A HUSBAND and wife team operating a dive and resort business on Nukubati Island in Vanua Levu has decried the relentless increase in ocean pollution that is now threatening marine biodiversity in the area as much as it is becoming “embarrassing” when they take tourists out to dive.
Speaking to The Fiji Times after their presentation at the 2025 Women Invigorating the Nation Convention (WIN 2025) on Saturday, Lara Bourke and Leone Vokai of Nukubati Private Island Resort shared their concerns over trash from the mainland that were now ending up in the reefs.
“I started the Great Sea Reef diving company in 2012,” Mr Vokai said of the diving business that he now operates on Nukubati Island with his wife Lara.
Nukubati is located on the Great Sea Reef, a 420km barrier reef system that stretches from the tip of the Yasawas to Udu Point in Vanua Levu, making it the third largest barrier reef system in the world.
“At that time, there was hardly any rubbish,” Mr Vokai said.
“Now, the amount of rubbish, especially in the last three years, has gone up – diapers, plastics, bottles, even fridges.
“Once, a shark went past us when we were diving and there was plastic stuck in its mouth.
“And it’s really embarrassing, especially when I’m taking tourists out to dive, and you see these rubbish coming.
“Sometimes I have to point their attention to something else so they don’t see this. It’s embarrassing and frustrating,” Mr Vokai said.
The couple called on the Government to put more effort into waste management, given that much of the waste that ended up in the ocean came from the mainland.
“In Labasa Town, the rubbish dump is in the mangroves and when it rains and gets flooded, it takes half of that waste into the sea, which ends up in the reefs,” Mr Vokai said.
“My island, Mali Island, is like a strainer of the Great Sea Reef.
“If you go to the east side of Mali Island, you can’t see gravel, you can’t see the sand. The mangrove is full of rubbish – plastic bags are everywhere and all that comes from town.”
Ms Bourke said while they do what they can to address the pollution, the problem was bigger than them and required Government’s conscious intervention.
“It has to start at home and it has to start in primary school – in the education system.
“And Government needs to support that. Ok, we can raise awareness, but where do people put their rubbish?
“The Government also needs to work with us and provide ways to manage waste,” Ms Bourke said.
NOTE: This article was first published in the print edition of the Fiji Times dated MARCH 31, 2025.
