]. The management plan bans clearing mangroves without written village approval endorsed by the District Committee^[2].

The MPA includes the offshore islands of Nu'utele and Nu'ulua and the inshore islands of Namua and Fanuatapu^[2].

Samoa has a tropical oceanic climate, with heavy rain and cyclones from November to April^[3]. The 1990-91 cyclones buried Nu'utele's turtle nesting beaches under rubble, and sand replenishment has since partly restored them^[2].

The management plan describes the Samoan way of life, Christianity and the faasamoa as the foundation of the MPA, and notes many heritage sites in the area, including on the offshore islands^[2]. The MPA is made up of eleven villages: Tiavea, Amaile, Samusu, Utufalalafa, Saleaaumua, Mutiatele/Malaela, Lotopue, Satitoa, Ulutogia, Vailoa and Lalomanu^[2].

The 2008-2012 management plan is a partnership between the Government of Samoa and all the villages of Aleipata, with a District Committee that has a representative from each village^[2]. Aleipata and Safata were severely affected by the 2009 tsunami^[1].

The plan lists bird watching, turtle watching, kayaking, surfing, snorkelling and diving as possible MPA-based tourism^[2].

Lalomanu, at the southern end of the MPA, is the nearest settlement, about 8 km from the park centre. The plan requires tour operators to have an agreement with the MPA and pay tourism charges^[2].

District rules ban fishing with dynamite, fish poisons, bleach, cyanide, small-mesh nets and fish traps, and outsiders from beyond the district may not fish there^[2]. No-take zones forbid removing any plant or animal^[2]. Turtle and egg harvest is banned, and the plan commits to removing rats from the islands^[2]. After the 2009 tsunami, a small grant planned to re-mark no-take areas with buoys and remove crown-of-thorns starfish, but it was terminated before completion^[1].