Village launches Fiji’s first community-led sea cucumber management plan
The sea cucumber fishery is an important source of income for the people of Natuvu Village in the District of Wailevu in the Cakaudrove Province on Vanua Levu.
Of the 30 sea cucumber species present in Fiji, 14 are valuable to the fishers of Natuvu.
However, the rapidly declining fishery and its inconsistent prices have concerned the villagers over time.
Therefore, to ensure that their livelihood continues for generations, the people of the village have committed themselves to putting the right management measures in place to ensure that their sea cucumber fishery is sustainable for the long term. As such, the country’s first community sea cucumber management plan was officially launched at Natuvu Village on Thursday. The management plan was developed by the villagers and their traditional leaders with support from the Ministry of Fisheries and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) through several consultations between 2016 and 2019. The plan aims to address the social, economic, and ecological issues associated with the harvesting and processing of the fishery which was identified by men and
women fishers during the consultations.
One of the key problems highlighted by the villagers during the consultations was the lack of consistency in the prices for processed sea cucumbers, the declining population of the sea cucumbers and a lack of knowledge regarding post-harvesting processing practices for different species to ensure that the required quality of the product is achieved. By putting in place a manage
ment plan, the community are being proactive so that in the future, once stocks recover nationally and harvesting is allowed again, Natuvu Village will be in a strong position to reap the benefits in a sustainable way.
The Acting Commissioner Northern, Uraia Rainima, expressed his gratitude to the people of Natuvu and their leaders for their support towards developing and implementing the plan for the benefit of the sea cucumber fishers.
Mr Rainima recalled how the fundraising through sea cucumber fishery contributed to the building of the village’s first secondary school and their community hall, a decade ago.
“Even without the management plan, you (the villagers) were able to achieve so much from the fishery, so imagine how much you can achieve with the management plan in place, should the ban on the fishery be lifted,” Mr Rainima said.
Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji Country Programme Director, Sangeeta Mangubhai said: “The recovery and wise management of fisheries resources does not just lie with the Government. “Throughout Fiji, the sea cucumber fishery has been an important source of income for coastal communities, especially in rural areas. Communities, such as Natuvu Village know all too well how valuable this resource is to them.”