Stories From the Field

Fiji:  Villagers work to overcome the challenges of dynamite fishing
Tavua District, Ba Province

by Rusiate Ratuniata, Alifereti Tawake and Toni Parras
Special thanks to Mr. Kitione Ratuba Sabua and the Tavua Qoliqoli Committee

April 2007

 
Tavua MPA guardhouse on Manava Island, Tavua, Fiji. 
Photo by Toni Parras

The day was ideal for a site visit: blue sky, calm water, fresh air, kids playing, community members milling about in preparation for a big feast that evening to honor the Fisheries Department, who were in town surveying the District’s Qoliqoli (fishing grounds).  We came to Tavua to see how this site, long ravaged by dynamite fishing, had recovered, and to learn firsthand how this community virtually eradicated the dangerous and destructive practice.  As we sat in a circle around the kava bowl during the sevusevu (welcoming ceremony), I wondered why the members of the Qoliqoli Management Committee were all laughing.  Finally they explained that it was because each of them had at one time or another in the past used dynamite for fishing.

Blast fishing turns coral into rubble. Photo at left by Juergen Freund.  Photo at right by Toni Parras

The nearby goldmine at Vatukoula has employed many Tavua residents over the decades.  Dynamite is used to blast into the volcanic bedrock to harvest the precious ore.  However, another, even more insidious use has been made of dynamite – fishing.  Fishers discovered it was an easy way to catch fish – just toss a stick into the water, wait for the blast, and scoop up all the dead and dying fish.  Mine workers began smuggling dynamite out of the mine as it became a lucrative business.  The technique was passed on through generations. 

One 50-year old Tavua man said his father taught him how to fish – with dynamite.  However, the practice does have a downside:  dynamite destroys corals – the very habitat of the fish and other marine life communities depend on – turning reefs into uninhabitable rubble.  It is also an extremely dangerous fishing method – people lose limbs when the dynamite explodes prematurely.  That very day we passed a one-armed man on the way to the boat launch, and heard stories about another who had lost both eyes in addition to both arms when a stick blew up in his face.  Clearly, steps needed to be taken to eradicate the practice, for the health of both fish and people.

Introduction

The tikina (district) of Tavua, situated along the northern coast of Vitu Levu, Fiji (see map below left), is comprised of seven villages (Tavualevu, Rabulu, Vanuakula, Vatutavui, Korovou, Nabuna & Nadolodolo).  The largest of these, Tavualevu Village, is the head village and hosts the paramount chief of the district, the Tui Tavua, Ratu Ovini Bokini, the Great Council of Chiefs chairman. 

Tavua has nearly 700 square kilometers of total fishing ground area, which comprises the locally-managed marine area (LMMA).  Within the LMMA is a Marine Protected Area (MPA) of almost 14 square kilometers, enclosed by the Nasalisali reef, which includes the island of Manava (see map below right).  The rest of the LMMA – around 680 square kilometers – remains open to fishing for the people of the district and commercial fishermen who are licensed to fish therein.

Tavua District, on the north coast of Viti Levu, Fiji. Map courtesy of Reefbase www.reefbase.org	Closer view of the Tavua Marine Procted Area.          Map courtesy of the Native Land Commission, Tavua District

Site History

The Tavua LMMA – the second oldest LMMA site in Fiji – was established in 2003 as the result of a Management Planning workshop hosted by the Fiji LMMA Network (FLMMA) in conjunction with the Institute of Applied Science (IAS) at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva.  Following the workshop, the closure of the Nasalisali reef area around Manava Island was declared, with the blessings of the chief as well as the people of the district.  The efforts at managing this marine area became known as the “Tavua Qoliqoli Project.”

In accordance with the LMMA management plan, the following is banned: use of illegal fishing techniques (dynamite fishing, undersized net mesh, cyanide fishing), unlicensed fishermen, poaching from the MPA, and the dumping of rubbish into the marine ecosystem.  The tikina’s vision is to have the MPA surrounding the small island of Manava stay permanently closed to harvesting to ensure that future generations will have fish and other edible marine resources to eat.  Leading the effort are the Tavua Qoliqoli Committee (consisting of a member from each clan and each village in the district), registered fish wardens, and the Tui Tavua (Paramount Chief), Ratu Ovini Bokini.

In addition to the initial management planning workshop, FLMMA/IAS has carried out the following:  National Dynamite Awareness Workshop in 2004; Biological Monitoring Training and Management Plan Review Workshops in 2005; baseline biological monitoring and socio-economic surveys in 2006; and briefing to the Tavua District Council Meeting and assisting the Tavua Qoliqoli Committee to justify an increase in licensing fees for commercial fishing in 2007.  Numerous publications and reports have been produced by FLMMA/IAS based on these workshops.

Kitt Sabua, Tavua Qoliqoli Committee member. Photo by Toni Parras

Mr. Kitione Ratuba Sabua, or “Kitti,” as he is known, is a Tavua Qoliqoli Committee member and former gold mine worker.  Recognizing the hazards of dynamite fishing to both the fishing grounds and fishers alike, he stepped up security measures at the mines in an attempt to curtail the amount of dynamite getting out.  Since December 2006, the mine has suspended operations indefinitely, but there is leftover dynamite still circulating in the communities.  Poachers using dynamite within the protected area are mainly from outlying towns, although an estimated 5% are within his own village, he guesses.  Kitti is trying to focus on raising awareness and acceptance of the protected area among residents in his district, especially in the fringing towns that may not be privy to all the goings-on in the community.  The idea, he explains, is that once they are informed, they can spread the word to neighboring villages outside his district.

Success & Challenges

The reef, while still showing evidence of being blasted (that is, dead coral rubble strewn along the bottom), is showing many signs of life.   Live corals abound, as do fishes and invertebrates – even some valuable ones like snappers and sea cucumbers.

Brain coral	Blue Linckia seastar	Cardinalfish in acropora coral
Clownfish and anemone	Acropora coral and fishes	Batfish

Photos by Toni Parras

However, poachers are still tempted by the ease and profit of using dynamite.  One blast can yield 200 fish, which can be collected within 2 to 3 hours, whereas using a legal net that is placed between high and low tides yields about 100 fish in 6 hours.  In addition, the buoys that marked the protected area boundaries have been stolen, showing a lack of respect for the rules.  Even without the physical markers, says Kitti, everyone knows where the boundaries are, because the protected area consists of one well-known reef, which surrounds the small island of Manava. 

A guard house was built on Manava in April, 2007, in which fish wardens sleep during one-week rotations.  Every once in awhile, they earn $10 or so for taking tourists out to the protected area for snorkeling. But that’s not what motivates them.

“They do it for pride,” says Kitti, “not money.”     

The Tavua Qoliqoli Committee continues to work hard on managing their resources, with help from FLMMA and IAS.  For related story, see Tavua district- A stop to Dynamite Fishing (will link to Rusi’s earlier story).

Tavua children enjoy a boat ride to the protected area with Isei Matai.	Kitti on the patrol boat.
FLMMA site liaison officer Rusiate Ratuniata.	Joana Tawake displays small treasures of the sea.
Rusi, Pita Rasi & Isei Matai on Manava Island.	FLMMA Site Liaison Alifereti Tawake and Kitti display Fish Warden slickers.

Photos by Toni Parras