The future is now for youths in MPAs - Fiji Times Online

The future is now for youths in MPAs - Fiji Times Online

ALUMECI NAKEKE
Wednesday, June 04, 2008

The involvement of youths in village project often indicates their commitment to their future.

It shows their understanding that the project not only concerns them but their future generation.

The youths of Waitabu on the island of Taveuni are no exception.

Since the establishment of their Marine Reserve Park or Marine Protected Area 10 years ago, it has been part of their (youths) daily life, learning and understanding its importance from the elders.

Helen Sykes, a Marine Ecology consultant and ecologist, who initiated the marine park still remembers the day she arrived in the village the youths were then still children or young teenagers.

But today, those children have grown into youths and are now monitoring the park and act as snorkel guides for tourists who visit occasionally.

"One of the big changes that always surprises me is the small children who were here when I first started but now have now become snorkel guides," she said.

"The children in the village of Waitabu have grown up always having a marine protected area.

"I can't wait to see these children now, in another 10 years when they become teenagers and young adults who have always had an MPA provided by their elders."

Another 18 youths underwent a marine tour guide training this year including those from Wai and Vurevure. The training was done by Resort Support and CORAL (Coral Reef Alliance).

They used the Marine Tourism Education course by Ms Sykes which has recently been recognised by the Training and Productivity of Fiji (TPAF).

The Waitabu youths are very passionate when they talk about their involvement in the marine park project.

Akostino Apao, a snorkel guide said, he was prepared to fight if he found someone poaching from their marine protected area. He said the MPA was his and his children's future.

The village recently celebrated the park's 10th anniversary and it was the youths who took part in the traditional yaqona ceremony as a show of appreciation for something they believe in.

Arieta Divialagi, who is now the manager of the marine park, was one of the young people in the village who has grown up with the marine park and seen its benefits.

She is now married with three children and even though her children are young they are already aware of the importance of the marine park.

"Since the setting up of this marine protected area we have seen many changes and we have benefited greatly in terms of it providing us with food. We are so passionate about out marine protected area because we've basically grown up with it," Ms Divialagi said.

The village has never opened its tabu area, which is about 0.27square kilometres.

It was originally an over-fished and severely depleted area but now is unbelievably filled with fish species, normal coral cover and giant clams, trochus shells and invertebrates.

Even after five years of protection the villagers and those doing the biological report of the marine park saw a vast change as the marine life population reached their peak and had stabilised and remained fairly constant in succeeding years despite poaching pressures on some fish species, said Sykes.

In their survey according to Resort Support they found coral bleaching in 2000 reduced coral cover for some years but over the past three years it had improved in the MPA and fishing ground slopes but not the flats.

Algal cover has dropped in the MPA because of grazing by increased numbers of invertebrate animals and fish, particularly the large schools of surgeonfish.

Surgeonfish remove algae and clean substrate for new corals to grow.

But this is not so in the fishing grounds, which people use because of over-fishing.

Coral breakage is not seen in the MPA because people have ceased to walk on them so there is more branching Acropora corals now make up a high percentage of live hard coral in the MPA.

Clams (vasua) was one of the most successful in the MPA because when they started in 1998 there were no clams found but within that year bout eight small clams appeared.

After five years of protection some had reached adult size and the population increased and now there are about 30 to 40 adult size which are the breeding size.

Immature clams were found and it is believed that the clams are now spawning or attracting larval clams into the area.

However, they found a few empty clam shells over the past two years. It is likely to be caused by natural predation or disease rather than poaching because they found two clams of the same size next to the dead one still intact and alive.

While marine life is thriving in the marine reserve the fishing ground is benefiting as villagers now get more fish and sea urchins (cawaki) and octopus.

But poaching is a big issue as nearby villagers are aware of the abundance of fish and invertebrates in the MPA.

The future is now for youths in MPAs - Fiji Times Online

The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count 2008

The Great Fiji Butterflyfish
Count 2008 Blog

A blog about The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count which will be held around Fiji from the 2nd to the 8th November 2008. In the International Year of the Coral Reef (2008), you have the opportunity to help celebrate and record Fiji’s amazing coral reef biodiversity, show you care about our world’s delicate coral reef systems, and have fun, by taking part in a week-long hunt for the Great Fiji Butterflyfish!

The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count 2008 Blog

DAN DIVERS DAY in Graz, Austria on September 7th 2008

Dear Diver,


As you might have read before, DAN Europe is organising a free DAN DIVERS DAY in Austria on September 7th 2008.

Speakers for this event are internationally known DAN area directors and diving medicine experts. They will present dive safety, diving medicine, and other dive-related topics of interest to the scuba diving community in the main auditorium at the Graz University Hospital.

We are pleased to inform you that the registrations for this event are now open.

A detailed program and more info about the DAN DAY can be found on our online “events” page, or you can click here to access this page directly. You can register for this congress online, using your “MY DAN” page at our website (www.daneurope.org).

If you did not register as a user on our website yet, you will first need to do this in order to get access to your personal “MY DAN” page.

In your “MY DAN” page you will not only be able to register for this free congress, but you also will have the possibility to book one or more of the optional services like a certificate of participation, lunch packet and/or headset for the simultaneous translations (English-German, German-English).

The official language of the congress is English. Therefore the info about the congress will be available only in English and German ( the language of the country where the congress is held).

We also would like to invite you to regularly visit the event page as we will be updating the info regularly.

Please be aware that there only are 300 available seats. We recommend to book as soon as possible if you want to participate in this unique congress.

Kindest regards and hoping to see you in Graz,

DAN Europe

Community-Based Marine Conservation Workshop - Fiji

Community-Based Marine Conservation Workshop - Fiji

NEWS RELEASE

Fiji to Host Major Marine Conservation Meeting

Fiji will be the site of a major marine conservation meeting, "Views from Experience in Community - Based Marine Conservation", to be held from 24-29 June, 1999. Participants will include staff of the Biodiversity Conservation Network (BCN) from Washington, D.C., the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in Chicago, and representatives from three marine conservation projects in Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Indonesia.

BCN is a 7-year program funded by the United States Agency for International Development that supported twenty community-based projects across Asia and the Pacific using enterprise as a tool to conserve biodiversity. This workshop is part of BCN's final efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of using an enterprise-based approach to conservation.

The Fiji project has been organised by the University of the South Pacific, the Fiji government, and SPACHEE, and takes place in Verata, Tailevu. This tikina has developed a marine bioprospecting enterprise and has established a trust fund to manage the proceeds. In addition, the participating communities have developed marine resource management plans which include a ban on turtle killing and coral harvest, a hiatus on issuing commercial fishing licenses and a declaration of tabu areas to encourage resource replenishment. Community members have also been trained to monitor the populations of indicator species to judge the success of their efforts. In eighteen months, the number of kaikoso in the tabu zone has increased sixfold and has doubled in adjacent areas.

The first four days of the workshop will take place in Ucunivanua, the chiefly village of Verata. Representatives of the three projects will share their experiences and identify what they have learned. From these discussions they will prepare presentations. On Tuesday, 29 June they will deliver these to an audience of key government and non-government personnel at the USP Science Lecture Theatre, SPAS, starting at 8.30 am. This will be followed by a general discussion.

BCN is part of the Biodiversity Support Program (BSP) which is managed by a Consortium of the World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy and World Resources Institute. BSP's mission is to promote conservation of the world's biological diversity and to maximise the impact of U.S. government resources directed toward international biodiversity conservation.

For further information : contact Bill Aalbersberg 212440

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BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION NETWORK
Experiences and Results: 1993 - 1999

Community-based marine conservation experiences
will be presented and discussed.
Please join us with several partners from our
projects in Asia and the Pacific.

Date: Tuesday, 29 June 1999 Time: 8:30 - 15:00
Place: University of South Pacific (USP) Campus
Science (SPAS) Building, Room N111
Science Lecture Theatre, Suva

For more information phone 313 900 x2416
Community-Based Marine Conservation Workshop - Fiji

WWF - Tabu waters: Protecting Fiji’s Great Sea Reef

Dakuwaqa, the shark god, would have heard the ruckus coming from the small village of Naduri in a verdant corner of the Fijian archipelago on the morning of a new beginning.

Ancient fishing chants, many of which hadn’t been performed in more than 50 years, and a lavish feast of local delicacies — clams, seaweeds, taro leaves, mangoes, guavas, coconuts and pineapples — were prepared over days for villagers and visitors alike. A pig was roasted, graceful seasea fan dances and fierce spear dances enacted, gifts bestowed, kava drunk, and a whale’s tooth passed around for good luck.

All this for the opening of the country’s first marine protected area? Yes. That’s what a waitui tabu (prohibited zone) is these days, a cause for celebration, especially when it will protect parts of Fiji’s Great Sea Reef — the world’s third largest barrier reef and home to a staggering array of life, some still unknown to science.

Fiji is leading the pack of coastal nations by committing to the establishment of a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2020. The area, covering 30 per cent of its territorial waters or 39 million hectares, will be the largest system of underwater sanctuaries in the world.

“Protecting the reef will ensure that one of our greatest assets remains intact and continues to be an important part of the traditions, culture and livelihoods of the people of Fiji,” said Etika Rupeni of WWF’s South Pacific Office in Fiji.

“Marine protected areas the world over are proving to be one of the most effective ways for coastal dwellers to safeguard their dwindling food supplies and preserve precious biodiversity.”

Damsel in distress
Captain James Cook, the 18th century British explorer who mapped the South Pacific, including Fiji, is often referred to as the founder of modern oceanography. Among his many discoveries was a linguistic one, the term “taboo” (or “tabu”) — a word that has traveled as widely as Cook himself and is now used throughout the English-speaking world. It still retains, however, its meaning in Polynesia — a prohibition imposed by social custom.

Waitui tabu, or prohibited fishing zones, have been set aside in Fiji’s Great Sea Reef to conserve the most diverse amount of species and habitats as possible. Covering more than 200,000km2, the reef — locally known as Cakaulevu — is home to thousands of marine species, including marine turtles, dolphins, sharks, and 43 new hard coral species. The reef is also an important fishing ground for local communities.

“If you see this place, you would consider yourself the luckiest person on Earth,” said marine biologist Aaron Jenkins, who dives regularly in the Great Sea Reef and is still awed by its extraordinary diversity of life. “The colours, the fish and coral, and most of all, what we still don’t know about it, are amazing.”

During a 12-day survey of the reef undertaken by WWF and its partners at the end of 2004, the team found a species of damsel fish (Pomacentrus sp.) previously unknown to science, as well as 12 threatened species, including 10 species of fish, green turtles and spinner dolphins. The survey also identified significant threats to the Great Sea Reef, such as overfishing and poaching by illegal fishers, poison fishing, sand dredging, and other development activities.

In efforts to protect the fragile environment, local village chiefs in Fiji have launched the first of the reef’s network of marine protected areas.

“It is important to look at a wider scale of management by capturing the interactions between a range of sites, protecting migratory corridors of more mobile species and maintaining ecological processes,” said Jenkins, the survey’s chief scientist.

“Marine protected areas are crucial. They are about preserving the integrity of the wider marine environment across connected systems.”

Protecting tabu areas
In a country where the abiding principle of veisolisoli and kerekere (give and take) is woven into the fabric of society, the concept of marine stewardship is considered common sense. But, years of overfishing, pollution, and destructive harvesting of live coral and exotic fish have eroded Fiji’s underwater paradise.

This is in addition to the plundering of Fiji’s genetic resources where important plant and marine species are being ripped out of the ground and sea for the highly profitable cosmetic, pharmaceutical, agriculture and biotechnology industries — often without the consent of local resource owners.

Efforts, however, are being made to reign in the free-for-all.

The creation of locally managed marine areas (LMMAs) are empowering coastal communities to take matters into their own hands. The Fiji LMMA drives community-based marine conservation by working closely with 40 traditional fishing grounds (qoliqoli). To date, there are 109 LMMA sites in Fiji, covering about 15 per cent of the country’s coastal areas. Witnessing the positive impacts LMMAs are having on local livelihoods, more and more communities are rushing to establish similar programmes.

The benefits of combining traditional and scientific knowledge and methods can be seen in one of the originating communities of this quiet revolution. The residents of Ucunivanua in Fiji’s Verata district, for example, can attest to the benefits of such locally managed areas. Lamenting the decline in the numbers of kaikoso (ark clams) — a key source of food and a marketable commodity — the community decided to take action by reviving tabu practices to protect breeding areas. As a result, clam populations have increased 300 per cent annually in these areas, and by 200 per cent in spillover areas. Incomes over three years have risen by 35 per cent.

“The fish in my protected area are so tame that when you dive down to count them they wink at you,” said one local Fijian fisherman jokingly.

“The underwater residents of my protected area are so happy that they practically flop themselves into the boat," said another.

Replenishing waters for future generations
A notable initiative from Verata is a bio-prospecting arrangement with a pharmaceutical company which has seen US$30,000 put into a trust fund to sustain local conservation work. Another community is managing its coral reefs and generating income by sustainably collecting “live rock” (dead coral or rock covered with algae that is used in aquariums to form a reef base for tropical fish) for the marine aquarium trade.

The Verata initiative and other projects have since merged to share information and resources in a Fiji-wide network of community representatives and NGOs, of which WWF was a founding member.

“The network story is truly an outstanding one, demonstrating how local communities, NGOs and the government can work together to improve livelihoods and protect one’s natural heritage, and indeed, a nation,” said WWF International President Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who presented the government of Fiji and local communities with WWF ’s Conservation Leadership Award.

“As a small island state we are equipped with a special sensitivity that makes us keenly aware of environmental changes,” added Fiji’s Fisheries Minister Konisi Tabu Yabaki. “We, just like our forefathers, know that if we do not maintain the health of our environment, our way of life will be threatened. Waitui tabu simply makes sense.”

WWF is working in the world’s most sensitive and biologically diverse regions to help protect ocean habitat and support commercial fisheries. The global conservation organization is establishing individual marine protected areas and ensuring that they are supported by local people so that they can be managed effectively. Each park fits into a network of protected areas that represents the diversity of habitats within a given marine ecological region.

“The community is grateful for the support,” said Chief Ratu Aisea Katonivere of Macuata Province. “We hope it will begin the journey to bring back the richness of these once plentiful waters, not only for ourselves, but also for our children.”

*This feature was prepared by the press department at WWF -Australia

END NOTES:

• The islands of the Fiji archipelago, which number more than 300, are scattered over a 1.3 million sq km area and are part of one of the largest and most extensive reef systems to be found. More than 98 per cent of Fiji’s territory is ocean and more than 80 per cent of Fiji’s 800,000 plus residents live along the coast. Fiji’s economy depends heavily on its foreign exchange earnings from fisheries and tourism. Fiji's marine resources are also important to customary marine owners who rely on the reefs for subsistence, livelihood and source of income.

• The WWF -led Great Sea Reef expedition included divers from Wetlands International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of the South Pacific Institute of Applied Science, local community members and international experts, with funding support from the Vodafone Foundation.

• Dakuwaqa is the guardian of the reefs and is revered as a god of seafaring and fishing communities in Fijian legend. In his honour, all sharks were saluted when seen and it was considered tabu to eat shark flesh. When canoes passed over areas where Dakuwaqa was known to frequent, cups of yaqona and morsels of food were thrown overboard to gain his favour.


WWF - Tabu waters: Protecting Fiji’s Great Sea Reef

Airlines tracked by Yapta

Airlines tracked by Yapta

Yapta aims to provide airfare price tracking on as many airlines as possible - especially those you travel with the most. If you'd like to be notified when Yapta extends its price tracking capabilities to additional airlines, subscribe to the RSS feed available on the Yapta Blog.

Below is a list of the airlines that have airfares tracked by Yapta. Please note that Yapta does not track the price of "booked" (or purchased) tickets on carriers that do not have a "Guaranteed Airfare Policy." Airlines that do not have a Guaranteed Airfare Policy will not provide vouchers or credits if the price of a booked ticket becomes available at a lower price.

*KLM - Online Customers departing out of the USA are directed to purchase their tickets from Northwest Airlines

A guardian of the sea - Fiji Times Online

Okostino Apao ... protecting the sea

ALUMECI NAKEKE
Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The love for his fishing ground and a request from his dying mother prompted 23-year-old Okostino Apao to put his studies on hold and look after the village marine protected area.

Apao is originally from Rotuma but grew up in his mother's village of Waitabu on Taveuni.

As Apao grew up, he never really understood the importance of the work his late mother Sala did, which is to manage the village marine protected area, now known as the Waitabu Marine Park as it is frequently visited by tourists.

Sala was the force behind the setting up of the park with the help of Marine Ecology Fiji Consultant, Helen Sykes.

After completing Form Seven on Taveuni, Apao enrolled at the Fiji Institute of Technology, but had to return to help his sick mother with her work. Sadly, she died in 2006.

Since then, Apao said, he has continued to do the work his mother did and has never regretted leaving FIT because he loved every moment at sea.

"She used to tell us the benefits of the work that she was doing but we never really bothered. We were also angry with her for leaving us many times and going overseas because of her work," he said as tears welled up in his eyes.

"But she was passionate about what she was doing and even though she had high blood pressure and was sickly she still carried on with her work. I tried to find out why she was so enthusiastic about the project so I involved myself in monitoring the area with other youth and people in the village.

"Through my participation I realised what she was doing was really important but sadly for me, she died after only seven months of working with her.

A guardian of the sea - Fiji Times Online

The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count 2008

Welcome to The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count !

2nd to 8th November 2008

In the International Year of the Coral Reef (2008), you have the opportunity to help celebrate and record Fiji’s amazing coral reef biodiversity, show you care about our world’s delicate coral reef systems, and have fun, by taking part in a week-long hunt for the Great Fiji Butterflyfish!

Easy to do, this is suitable for visitors and locals alike, whether you are a snorkeler, SCUBA diver or Glass-bottom boat passenger. We hope that tourists, school children, scientists and all people with an interest in the marine environment will take to the reefs with us to search for Butterflyfish.

The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count will be held around Fiji from the 2nd to the 8th November 2008. You can do a single count during that week, or take place as many times as you like during that week, so that you cover different reefs. All data will be gratefully accepted!

So, grab your Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count slate from participating resorts and dive operators, put on your snorkel and mask and dive into the beautiful blue waters of Fiji, to be a part of history!

The Great Fiji Butterflyfish Count 2008

gRAVEE

New Taveuni Resort : Nakia Resort and Dive

Taveuni Island in Fiji is renowned the world over for its scuba diving, primarily because of its proximity to the world-class Rainbow Reef.

These Taveuni dive sites include the Great White Wall, the Cabbage Patch and more.

The island is blessed with great natural beauty and is large enough to combine your diving days with dive-free days visiting waterfalls, Fijian villages, hiking etc. The new coast road in Taveuni is fantastic for those interested in mountain biking. The road is sealed, winds along the coastline providing fantastic views, and best of all - little traffic!

One new resort that is perfectly sited for all the above activities is sunset-facing Nakia Resort and Dive Taveuni.

Offering three bures with panoramic views, a pool, restaurant and great food, Nakia is owner-operated. This ensures you get the very best of service and hospitality on your well-earned Fiji Diving Vacation.

Viti Water Sports Nadi for Fiji Travel and Fiji Diving

Viti Water Sports is a 5 Star PADI dive operation, selling a large range of diving and snorkelling equipment in Fiji. They also offer a Fiji travel service, with or without diving. Repair and maintenance of dive equipment is their speciality. They are conveniently located in Martintar, half way between Nadi Town and Nadi International Airport.

Viti Water Sports also run diving operations out of Matamanoa Island Resort in the Mamanucas and Waisalima Beach Resort on Kadavu, where divers can experience diving on the world famous ' Great Astrolabe Reef '.

Scuba Diving News - Fiji Travel News

New Marine Reserve at Tokoriki Island in Fiji to regenerate giant clams

In the fringing reefs off Fiji's Tokoriki Island Resort, divers could - up to 40-50 years ago - marvel at the unique and fascinating giant clams there. However, like many reefs around the world, stocks of this unique marinelife had sadly been depleted for many decades.

In an effort to regenerate giant clams in this area, and in conjunction with PADI's Project AWARE and Fiji's Ministery of Fisheries, Dive Tropex Tokoriki have commenced 'The Tokoriki Island Giant Clam Regeneration Project', by planting three species of the clams on the reef. The clams, will be carefully protected and monitored by the dive operation in a bid to once again introduce the Giant Clams to the reefs they once inhabited.