New Fiji Project to Open
Added to website: 06 September 2005
CCC is soon to open a new marine base at the world famous Tokoriki Island Resort.
CCC’s presence in Fiji stemmed from the severe coral bleaching event of 2000 in which more than 50% of corals within the Mamanuca Island Group were affected. Resort managers and dive operators, in consultation with the Government and other stakeholders, contacted CCC to express their concern and seek advice and guidance.
Since 2001, hundreds of CCC Volunteers have participated on the ‘CCC Fiji Coral Reef Conservation Project’ in the Mamanucas. Based on the vast quantity of data gathered, a number of key areas in the southern region of the Mamanucas have been recommended as Marine Protected Areas. CCC has now been invited to extend its remit to the northern region of the chain.
CCC’s headquarters in the Mamanucas is located at Raviniaki, a beach-fronted, self-contained building complex on Qalito Island, 15 minutes walk from Castaway Island Resort. From the beginning of October, small ‘satellite’ sub-groups of the project team will be selected to spend periods of time living and working from the small northern volcanic island of Tokoriki.
Early indications and empirical evidence suggests that reef ecosystems of the northern Mamanucas are different in geomorphological form and are as healthy as or even healthier than those in the south. It is therefore anticipated that many of the recommended management sites in the near future will come from data collected from Tokoriki.
