Denarau Manages Mynah Population

Major pest for Fiji affecting the cleanliness of resorts, nuisance to guests: Fonmanu

Since last Sunday key personnel from the Hotel and Marina sites on Denarau island have undergone training for the control of myna birds on the island. Denarau Corporation Limited through Australian based Pest IT Pty Limited has commenced the programme for the island.

DCL chief executive officer Rupeni Fonmanu said the common or Indian myna (Acridotheres Tristis) had become a major pest for Fiji, having an impact of the cleanliness of resorts, becoming a nuisance to hotel guests and having a negative effect on Fiji’s natural biodiversity.

“Our plan is to train the local resort community in the deployment of 80 traps with the end result to help our environment by eradicating the myna with this trapping programme,” Mr Fonmanu said. He said the personnel would then share their knowledge with the rest of the team within their respective organisations. “Through the usage of the Mini Myna Magnet – a scientifically designed myna trap, the mynas will be ethically trapped and appropriately euthanised,” he said. He said the programme planning took two years, before finally getting to the implementation part of the project. “Given the planning and understating the geographical nature and structure on the island and the various locations to identify the various habitat of the myna.”

“The effectiveness is really based on the collective approach of the whole of Denarau but in saying that in Denarau we cannot work in isolation.”

Pest IT Pty Ltd director Peter McCarthy was conducting training which ends tomorrow. Edited by Rusiate Mataika