Help Us Fight Against Illegal Fishing in Our Ocean

Dear Supporters,

GVI Caqalai’s main aim is to work with the community of Moturiki to improve the long-term sustainability of their natural marine resources. Over the last quarter we have made great progress through continuation with our long-term monitoring of the reef around Caqalai and community-led Rapid Habitat Assessments (RHAs) and marine resource management workshops in Moturiki.

The reefs are the main source of protein for the communities that live on the island and therefore are under a great deal of fishing pressure and prone to habitat destruction. To ensure that there are fishing stocks for future generations, the people of Moturiki understand that they must protect certain areas of the reef. To act as a habitat for reef creatures to thrive in, a protected area must fulfil certain criteria, be closed to fishing and be used in a non-destructive manner. We have helped by collecting data around Caqalai, an area with low fishing pressure, to determine which areas of the reefs of Moturiki are suitable to become Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Over the last quarter we have trained 27 volunteers and conducted 87 surveys of the reefs around Caqalai to continue the long-term monitoring of fish, invertebrate and benthic species. We began the second phase of RHAs of the fishing grounds and proposed MPAs around Moturiki involving the community with the aim that the habitat assessments will continue into the future. We conducted 3 workshops, trainingthe community members involved in the RHAs and interpretation of that data will give the community the skills to monitor the health of the reef now and in the future, maintaining ownership of that data using a quick and low cost method. A further 33 Dives Against Debris and 10 beach cleans were conducted by volunteers to support the coastal conservation around Caqalai and Moturiki.

With these actions, GVI Caqalai works toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Life Below Water which is the 14th SDG that aims to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems.

The last quarter has been a great success. With the generous help from our supporters and donors we can continue to support Moturiki in progressing towards our shared goal to improve the sustainability of fishing methods, protecting vital areas of the reef so that they remain a source of protein for future generations. Our work could not be accomplished without our supporters and donors, so a huge thank you for all of the support so far!

With Gratitude

Fiji Marine Conservation