Gillnet Fishing in Macuata, Fiji
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GILLNET FISHING IN BACKGROUND OF MACUATA The land and coastal bounda- MACUATA, FIJI ries of the Macuata Province lie between latitude 16°5’S to 16°35’S and longitude 178°50’W INTRODUCTION to 179°45’W, on the second larg- est island of Fiji, called Vanua The purpose of this trip to Fiji Levu. The island of Vanua Levu was to review the effectiveness is composed of three large prov- of the banning of commercial inces: Macuata, Bua and gillnet fishing in Macuata Prov- Cakaudrove. Macuata is made ince on Vanua Levu. We were up of the northern portion of also asked to make recommen- 9th ofby February Esaroma for Ledua, the start of Vanua Levu and five other Integrated Fisheries dations on whether the ban the survey work. Three Fiji Fish- small islands to the north. Management Associate, should be maintained, and to eriesSouth Research Pacific Officers Commission were as- Labasa Town is the capital of advise on any other manage- signedNoumea, as full-time New Caledonia counterparts Macuata Province. ment measures relating to com- to this project. They were mercial and subsistence fishery Apisai Sesewa (team leader), Since Macuata is a dry area (av- in Macuata Province. Saiyasi Yabakivou and Jovesa erage rainfall of 4,050 mm/ Korovulavula. year), it has a climate favourable The gillnet fishing ban was im- for growing sugar cane, and posed by the Macuata chiefs in Considerable support was re- Macuata is one of the leading 1990. Unfortunately, there was ceived from the Fisheries Divi- sugar producers in Fiji. The no survey conducted at this sion, especially the provision of province of Macuata is also time, so no estimates of stock support staff, fishing gear and known for its timber and fish- abundance were available for vessels. Apart from the three ery resources. Sugar is the main future assessment and com- research staff, Extension Officer source of income, followed by parative analysis. Matai Kolinisau spent two full timber and fish respectively. weeks with the ICFMaP team. In 1995, the chiefs of Macuata Fish resources in Macuata requested Fiji Fisheries (through The Research Officer based at coastal waters appear to be the Macuata Provincial Office) Labasa, Mr Indar Dev Raj, was more in abundance compared for an assessment of the effec- also assigned to the team to as- to other areas in Fiji, especially tiveness of the ban. Fiji Fish- sist in collecting information on Viti Levu. This may be attrib- eries then requested technical commercial landings. The Fish- uted to the establishment of support from the South Pa- eries vessel Gonedau, with nine good traditional management cific Commission through the crews, was assigned to this project systems, the presence of large ICFMaP project. The Commis- for a full four-week period. areas of mangroves, an exten- sion agreed to this request, sive shallow lagoon and the and the ICFMaP team left for The commercial fishery opera- Great Sea Reef that provides Fiji in February 1996 to con- tion in the Macuata Province has shelter to the whole of Macuata’s duct this work. a lot of things to offer to other coastal zone (important as a countries in the region. It is or- source of nutrients, refuge and The ICFMaP personnel that ganised in a simple professional spawning grounds for many took part in this survey include way, which has the potential to fish species). Tim Adams, Paul Dalzell, Sione be successfully duplicated by Matoto and Esaroma Ledua. other neighbouring countries. Paul, Sione and Esaroma left Noumea for Fiji on the 6th of This includes the marketing February, and were joined by system, the storage system, Tim two weeks later. the contract system of catch- ing fish and the system of After meeting senior Fisheries paying wages. All these as- Officials in Suva on the 7th and pects of the fishery should be 8th of February, the team trav- of interest to neighbouring elled to Labasa, Macuata on the countries in the region. 25 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #78 — July/September '96 Management of fishery re- Though the chiefs were receiv- surgeonfish (18 per cent), sources in Macuata is jointly ing and benefiting from sub- trevallies (10 per cent), emper- controlled by the Fisheries Di- stantial amounts of money as ors (6 per cent) and parrot fish vision office in Labasa, as well goodwillGILLNET FISHING payments IN MACUATA, from com- FIJI (5 per cent). as the chiefs in the various dis- mercial fishermen, strong op- tricts. The Labasa Fisheries Of- position from the people forced Subsistence fishers fish harder fice is the headquarters for the the chiefs to declare the ban on when there are village functions Northern Division of the whole gillnet fishing. such as church gatherings, dis- of Vanua Levu. trict meetings, weddings, the MACUATA SUBSISTENCE birth of a first-born baby, deaths A total of twelve officers are FISHERY in the village, or other festivals. currently serving the province Subsistence fishers in Macuata of Macuata. The Fisheries Offic- Villages along the Macuata prefer to do handline fishing at ers provide resource manage- coast rely on fish as their main night, especially when the tide ment and development advice source of protein. Handline is turning on the ebb tide. to provincial councils, district fishing is the most common councils and village councils. method of catching fish. Free Handline fishing is mostly con- diving, using rubber-propelled ducted in deep areas of the la- They also provide fishermen spears, seems to be the second goon or reef channels during with services such as sales of most popular method of catch- dark nights, targeting rock cods, gear and ice, vessel licensing, ing fish in Macuata. snappers and other bottom hull and engine repairs, prepa- fishes. When the moon is full, ration of bank loan applica- Reef gleaning is also common, subsistence fishers prefer to use tions and law enforcement. combined with the use of hand handlines in the shallow sandy The chiefs, through traditional nets. This type of fishing areas of the barrier reef, target- management systems, may method is practised mainly by ing Lutjanids and Lethrinids. declare and enforce bans or women. Some fishers use hand taboos, in most cases through spears or knives to fish on reef Subsistence fishing trips in prior consultations with the flats at low tide. Macuata usually last for 8 to 12 Fisheries Division. hours at sea. On special occa- Spear fishers and reef glean- sions, fishing trips may last more GILLNET BAN ers prefer to go out at low tide. than 12 hours. In such cases, fish They try to reach selected or are smoked or cooked in earthen The chiefs of the Macuata area favourite spots before the flow ovens on uninhabited islets imposed the ban on gillnet fish- of the incoming tide. They nearest to the fishing grounds. ing in 1990. Although this is wait for fish which come in technically illegal due to gov- schools with the tide to feed in This is done to preserve fish in ernment ownership of all re- shallow water. order to allow fishers to stay sources and the seabed, the longer at sea. Ice is rarely used chiefs used their traditional Fishermen prefer early morn- in Macuata for subsistence powers to impose the ban. The ing tides or late afternoon tides. needs. This is due mainly to the government recognises the tra- Our observations while visiting unavailability of proper ice ditional systems in Fiji, and villages in Macuata showed boxes and the problem of acces- therefore endorsed the ban on that invertebrates, mainly mol- sibility to ice plants. gillnet fishing. luscs, constitute about 17 per cent of the subsistence landings. Although gillnet fishing has Among the reasons why the been banned in Macuata since government endorsed the Groupers and coral trout ac- 1990, the chiefs continue to gillnet ban were the numerous counted for about 30 per cent of grant exemptions to subsist- complaints about the negative the total catch, with other sig- ence fishermen whenever there effects of commercial gillnetting nificant contributions from is a big village function, par- on subsistence-fishery catch re- ticularly when large volumes quirements. Subsistence fisher- of fish are required. men were experiencing difficul- ties meeting their subsistence It is estimated that gillnets are requirements. deployed in each village on an 26 SPC Fisheries Newsletter #78 — July/September '96 average of about 10 times per prepare for spawning. At this handline fishing and are gener- year only. Subsistence gillnet time it is not unusual for fish to ally not in favour of lifting the fishing in the Macuata area be served for all three meals in ban on commercial gillnet fish- does not, therefore, appear to be mostGILLNET village FISHING homes. IN MACUATA, FIJI ing. This is due mainly to eco- excessive. nomic reasons, as the commer- COMMERCIAL FISHERY cial fishermen have converted Gillnets used by these subsist- their operations to handline ence fishermen are usually Since gillnetting is banned in fishing. around less than 300 m in length, Macuata, commercial fishermen and therefore much shorter in have shifted to handline fishing It would be costly to convert length than those used by com- for demersal reef stocks on the back to net fishing, and they mercial fishermen, who deploy Great Sea Reef. There were a believe that if commercial gill- nets of more than a kilometre in total of 289 commercial fisher- netting was permitted again, length. It was also noted that men licensed in 1995 and a simi- it is most likely that it would nets used for subsistence pur- lar number is expected for 1996. again be banned in a few poses were much shallower in years’ time.