Fiji Islands Travel Guide | DiveMe | Marine Reserve

MARINE RESERVES

OUR OCEAN – OUR LIFE

Earth is home to over 100,000 islands. The 150 largest alone have a landmass equal to the size of Europe. One in every ten people on earth is an islander. More than 600 million people live on islands.

The majority of these islanders rely on a subsistence lifestyle for their very survival. The planting of root crops, harvesting fruit from indigenous and self-propagating trees or palms; but more than any other food source, the ocean and her bounty is life itself to them.

Pacific people have fished the ocean for thousands of years, managing traditional fishing grounds in a sustainable way.

The world’s population is ever-increasing and that also goes for small islands. Globalization of the world has led to a mass movement of peoples from one country to another, whether in search of a new home, a new experience or on business.

Indigenous people are all too often faced with the dilemma of choosing between protecting their precious natural resources and economic development.

A miasma of human pressures is being exerted directly and indirectly on fragile ocean ecosystems. One in particular is the threat to the marine bio-diversity that exists in and around Fiji’s fabulous reef system that embraces Fiji’s 333 islands.

Many tropical islands are surrounded by coral reefs. Coral reefs are so endangered that it is estimated that 70 percent will cease to function as healthy ecosystems in the next 50 years unless action is taken to reverse this immediately.

Fiji is working hard to counteract this pressure by the implementation of a network of marine reserves needed to protect marine species and their habitats.

Marine reserves protect the biodiversity of an area through bans being placed on fishing, diving and water activities such as snorkeling and reef walking. These bans in effect enable the area and the marine life, time to recover with fish stocks replenished and corals rejuvenated.

Mangrove forests are often located on tropical islands such as Fiji acting as a buffer to coastline and as nurseries for diverse species of fish. Fifty percent of the world’s mangrove forests have already been destroyed as a result of not only commercial development but also by islanders harvesting them for firewood.

Marine reserves restrictions can vary. Some are closed to all extractive uses such as fishing, netting, diving, mining and disposal activities and in some instances, no human activity at all is allowed, particularly where there are sensitive species or habitats. Some areas may permit small scale fishing provided they are sustainable and have the permission and participation of local communities.

Marine reserves can also assist with neighbouring fisheries from the export of adult and juvenile fish beyond the reserve boundary and via dissemination of eggs and larvae. Reserves are also put in place to protect the marine environment from pollution caused by waste water and human waste.

An integral part of successful implementation and designation of protected marine reserves is to ensure the cooperation of the affected communities.

Fijian culture is based on communal living with the ‘qoliqoli’ (an area of sea where customary native fishing rights exist) forms part of that culture. To endeavour to create marine reserves without the cooperation of the associated matagali (tribe) would an exercise in futility.

Come in LLMAs & MPAs

What is an LLMA

Simply put, it translates as a “Locally Managed Marine Area, - an area of near-shore waters actively being managed by local communities or resource-owing groups, or being collaboratively managed by resident communities with local government and/or partner organizations.”

An LLMA differs from what is commonly known as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in that the LLMAs are typically designated by levels of management via a top-down approach.

Two prerequisite aspects of LLMA remain constant:-

A well-defined or designated area, and
Substantial involvement of communities and/or local governments in decision-making and implementation.

Some methods being utilized by LLMAs today are simply a revival of methods that have been used traditionally for many generations.

Fiji was the site of the first 'Fish for the Future' workshop held to introduce the concept of forming the LMMA network.

Community-based marine conservation projects in Fiji in 1990 were so successful that it helped the spread of the LLMA approach throughout the country. The Fiji LMMA (FLLMA) network is the first country-level network to operate independently of the overall network.

Fiji LMMA received the prestigious 2002 Equator Initiative Award from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) out of more than 420 total nominations and 27 finalists and today has the most project sites in the overall Network.

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