Nausori Town Council pledges to support the Ministry of Fisheries 2018 ban on the sale of kawakawa and donu
Almost 15,000 people have taken the 4FJ pledge to date.
The Nausori Town Council has taken the lead for municipalities in pledging to support Ministry of Fisheries efforts to ban the sale of kawakawa and donu. The ban has been placed during the two species peak breeding months, June through September, starting in 2018. “Nausori Town Council took the pledge because we truly believe in replenishing our fish population,” said Council chief executive director Akhtar Ali.
“Awareness to all stakeholders is critical to ensure we achieve this objective. Nausori Town Council will enforce this law in our markets and will help support this campaign.”
Kawakawa and donu are particularly vulnerable to overfishing because they gather predictably each year in the same channels to breed.
Those sites are often fished heavily, leaving few fish behind to restock Fiji reefs.
Of the known breeding sites in Fiji, 80 per cent are declining or gone, Fijian Government reported.
The 4FJ campaign was launched in 2014 to encourage people to voluntarily pledge to forego the fish during their peak breeding months, to give them space to breed and replenish Fiji’s reefs.
Nearly 15,000 people have taken the 4FJ pledge to date.
Buoyed by the support for the campaign, the Ministry of Fisheries, working with Change the campaign creator, launched an outreach programme to the private sector to inform them of its planned seasonal four month ban that starts next year. The outreach programme is now engaging the town council directly, as they permit the urban fish markets.
“The Ministry applauds the decision made by the Nausori Town Council to support the 4FJ Campaign,” said Ministry of Fisheries director Aisake Batibasaga.
“The Ministry is working closely with all relevant key stakeholders and the 4FJ Campaign partners to see that all sectors of society are duly informed of the need to put in place this peak seasonal spawning aggregation ban.”