A Chinese company that dug a channel through mangroves and a coral reef to provide access to a multi-million-dollar resort and casino development on a Fijian island has been fined $FJ1 million ($650,000) by the High Court in Suva. The company was found guilty in April last year of
The Fijian Government will continue working closely with its consortium partners to establish and preserve our coastal marine environment.
An estimated 80 percent of fish consumed by the greater Suva urban population is currently sourced from the Great Sea Reef.
With post-COVID state of affairs and impact to our national economy including the compounding global economic crisis, it is undoubtedly certain that Fiji needs an improved way forward that advocates and prioritises the conservation and resilience of our ocean economy. President Ratu Wiliame
Meet Josefa Bau from Nataleira who runs a dolphin watching business with tours to Moon Reef, a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Fiji. Nurturing and protecting natural resources is not a new or foreign concept for i-Taukei (indigenous Fijians) like Josefa - ocean conservation is more than just environmental protection - it is an intrinsic part of their identity passed on for generations.
Early in the days when Europeans explored the Pacific frontier, they left their mark over a vast expanse of the ocean and its islands.
The time-tested Indigenous fishing knowledge (IFK) of Fiji and the Pacific Islands is seriously threatened due to the commercialization of fishing, breakdown of traditional communal leadership and oral knowledge transmission systems, modern education, and the movement of the younger generations to urban areas for work and/or study. Consequently, IFK, which has been orally transmitted for generations, has either been lost, not learned by the current generation, or remains undocumented.
Coral reefs host exceptionally diverse and abundant marine life. Connecting coasts and sheltered lagoons to the open ocean, reef passages are important yet poorly studied components of these ecosystems. Abiotic and biotic elements ‘pass’ through these reef passages, supporting critical ecological processes (e.g. fish spawning). Reef passages provide multiple social and ecological benefits for islands and their peoples, but are so far neither characterized nor recognized for their multifaceted significance.
Fiji is not immune to illegal logging and the trade of illegally logged timber. Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says in Vanua Levu alone 29 illegal logging cases were recorded from January 2017 until January 2022.
Communities in the Lau Group of islands have initiated sustainable fishing practices, says Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area (FLMMA) sustainable finance officer Peniana Wainiu. This was made possible after numerous consultations through the Lau Seascape Initiative.