Research Imperative for Species Management
Coastal resources are important for the wellbeing and livelihoods of people in coastal communities across the world. Many Pacific Islanders consume two to four times more fish than people in other nations. Traditionally, most of this fish come from coastal fisheries based mainly on species associated with coral reefs.
Traditionally in the Pacific Islands, men are known as fishers as they often travel out to sea and even outside the reefs to look for fish. Women are mostly associated with gleaning as they move along the shores during low tide to collect shellfish and other bivalves.
In Fiji, the marine resources that women collect during low tide is often sold at the markets gathering a huge demand especially from seafood lovers. One such delicacy that is enjoyed by many is Sea urchins or locally known as cawaki.
Sea urchins have globe-like bodies and move on small tube-like feet which end in suckers and have a hard external shell (known as a test) with moveable spines of varying length.
The needle-like spines of the longspined urchin, Diadema, reach over 30 cm in length and contain toxins capable of inflicting a painful wound. The spines of the slatepencil urchin, Heterocentrotus, on the other hand, are heavy and blunt and are adapted for wedging the urchin into crevices on coral reefs. Species of Echinometra and the striped sea urchin, Tripneustes gratilla, are widely collected for food in many Pacific island countries; the latter is believed to have a high aquaculture potential.
Sea urchins are found in both temperate and tropical waters around the world and are the basis of commercial fisheries. They have five reproductive organs (gonads or roe) suspended on the inside of the test and these are regarded as delicacies in many countries.
Ministry carries out Sea urchins (Tripnuestes gratila) survey
One of the important work that the Research Division has embarked on is the survey of the cawaki.
Cawaki is considered one of the major coastal fishery resources of Fiji and one that has been earning income for coastal women for many years. The Ministry has been conducting ongoing work with several communities across Fiji to understand and also assess the various ways in which it can be sustained.
Officers have recently been involved in data collection for assessment and management of the stock. They have also undertaken the value chain surveys to map out the existing supply chain to the municipal markets from harvesting, current value, actors involved, consumer preference, demand and marketing.
Director Fisheries, Ms Neomai Ravitu says that this is done to identify the gaps and improve the value chain of each commodity and explore potential opportunities to improve the product value.
“This will enable us to better understand and assist in improving product quality assurance and product market presentation to maximize earnings for the communities,” explained Ms Ravitu.
“Our teams were deployed to Waiqanake in the Rewa Province and Malomalo in Nadroga. They worked with communities in collecting data. The main focus of the survey is to determine the status of the resources using the spawning potential ratio method and proposed viable fisheries management strategies for the sustainability of the resources,” explained Ms Ravitu.
“Both are targeted at the domestic and overseas market by our diaspora
communities. There is no size limit and viable harvesting strategies for these species. So we are aiming to work towards establishing a size limit that will help the spawning stock to maintain replenishment rates, prevent overfishing and ensure sustainable yields.”
Survey also carried out for Batissa violacea (Freshwater mussel/Kai)
In Fiji, freshwater mussels (Batissa violacea) or kai is also one of the major sources of protein, and a revenue earner that contributes to the livelihood of communities that reside along and near the major rivers and their associated tributaries in the two major islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Some of the major rivers include the Rewa, Navua, Sigatoka, Nadi, and Ba rivers in Viti Levu, while Labasa,
Wainikoro, and Dreketi rivers are in Vanua Levu.
In this fiscal year (2022-2023), the Research Division has been conducting Spawning Potential Ratio (SPR) survey for Batissa violacea (Kai), targeting three harvesting sites namely, Nakini of Naitasiri province, Nawamagi and Naroro of Nadroga province, and Nasolo of Ba province.
Ms. Ravitu says that the purpose of this survey is mainly to manage this commodity or to have some management control by conducting SPR survey in order to determine the size limit for Batissa violacea (kai).
“So far the Research Division have already been conducting market and landing survey or Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) in the regions of Naitasiri (Nakini village) and Sigatoka (Nawamagi and Naroro village).”
The SPR survey was conducted in two phases with data collected from both the Nausori market and the various landing sites within the Nakini village and Baulevu areas.
Data from both regions was entered through the IKASAVEA App – an application which the Ministry has been working on with the Pacific Community (SPC). Officers also interviewed women and gathered a lot of information like reasons for harvesting, fishing method used, time of harvesting and hours spent on harvesting. Measurements were also taken for length and weight of freshwater mussel.
The importance of science
Through Government efforts and numerous interventions via independent organisations, more awareness has been carried out on the importance of sustainable harvesting.
Permanent Secretary for Fisheries Pene Baleinabuli says that the on-going awareness sessions at community level must indeed be applauded as everyone is playing a critical part in bringing people up to speed with the effects of climate change and how we must work together to sustain and manage the resources that we have.
“Science is required to provide information on the nature of the resources and ecosystems and there is no better way but to strengthen it in every aspect possible,” said Mr Baleinabuli.
Collaborative efforts needed to sustain resources
Global, regional and national policies recognize that, in many contexts, small-scale fisheries are managed most effectively though co-management—where fishers and fishing communities themselves are empowered as managers alongside Government partners and NGOs.
The Ministry encourages engagement of fishers and their communities as co-researchers when identifying, testing and refining solutions to fishery challenges. This is made possible through trainings, awareness and hands on sessions during community visits.
Five months into this financial year, the Ministry is looking forward to fully implementing all its programmes and activities and work towards achieving Government’s vision of a vibrant and sustainable blue economy.