Page 26 - Vol.38-No.6

FISHERIES & FISH FARMING

TECHNOLOGY HELPS FISHERS TAP NEW

RESOURCES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

As it is in many island states across the Through one FAO project in Fiji, fishers improve what’s happening to sustain those
South Pacific, fishing is a means of survival are learning how to access aquatic species coastal fisheries and provide healthy protein
in Fiji; it is embedded in the daily rituals further offshore and being given the skills and nutrition for SIDS communities.”
of the people who live in the archipelago’s and equipment they need to do it. The pro- When the fishers return with their catch,
islands. ject is named FishFAD after a technology local fish processors, who are usually wom-
“I have been fishing all my life,” says Avi- central to this work, the fish aggregating en, clean, process, smoke, cure and dry the
uta Ramoli. “Most of our resources come device (FAD). The FAD is anchored to the fish. The FishFAD initiative is also training
from the sea.” sea floor with buoys on the surface to at- these women, as well as fishers and fish
Aviuta has fished in the spectacular tract small pelagic fish such as mackerel and workers, in post-harvest skills to help add
turquoise waters surrounding his home larger high-value fish like tuna that are not value to their catches and increase their
for nearly seven decades. He now has found closer to shore. FAO assists fishers in incomes. For example, fish workers are
six children, 24 grandchildren and 13 constructing this device on-shore before learning how to use previously discarded
great-grandchildren. transporting it by boat and fixing it at a parts of the fish to make fish burgers, fish
stable location up to 10 kilometres offshore. samosas and other products.
“The fishers are learning new types of “We have learned a lot of things: the
fishing so they can fish in deep water,” says way to cut the fish, to fillet the fish,” says
Mike Savins, FAO’s chief technical advisor 66-year-old Ilisebeta Bau. “We learned how
for the project. He emphasizes that it’s not to use the fish head and the leftovers to
just about increasing catch diversity and make samosas and fish balls, and we can
numbers: “They also learn how to use the make money out of that.”
equipment and learn more about manage-
ment, as well as how to add value to their
fish processing techniques.”
But Aviuta and other fishers are finding It’s about building capacity and resilience
it more difficult to find enough fish stocks as well as vital food security and nutrition
close to shore and many are forced to since fish accounts for between 50 and 90
travel long distances for fish to feed their percent of animal protein and provides key
families and generate income. Aviuta says nutrients in the local diet.
an increase in unsustainable fishing means “Fishers are learning how to fish in deeper
fewer fish grow to maturity, and there are water with the right equipment to make The timing of the FishFAD project is
less stocks available. their fishing efforts far more productive, so critical as SIDS face a more uncertain fu-
“When I first started fishing, there was when they are trained they can continue ture. COVID-19 has disrupted tourism and
very little commercial fishing, and we to do it,” says Savins. other economic sectors in the past two
caught much bigger fish,” he says. “We still The provision of safety training and years and climate shocks are increasing,
catch fish, but the size is much smaller, equipment is also a critical element of Fish- taking a heavy toll on these vulnerable island
half of what we caught in the beginning.” FAD, particularly as the fishers are pursu- states. Sea levels and temperatures are on
Fiji is one of the Pacific region’s Small ing their catch in deeper, more dangerous the rise as are the number of cyclones in
Island Developing States (SIDS). They in- waters further offshore. the Pacific region. Fiji was struck by three
severe tropical cyclones in the past two
clude some of the world’s most remote Funded by the government of Japan, years alone.
countries whose coastal ecosystems are FishFAD focuses on seven countries: Fiji,
bearing the brunt of pollution, overfishing, Kiribati, Palau, the Rebublic of Marshall “In Melanesian and Polynesian countries,
marine degradation and climate change. In Islands, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. especially Vanuatu and Fiji, cyclones com-
this International Year of Artisanal Fisher- “FAD is a benefit to us because we know pletely wipe out root crops and leaf crops,”
ies and Aquaculture (IYAFA) 2022, FAO is the fish are there all the time, day or night, says Savins. “But people can go out the day
bringing to light some of these challenges whenever you go there to fish. You don’t after the cyclone and catch fish so the FADs
and celebrating the contribution of small- waste your fuel going to the other side of are an important tool for building resilience
scale fishers, fish farmers and fish workers. the island,” Aviuta says. in emergencies.”
“The Pacific has the highest fresh fish
consumption rate in the world, so fish as a
source of protein and micronutrients is ex-
traordinarily important in this region,” says
Nicole Franz, a Fisheries Officer for FAO.
“It’s a really important focus for FAO,
particularly during IYAFA, to help countries

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