Page 22 - Islands Business January 2021

Fiji

posted pictures on Facebook of an apparently endangered va-
riety of Parrotfish sold openly at the Labasa market in north-
ern Fiji. “These fish are very easy to shoot at night, which is
why the species is declining,” he said.

Public awareness campaigns
The USP’s Jokhan, who was overseeing a €5.7 million
(US$6.97m) European Union-funded regional project on sus-
tainable fisheries, has called for a major national awareness
campaign to effect a “cultural shift”.
“I’m a strong believer in working with communities—creat-
ing awareness and solutions that they can implement and take
ownership of,” she says.
“We cannot create solutions and give it to fishing com-
munities. We need to help them create solutions so that
they realise why they need it—to save fisheries for the future
generations.”

‘Plenty of fish in the sea’
Andrew Paris, another marine researcher at the USP, agrees
that there is a need for a change in thinking in Fiji, where
Fishers line up along the Nasese shoreline in Suva daily.
many people seem to think that the ocean will never run out
“But if you fish at sites where they reproduce; if you use of fish, with no catch-and-release culture of undersized fish.
too small a net and take out a lot of very small fish; if you “There’s an endless supply of fish—I have heard that saying
don’t follow size limits, that’s a problem.” in the villages,” Paris said.
Mangubhai believes that there is an urgent need to update “But people in these villages are noticing changes (diminish-
legislation on size limits and implement and police restrictions ing fish supplies).”
on dynamiting and gillnetting. Paris is among experts considering traditional means of
She points out that Fiji’s Fisheries Act of 1942 was enacted conservation, with strong community involvement.
when the country was a colony, with little scientific data “I know that in the iTaukei (indigenous Fijian) settings,
available on size limits and vulnerable species. certain totemic species were tabu (taboo) to catch or eat,”
“For some fish, the size limits are not adequate,” says Man- says Paris.
gubhai. “Then there’s some fish that don’t even have a size “Ten or 20 years ago people were adhering to those tradi-
limit that really do need one.” tional protocols but nowadays anything goes due to a capital-
There are some signs of hope. Since 2016, the Fijian Gov- ist-driven society where people are always in need of money.”
ernment has been working on a National Fisheries Policy for Sitting under the shade of a big mango tree in Tunalia, Sun-
sustained growth in inshore fisheries as part of five-year and dar Lal’s face is creased with concern.
20-year National Development Plans. Fishing has fed his family and supplemented his income.
Government also places an annual four-month (June-Sep- He recalls the good old days in wonderment, while worrying
tember) ban on the highly-prized Grouper (Kawakawa) and about present trends, and future implications.
Coral Trout (Donu) species during the breeding season. His fears are not misplaced: While Fiji still reaps a decent
But environmental organisations that had lobbied for the harvest from its bountiful seas, how much longer this good
ban would have been disappointed to see it lifted this year fortune will last is the key question.
due to the economic hardships caused by COVID-19.
Besides grouper and coral trout, there are no restrictions editor@islandsbusiness.com
on some other heavily-harvested, yet ecologically-important
species. USP Journalism training consultant Sheldon Chanel is a free-
This includes Parrotfish, which this investigation found was lance journalist who writes for various publications, including
sold freely in all sizes and colours, both at the local markets The Guardian and Al Jazeera.
and on the roadsides.
The Nature Conservancy, a US-based environmental organi- The Coordinator of the USP Journalism Programme, Dr
sation, states that Bumphead Parrotfish stocks are ‘heavily Shailendra Singh, has written widely on Pacific issues, both as
depleted’ in Fiji. a journalist and as a media academic.
Certain species of Parrotfish eat dead coral, and can also
produce up to 320kg of sand every year, making them crucial This USP Journalism-Earth Network Investigation was pro-
for the reef ecosystem. duced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Net-
Recently, Jonathan Smith, a local diver and boat captain, work.

22 Islands Business, January 2021