SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #20 – December 2006 11 Traditional marine resource management in Vanuatu: Acknowledging, supporting and strengthening indigenous management systems Francis R. Hickey1 Abstract Much of the marine related traditional knowledge held by fishers in Vanuatu relates to increasing catches while managing resources of cultural, social and subsistence value. Traditional beliefs and practices asso- ciated with fisheries and their management follow natural cycles of resource abundance, accessibility, and respect for customary rules enshrined in oral traditions. Many management related rules that control fish- ers’ behaviours are associated with the fabrication and deployment of traditional fishing gear. A number of traditional beliefs, including totemic affiliations and the temporal separation of agricultural and fishing practices, serve to manage marine resources. Spatial-temporal refugia and areas of symbolic significance create extensive networks of protected freshwater, terrestrial and marine areas. The arrival of Europeans initiated a process of erosion and transformation of traditional cosmologies and practices related to marine resource management. More recently, the forces of development and globali- sation have emerged to continue this process. The trend from a primarily culturally motivated regime of marine resource management to a more commercially motivated system is apparent, with the implemen- tation and sanctioning of taboos becoming increasingly less reliant on traditional beliefs and practices. This paper reviews a number of traditional marine resource management beliefs and practices formerly found in Vanuatu, many of which remain extant today, and documents the transformation of these systems in adapting to contemporary circumstances. By documenting and promoting traditional management sys- tems and their merits, it is hoped to advocate for a greater recognition, strengthening and support for these indigenous systems in Vanuatu and the region. Introduction earthquakes, landslides, storm surges, floods and droughts all affect crops and reefs. Various miti- Vanuatu is a Y-shaped archipelago, roughly gating strategies were traditionally employed, 1000 km long, located in the western South Pacific including the creation of the complex network of (Fig. 1). There are 82 islands, mostly volcanic in ori- refugia and other fishery management strategies gin, 70 of which are inhabited. Most are sur- described in this paper. rounded by narrow, highly productive fringing reefs, which are relatively small due to the steep To ensure a successful communal harvest of fish, a nature of volcanic islands. There are only a limited taboo was placed on the area to be fished prior to number of other highly productive aquatic ecosys- harvesting. Such taboos could forbid anyone to tems such as mangroves, estuaries and lagoons swim or even walk by on the shore. This would (Cillaurren et al. 2001). both maintain the sanctity of the taboo and make the fish less wary of entering the area, an important There is great linguistic and cultural diversity consideration when harvesting resumed. among Vanuatu’s lush tropical high islands, with approximately 113 Austronesian languages spoken While the season for a communal harvest was by a predominantly Melanesian population (Tryon clearly prescribed by local custom (which in turn 1996). There are also a number of Polynesian out- was based on seasonal resource abundance and/or lier islands and villages throughout the group and annual tidal cycles and therefore accessibility), spe- many other islands exhibit varying degrees of cialists determined the actual timing of the harvest. Polynesian influences (Spriggs 1997). Optimal tidal conditions, clearly recognized to coincide with lunar phases, were carefully chosen A number of factors affect food security on the for fish to migrate shoreward over the tidal reef islands. Volcanic eruptions, cyclones, tsunamis, flats from the deeper waters beyond the reef edge. 1. Vanuatu Cultural Centre, PO Box 184, Port Vila, Vanuatu 12 SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #20 – December 2006 The optimal reef-glean- ing season was also determined by annual Hawaii tidal cycles whereby Torres Islands reefs were fully exposed 0° during daylight hours. Vanuatu Banks Islands 14°S – Methods of overcoming Australia food shortages included Espiritu Maewo storing fermented fruits New Zealand Santo Ambae Luganville and utilizing alternative Malo Pentecost foods (such as wild 16°S – Ambrym yams and cycad fruits) Malakula not normally eaten. Figure 1. Vanuatu Epi Another strategy was to Shepherd Group create “giant-clam gar- Efate dens”, with fishers gathering giant clams (Tridac- Port Vila nidae) into discrete areas on reef flats for their 18°S – exclusive use in times of need. This increased reproductive success by maintaining a close prox- Erromango imity of a breeding population dependant on exter- Tanna nal fertilization. Thus, it may also be considered a management strategy. 20°S – Aneityum Starting in the early 1800s, diseases introduced by 166°E 168°E 170°E Europeans reduced the population from an esti- mated half million or more in the pre-contact period to 45,000 by the 1940s (Bedford 1989). By 1999, the population had rebounded to 189,000 constraints. Their main value is to control the (National Statistics Office 2000). Christianity, pri- export of commercial fisheries products such as marily the Presbyterian, Anglican and Catholic trochus from the two urban centres. faiths, was introduced some 150 years ago and overlaid and influenced island traditions to varying The increasing population, concentrated in coastal degrees. The diversity of traditions, coupled with regions, and the global market pressure for Western- extensive migration from inland to coastal areas, style economic development make the strengthening the introduction of modern fishing gear, and the of traditional management of marine resources criti- commercialization of resources, often makes it dif- cally important to ensure sustainability. ficult to generalize about customary fishing beliefs and practices. Clearly though, despite the impacts Traditional fisheries of the colonial period, Vanuatu has maintained a strong cultural heritage of traditional resource Traditional fishing methods vary somewhat among management.2 While some traditions have been islands and cultural groups. Most traditional har- severely undermined and transformed by contact vesting, however, is focused on nearshore reefs. with Europeans, others are still extant and much Reef gleaning for various fish and shellfish, crab, cultural knowledge remains in living memory. octopus, sea urchins, spiny lobsters and numerous other invertebrates provides a significant portion of The Vanuatu Fisheries Department emphasizes the the catch. Women and children’s contribution in fundamental role of traditional management prac- providing sustenance through reef gleaning is sig- tices, while also introducing some national regula- nificant and often under-acknowledged. Other tions; these include measures such as setting size methods, including fish poisoning, spearing and limits for some commercialized invertebrates, pro- shooting fish with bow and arrow from reef edges, tecting turtle nests and eggs, and banning the har- hook and line fishing, netting and fish trapping, vesting of berried spiny lobsters. However, the and communal harvesting methods like coconut monitoring and enforcement of these regulations in leaf-sweeping, fish driving, and weir fishing are rural areas remains extremely difficult and cost commonly used in different areas. However, hooks prohibitive, and the regulations are rarely enforced and lines were apparently not used everywhere in outside urban areas due to logistical and financial former times. 2. The term traditional here is meant to refer to practices, beliefs and knowledge considered to have a foundation in the past, par- ticularly before European arrival. SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #20 – December 2006 13 There are also fisheries for marine turtles and, in system held in ancient times. Life in the islands of the past, for dugongs (Dugong dugon), as well as the Vanuatu had, and still largely has, an inherent annual harvesting of the palolo seaworm (Poly- sanctity stemming from the animistic cosmological cheata). In some areas, there are traditional offshore belief that “all things have a spirit” and that all fisheries for deepwater Eteline snappers, breams things and events, are inherently connected (Lethrinidae) and groupers (Serranidae), as well as through this spiritual medium. By extension of that for flying fish, tuna and tuna-like species, although belief, people may hope to influence natural forces the latter were fished mainly in areas of Polynesian otherwise beyond their control by the use of sancti- influence. All of these fishing methods are based on fied rituals, and so mitigate against various threats extensive traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of to food security. the various resources so as to optimize catches, and encompass a significant corpus of traditional beliefs Many practices stemming from this underlying cos- and practices, including numerous prohibitions mology are highly ritualized and are undertaken by controlling fisher behaviour. specialists who received this knowledge from elders. Most involve the use of sacred stones and