Fijis leading commercial bank, ANZ says it will continue to support the protection and conservation of the marine resources of the countrys tourism mecca, the Mamanuca Group, reports Pacnews.
ANZs General Manager, Robert Bell, was on Castaway Island last Friday to prove the banks commitment with a $25,000 presentation to the Mamanuca Environment Society (MES)."Your work deserves to be promoted. It is good to see that tourist operators are supporting marine conservation and is a sign that tourism is progressing and contributing towards the economy," he said.
ANZ is a gold sponsor to the non governmental organisation that was set up in 2002 to address environmental issues in the region.
Recent MES projects include water quality monitoring, reef check surveys, liquid waste management as well as education awareness and dialogue with stakeholders at community and commercial levels.
"We are happy with the financial support we are getting. It is assisting us to implement projects that we hope will protect and preserve the marine environment of the Mamanuca Group, something that tourists keep coming back for," said Betani Salusalu, MES project manager.
One of the major projects undertaken by MES is the conservation of turtle in and around islands in the Mamanuca.
"We are working with the Institute of Marine Resources to conduct a survey on all islands in the Mamanucas for turtle breeding and nesting sites," he said.
In March this year, the Society satellite tagged and released into the ocean a Hawksbill turtle, named Adi Mamanuca from Treasure Island.
MES, through satellite, is monitoring its movement, which it says appear to be moving around between Fijis main islands.
Fiji has a five- year moratorium which bans the commercial harvest and sale of sea turtles.
The moratorium is expected to expire this year.
ANZ supports marine conservation - Fiji Times Online
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