March Update - Fiji Marine Project
Added to website: 31 March 2005
Project Brief
Aim
The Fiji Coral Reef Conservation Project is a six-year project (2002-2008) to survey coral reefs of the Mamanuca Islands, the Yasawa Islands and other areas of Fiji. The programme provides training and conservation education opportunities for local Fijians, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine resources throughout the region.
Location
CCC Partners
CCC is working at the invitation of and in partnership with the Government of Fiji, local communities, the Mamanuca Environment Society, the tourism sector and other groups.
Marine Science Programme
Baseline Surveys
Number and location of surveys
Number of transects completed - Four
Reef Check
None
Interesting / Unusual Sightings
Rays have been a frequently spotted this month with scores of blue spotted rays on house, Vakeleciri and Big Nige, together with common rays on house and Sunflower, and the occasional eagle ray on house. Following on from last month another Manta ray made an appearance as the volunteers descended on a survey at Vakeleciri.
To no surprise numerous white tips, black tips and grey reef sharks have been spotted at Supermarket, as well as making frequent appearances at Vakeleciri, Yalu Drivi and Vatu Yali.. White tips have been spotted close by on house reef, together with young black tips frequently feeding in the shallows. A number of nurse sharks have also been spotted on various dives, including Ika Bazaar and Magic, and last but not least, a great leopard shark was seen at Rainbow.
Few turtles have been sited this month at Charlie’s, Supermarket and surprisingly on house. As for large fish, we’ve had schools of barracuda on house and a few tuna, together with a large school of yellow fin tuna at Ika Bazaar.
Environmental Awareness
The ongoing process of teaching at local schools continued this month with the Environment programme at the Malolo District School, Solevu, Malolo Island. The Environment Programme is a collaborative teaching effort between MES (Mamanuca Environment Society) and CCC. The programme runs for 13 weeks with a two hour session scheduled every week. Building on past lessons, the children of class 7 (Age 12) have been taught about the coastal zone. They learned of the many connections and interactions between upland forests, mangrove systems, sea grass beds and coral reefs. The most recent session involved six of our volunteers helping the children create dramatisations of the conservation principles they have leant in the programme. The session was a storming success and all involved are keen to repeat it - photos will follow soon!
The process of setting up permanent Reef Check sites, in conjunction with MES (Mamanuca Environment Society), continues. This is part of a long-term project, which started back in June with a series of workshops held for the island and mainland Dive Operators working in the Mamanuca region. The aim was to educate the staff in coral reef biology and ecology, and best practice with regards to activities involving coral reefs. The overall aim of these workshops was to teach the simple Reef Check survey technique, and then choose some representative sites in the Mamanuca region for the Dive Operators to take responsibility for and survey on an annual basis. The data from these surveys is to be submitted to MES who can then analyse the data and compile an annual report on the status of the Mamanucas. It is almost time now to go back and survey these sites again.
Coral Coast Project
The Coral Coast team has now completed all surveys in the Serua District. Surveys are now being extended East of Sigatoka towards Nadi. We continue to be assisted in our surveys by past scholarship students and members of the Institute of Applied Sciences in Suva. Recently members of Korolevu i wai Tikina were presented with the data it was agreed that a series of bilingual posters would be produced to help the local land owners make educated decisions about the management of their fishing grounds. These posters have been produced and are now being distributed. The project continues to forge ahead into it’s 10th and final district as the team continue to survey diligently.
Yasawas Project
The Yasawas has re-opened and surveys are being carried out there at a great rate as the site is ‘fed’ volunteers from Ravinaki.
