Pumice raft drifts

THE Pumice raft which was reported to have been moving to the southern Lau Group in September this year has found its way to the western parts of Fiji.

The pumice raft has been found to have drifted to the West with people reporting of such volcanic sediments drifting from Lomaiviti waters down to the Navitilevu Bay

Since last week, fishers have reported to have noticed the pumice after several outings, but hasn’t affected fishers or boat operators movements in that part of the country.

“We try to steer clear of the pumice now when going out to sea because the first time we had encountered it, it sounded and felt like we were running on dry ground and it could easily damage our engines,” Naiserelagi villager and fisherman Delai Luvenitoga said.

“It’s good to have people who know how to navigate the waters when going out at sea to avoid floating sediments like that,” he said.

“A lot of us rely on fishing and we hope this will not affect us in any way.”

There are huge sediments at Navuira waters and close to Vatu.

“We haven’t heard about the pumice drifting to this part of the province but I hope people get informed especially those who operate boats in this part because their boats can get damaged.”

According to a report published in this newspaper on October 12, the pumice was also visible along a 3km stretch of foreshore at Volivoli Point in Rakiraki.

Damage that can arise from the pumice raft are clogged pumices in rudder, blocked harbours, inaccessible jetties and abrasion of the boat hull.