Birgit and Christian have lived on board for 12 years and rely only on alternative energy sources, trying to minimize the impact they have on the environment. When they first visited Matuku in the Lau Group of Fiji, they found a still pristine and healthy marine environment which needed protecting to ensure the future of the ecosystem.  Here Birgit takes up the story:

How the Matuku Marine Reserve came into being

Awareness for the need to protect the environment and its resources is slowly growing in Fiji. “Conservation International” and the “Lau Seascape Strategy” are doing studies and setting ambitious goals to protect the ocean and its wildlife, but when we talk to people in the villages of remote islands, we still get the impression that sustainability remains an abstract concept.

Many of the reefs are horribly over fished and empty, especially those of islands with a town or resort nearby. Fishermen go out every day (and worse, every night) to catch the last, little reef fish to make a profit today, without contemplating what they’ll do tomorrow.

Over the last years electricity has arrived in the remotest areas of Fiji and with the installation of freezers the fishermen of those islands also get the chance to export fish and make some quick money.

Unfortunately the reefs cannot provide enough fish for that kind of economy. For centuries, the ocean provided the islanders who were doing subsistence fishing (and farming), but modern fishing techniques and fishing for export deplete the resources of a small island within a few years.

We have been cruising in the South Pacific for 10 years and have spent lots of time snorkeling reefs in French Polynesia, Tonga, the Cook Islands and now in Fiji.

Unfortunately many of the reefs are nearly empty and without herbivore fish to clean them, the corals get overgrown by algae. Quite often we return from a dive sad and depressed.

But sometimes we find a healthy reef that still has a diversity of wildlife and then we try to talk to the fishermen about the necessity to limit fishing/harvesting and protect at least certain areas to ensure the future of the eco-system (important for the world), but also the future of subsistence fishing (very important for them).

If they just smile about our naive “touristy” concerns, we don’t get into an argument, it’s not worth it. But if they are interested, show that they have noticed changes and are concerned about them, we are happy to share what we have witnessed on other islands across the Pacific. We show examples of islands that are faring well due to careful resource management and others where now frantic protection efforts are made, but where it’s already too late and the reefs are dead and empty.

A Big Step for Matuku

The people of Matuku in the southwestern Lau (Moala Group) have made a big step towards sustainable fishing by installing three big “Tabu” no-fishing zones around their island.

We visited the island three times over the last year, chatted with the villagers, took a presentation about sustainability to the local school and had meetings with the chiefs and headmen. They agreed that they had to take measures to ensure a future for their fishing grounds.  Matuku does have fertile gardens, but fish are nevertheless one of the cornerstones of their nutrition.

Permanent fishing ban

First they wanted to install Tabu areas for a limited time, then they contemplated only prohibiting night-time fishing, but in the end the islanders came to realise that having a complete, permanent fishing ban for a big area was the most efficient way to protect the fish and ensure good fishing for the community around the limits of such a “tabu” area.

The smaller areas on the southern and eastern side of Matuku island are difficult to visit by sailboat, but the biggest one is located just off the main pass on the western side of the island with a wonderfully protected anchorage in the bay of Lomati close by!

Stop and see their efforts

If you cruise in the Lau Islands of Fiji, make a stop-over in Matuku, enjoy the wonderful snorkeling, praise the islanders for their environmental efforts and leave a donation to help them maintain and patrol their “Tabu” no-fishing zones.

The islanders are worried that fishing expeditions from the mainland or from neighbouring islands may come to plunder their reefs at night.  If you can’t make it to Matuku, but would still like to support the project, visit our blog – www.pitufa.at – to make a donation!

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footsteps

As cruisers we live close to nature, visit many different places, can compare them and witness how they change over time. Too many of the reefs are overfished as it is, so cruisers really shouldn’t deplete the reef fish even more during their visits.

A few islands are still untouched and teeming with life – wouldn’t it be much nicer to just marvel at the diversity of life and watch their behaviour instead of going spearfishing? If you just take one grouper and one coconut crab, imagine what happens if all boats following in your wake do the same?

Our advice to fellow sailors is to live after the old motto “take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footsteps”. If you’d like to take this philosophy a bit further and have a positive influence, you could also try to talk to islanders about fishing and raise awareness for sustainability.

Here’s a summary of the arguments we use when talking to the islanders:

Why create a Tabu?

Communities in the Pacific Islands have successfully managed and protected their coastal marine areas for many hundreds of years. But nowadays the oceans and their fish suffer from global changes including:

• increasing human populations
• climate change
• pollution

The local fishing around the islands has also changed due to:

• outboards
• flashlights for night-time fishing
• freezers to store fish

As soon as fishing is no longer meant to feed the island population, but to export for profit, reef fishing is not sustainable because the resources of a reef are very limited!

When implemented successfully, tabu areas have the potential to ensure activities in coastal marine areas, particularly fishing, are sustainable and will provide marine resources for future generations.

Protect the areas early

For communities, a key motivation is that tabu areas will result in improved catches of seafood in nearby fishing areas. However, tabu areas must be carefully designed and managed to achieve this aim.

They should implement a variety of habitats and be big enough to allow the fish to move without leaving the boundaries immediately. When the numbers of fish have already substantially decreased it is also difficult to reverse the process.  The key is to protect early enough while there is still a healthy reef with a variety of fish!

Why a permanent Tabu?

Research shows that only complete, permanent closures are successful. They provide the time species need to grow, breed and in some cases, recover to benefit the region. This can take many years for some species. The benefits of an area closed for several years can be eroded after only one day of being re-opened to fishing. Effective tabu areas need permanent closure to protect big fish that are much more reproductive than small fish (super breeders) and guarantee overflow around the protected zone.

The Tabu zone must be big enough

The size of tabu areas is also critical to their success. Tabu areas on fringing reefs should protect from the shore across the reef flat and out past the reef crest to ensure all species in the area are offered protection. The size of the tabu area will depend on the life cycle and natural range of movement of the protected fish species. If the tabu is not big enough to cover all endangered species it makes sense to protect these species even outside the tabu! For example no shark fishing all around the island, no grouper fishing during the spawning season, etc.

Tabu area location

Coral reefs, seagrass and mangroves provide critical habitat for many marine animals, for spawning (e.g. reef fish), feeding (e.g. turtles) and as nursery areas (e.g. for reef fish and sharks). Tabu areas should include habitats that support different life cycle stages. For example many fish babies need the protection of mangrove forests to grow up, later they spend their adult lives on coral reefs.

Why are coral reefs so important?

They protect the shoreline from storms and surge water. Barrier reefs reduce waves, buffer the shores and prevent erosion.
They form a protected habitat for a huge variety of fish.

Most corals and sponges as well as clams are filter feeders, so they contribute to enhanced quality and clarity of our near shore waters.
Communities can achieve a sustainable income from eco-tourism and dive tourism if they have a healthy reef with many attractions (big fish, turtles, sharks)

But all around the world reefs are damaged and dying because of

• Global warming
• Pollution
• Overfishing
• No reef no fish!

Balanced eco-system

Coral reefs support an incredible diversity of fish. Everything from lobsters and octopus to sea turtles and dolphins depend on the reef for food, habitat and protection.

Each animal plays an important role in the reef ecosystem, by filtering water, consuming prolific algae or keeping a particular species under control. These balanced relationships keep the marine ecosystems diverse and abundant with life.

Sharks eat sick fish and prevent the spreading of diseases.

Turtles eat dangerous jelly fish and keep seaweed under control.

Parrot fish are the cleaners of the reef.  They eat seaweed and algae and keep the rocks clean, so that coral can grow back. If there is overfishing, there are not enough fish to clean the coral, so damaged coral cannot recover…

A reef can recover from damage if it contains a balanced eco-system and if there are enough fish to clean it!

Birgit Hackl and Christian Feldbauer
SV Pitufa

……………………………………..

About the Authors

Calling themselves “green cruisers”, Austrian liveaboards Birgit Hackl and Christian Feldbauer, rely only on alternative energy sources and try to minimize the impact they have on the environment. They not only assist local communities where they cruise, but also try to give back to the generous cruiser community by sharing their experiences and knowledge learnt via their blog.

They have been cruising aboard their S&S 41 “Pitufa” for 12 years.

Read more about their travels and projects:

• www.pitufa.at
• Noonsite reports from SY Pitufa
• Read their book “Sailing Towards the Horizon”
• Portrait of a Cruiser:  Birgit Hackl and Christian Feldbauer

……………………………………..

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

…………………………………

Find out all news, reports, links and comments posted on Noonsite, plus cruising information from around the world, by subscribing to our FREE monthly newsletter. Go to https://www.noonsite.com/newsletter/.