Impact of Tropical Cyclone Winston on Fisheries- Dependent Communities in Fiji ISBN-10: 0-9792418-7-1 ISBN-13: 978-0-9792418-7-1 Copyright: © 2016 Wildlife Conservation Society Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided that the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written consent of the copyright owner. Citation: Chaston Radway K, Manley M, Mangubhai S, Sokowaqanilotu E, Lalavanua W, Bogiva A, Caginitoba A, Delai T, Draniatu M, Dulunaqio S, Fox M, Koroiwaqa I, Naisilisili W, Rabukawaqa A , Ravonoloa K, Veibi T (2016) Impact of Tropical Cyclone Winston on Fisheries-Dependent Communities in Fiji. Report No. 03/16. Wildlife Conservation Society, Suva, Fiji. 103 pp. Photograph (clockwise): Coastal village in Ra Province © Sangeeta Mangubhai/WCS Impacted coral reefs © Jack and Sue Drafahl Mud crab fisher from Bua Province © Yashika Nand/WCS Sea cucumber fishers from Vanua Balavu, Lau Province © Watisoni Lalavanua 2 | P a g e Acknowledgements Foremost, we would like to thank all the communities who gave up their time to participate in this study, and the Department of Fisheries and Pacific Community (SPC) for supporting this work. We are grateful to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for funding Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area Network (FLMMA) representatives and helping them to gain access to villages throughout the cyclone impact zone. The Women in Fisheries Network-Fiji provided guidance on the inclusion of gender in the survey. Thank you to Sarah Eminhizer (Coral Reef Alliance) for providing comments on the report. Lastly, this work would not have been possible without the generosity of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Grant #2015-41007) who helped fund this critical work. We dedicate this report to the communities in the pathway of Cyclone Winston as they continue their journey to recovery. Together we are truly ‘Stronger than Winston’. 3 | P a g e Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 3 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 6 Key Findings ............................................................................................................................ 6 Ranking of Impact................................................................................................................... 8 Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 9 1.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 11 2.0 Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 13 3.0 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Field surveys ................................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Economic analysis .......................................................................................................... 16 3.2.1 Damages .................................................................................................................. 17 3.2.2 Losses ...................................................................................................................... 17 3.3 Criteria for ranking community impact .......................................................................... 18 4.0 Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................... 20 4.1 Impacts on fishing infrastructure ................................................................................... 20 4.1.1 Boats and engines ................................................................................................... 20 4.1.2 Boat ownership ....................................................................................................... 25 4.1.3 Fishing gear ............................................................................................................. 27 4.1.4 Post-harvest equipment ......................................................................................... 34 4.1.5 Impact on Fishing Aggregating Devices .................................................................. 36 4.1.6 Overall summaries of damages and losses by province ......................................... 37 4.2 Impacts on subsistence and livelihoods ......................................................................... 38 4.2.1 Ranking of fishing activities .................................................................................... 40 4.2.2 Ranking of livelihood activities ............................................................................... 48 4.2.3 Market access to sell fish ........................................................................................ 56 4.2.4 Number of fishing licences...................................................................................... 57 4.3 Impact on diets ............................................................................................................... 57 4.3.1 Fish consumption and protein sources ................................................................... 57 4.3.2 Provision of fish to schools ..................................................................................... 62 4.4 Livelihood needs post-cyclone ....................................................................................... 62 4.5 Impacts to Marine Habitats ............................................................................................ 65 4.5.1 Coral Reefs .............................................................................................................. 65 4.5.2 Seagrass .................................................................................................................. 65 4 | P a g e 4.5.3 Mangroves .............................................................................................................. 67 4.5.4 Condition of community fishing grounds ............................................................... 67 4.6 Marine Resource Management ..................................................................................... 69 4.6.1 Tabu areas ............................................................................................................... 69 4.6.2 Qoliqoli Management pre- and post-cyclone ......................................................... 74 4.6.3 Will management practices help with recovery? ................................................... 74 4.7 Ranking of impact to districts ......................................................................................... 77 5.0 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................ 83 6.0 Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 84 7.0 References ......................................................................................................................... 87 8. APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... 88 Appendix 1: Survey Questionnaire ....................................................................................... 88 Appendix 2: List of all villages surveyed ............................................................................... 96 Appendix 3: Financial figures used to estimate damages and losses .................................. 98 Appendix 4: Average percentage of households that depend on fisheries for livelihood and subsistence per district. ..................................................................................................... 100 Appendix 5: Lists of all livelihood needs identified for each Province .............................. 102 5 | P a g e Executive Summary Key Findings On 20 February 2016, Fiji was hit by Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston. It was one of the largest cyclones Fiji had experienced and the government led Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) estimated the total value of the damages and losses for the country at FJ$1.99 billion. The timing of the PDNA did not allow the collection of new data to quantify the impact of Cyclone Winston on fisheries-dependent communities. Without this data, it was difficult to quantify the degree and extent to which different coastal villages, districts and provinces were impacted, and therefore the strategies needed to support communities in their recovery process. On the request of the Department of Fisheries, the Wildlife Conservation Society developed a post-disaster socioeconomic questionnaire with inputs from Fiji-based partners, to assess the impact of Cyclone Winston on fisheries dependent communities in Fiji to inform national recovery and rehabilitation efforts. Specifically, the assessment aimed to: i. estimate the impacts of Cyclone Winston on fishing infrastructure (e.g. boats, engines and gear) and