Waitabu Marine Park Blog

Sustainable Fijian Reef Resources Inc. (Sasalu Tawamudu) is a state-of-Georgia registered not-for-profit corporation with US IRS 501(c)3 status for tax deductible donations. It was founded by Dr. Bill Aalbersberg, the Director of Applied Sciences at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, Dr. Kirk Bowman, a professor of international affairs at Georgia Tech, and Dr. Terry Snell, a biology professor at Georgia Tech. Aalbersberg, Bowman, and Snell are part of an international team of scientists and researchers who are funded by the Fogarty Center of the US National Institutes of Health to work on drug discovery, conservation, and sustainable economic development in Fiji. Sustainable Fijian Reef Resources is a culmination of part of that work and combines local knowledge from Fijian stakeholders, cutting edge science on reef health, market dynamics, local community activism, and internet marketing. The Board of Directors all serve without any compensation of any kind. Due to gene...

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the towns and cities which have jurisdiction over marine protected areas are undervaluing themselves by charging small fees. This leads to both a massive and unmanageable influx of local and foreign tourists that usually lead to the destruction of natural resources and lack of funds for proper management. Citing the efforts of El Nido in Palawan, which has raised the access fee compared with other destinations Secretary Durano pointed out that tourists continued to come in droves. By imposing “the right price,” the volume of people would drop to manageable levels, while the attraction can get better protection and the community well-compensated, Durano claims. “There is a certain level of the price that will put a limit on the people and yet make the attraction still competitive.” By imposing the right amount of fees and charges, the community would be able to sustain its efforts to protect its natural resources. “We must make sure we hav...

From the album: "Taveuni" by Naushad Yakub Waitbau Beach Added August 10 Facebook | Naushad Yakub's Photos - Taveuni

Make a world of difference this Earth Day, 22 April 2009 Earth is a water planet and the planet needs our help. Why? Climate change is a major threat with increased ocean temperatures and ocean acidification impacting fragile underwater environments. Dive for Earth Day is an extraordinary opportunity to take action and help address the underwater issues that concern you most. How can you help? Individual Divers and Water Enthusiasts: Volunteer today! Search for Dive for Earth Day events near you and choose from hundreds of conservation activities that put aquatic issues on the Earth Day map. Dive Professionals and Organisations: Coordinate an event! Organise a coral reef monitoring project, underwater cleanup, AWARE Kids event or AWARE Fish ID Specialty Course. Register online to receive free resources to help make your day a success. About Dive for Earth Day Earth Day raises environmental awareness on a global scale. Since the 30th anniversary of Earth Day in 2000, Proje...

THIRTEEN of the 14 provinces in the country have come to realise the importance of marine life to the human food chain. Fiji Locally Managed Marine Areas (FLMMA) network secretariat Margaret Vakalalabure said the marine protected areas initiative was a success and todate, all provinces except Naitasiri have joined in to protect our marine ecosystem. "The initiative is being taken by various communities in the country with the help of FLMMA." They are the ones who came up with the idea because it has to start from that level in order to be effective. There have been a lot of interest shown by the communities and the only province that is yet to join the FLMMA network is Naitasiri," she said. Ms Vakalalabure said some MPA's have been permanently banned from all forms of fishing while other areas were just temporary. At present, the Network consists of representatives from the Ministry of Fisheries, Department of Environment, Department of Indigenous Affairs, Mini...

Recognize anybody? Ten BAD Boys and Girls and six Gentlemen from Waitabu Marine Park have spent three days learning about Reef Ecology and Fiji's Fisheries Law, courtesy of the Coral Reef Alliance who fronted the costs for the Taveuni gang and SRMR and BAD who organized & financed the whole gig. Our thanks go to the Department of Fisheries , foremost to the Director, Commander Naqali for having accepted to run the course and for having sent us a team of brilliant lecturers. All the participants have assured me that they have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learned heaps in the process! The result? 16 brand new Fish Wardens ! These are sort of "Park Rangers" who are given full authority by the Government to enforce the Fisheries Law. They can arrest poachers, inspect cargo, even confiscate catches and boats - great for monitoring and enforcing the fishing ban in our respective Marine Protected Areas! Fisheries tell me that they would welcome more such coop...

Marine reserves are widely used throughout the world to prevent overfishing and conserve biodiversity, but uncertainties remain about their optimal design. The effects of marine reserves are heterogenous. Despite theoretical findings, empirical studies have previously found no effect of size on the effectiveness of marine reserves in protecting commercial fish stocks. Using 58 datasets from 19 European marine reserves, we show that reserve size and age fo matter. Increasing the size of the no-take zone increases the density of commercial fishes within the reserve compared with outside; whereas teh size of the buffer zone has the opposite effect. Moreover, positive effects of marine reserve on commercial fish species and species richness are link to the time elapsed since the establishment of the protection scheme. The reserve size-dependency of the respinse to protection has strong implications for the spatial management of coastal areas because marine reserves are used for spatial zon...