Fishing in Macuata

from w
Problems are obvious when the fishermen of Mali and other places in Macuata have to go out into the deep sea to catch fish. Before these species were near the coast.  Why are the fish stocks diminishing?  Here's what is written in today's Fiji Times.

Group identifies fish species

Luke Rawalai
Saturday, October 25, 2014

FISHERMEN within the qoliqoli Cokovata of Mali, Dreketi, Sasa and Macuata recently identified 21 fish species that have diminished from their fishing grounds.

Speaking during an exercise organised by WWF Pacific at Naduri Village in Macuata, Naduri fisherman Abel Tawalagi Foster said local fish such as the bici (sweetlip), kanace (dwarf mullet), tevulu (blubber sweetlip), and karakarawa (blue parrotfish) were being fished out in the open seas.

Mr Foster said in the past these fish were commonly found within the shallow waters of their fishing grounds.

"Now people have to spend approximately $260 on fuel to catch these fishes out in the open sea," he said.

"Sometimes it is really hard to catch these fishes as they have become scarce in our fishing grounds.

"Fish like the bici and qalatoka are only caught in small sizes now compared to the big sizes of the same fish species that our ancestors used to catch in the past."

Mali fisherman Seru Moce shared the same sentiments telling workshop participants they had noticed the disappearance of local fish species from their fishing grounds too.

"This is sad since people continue to fish without recognising the effects of their actions on the marine species that we often take for granted," he said.

"We all thank WWF Pacific for taking the initiative to enlighten us on the fact that fish stocks can crash if they get over-fished and there are measures that can be taken to prevent this."