SULIANA Siwatibau’s face lights up as she recalls her childhood in the village, especially participating in the annual event, the yavirau, or the traditional fish drive, where everyone in the village together herded the fish into the shallows using coconut fronds strung together with vines.
Originally from Uluibau, on the island of Moturiki in the Lomaiviti Group, Siwatibau said the yavirau was an event everyone looked forward to, a chance to see the riches of the reef and celebrate village culture.
“I watched them in those days as they would return to the village with a lot of fish. They would have two men carrying a pole on their shoulders with the harvest hanging so low it would touch the ground,” she said. “Two of the fish that stood out from their catch were kawakawa and donu and they were really big ones.”
When she returned to the village two years ago to watch another yavirau, she witnessed a totally different scene.
“I watched the yavirau, which the BBC and a French media company had come to record. There was hardly any kawakawa or donu at all and the sizes were really small. It was really sad because I could see how the fish population has really been depleted within my lifetime,” said Siwatibau, sadness in her voice as she looked out towards the sea from her house at Nauluvatu in Suva.
Siwatibau, nee Kaloumaira and wife of the late Savenaca Siwatibau, is a well known figure in Fiji as a botanist, teacher, community advocate, and a mentor through membership of governing and advisory bodies of several national, regional and international NGOs and intergovernmental bodies.
Today, Siwatibau adds 4FJ champion to her CV because she believes we should all use in a sustainable manner our natural resources for the sake of our next generation. Unlike other campaigns which have come before, she says, this one has a chance to make people’s lives better.
The 4FJ Movement (short form of For Fiji) is a campaign asking people across the country to forego kawakawa and donu during their peak breeding months, June through September, so the rapidly disappearing fish can restock Fiji’s reefs.
“Even in the market you can just see small fish being sold and that means that the big ones have already been caught. This campaign is the beginning for managing our resources not only for kawakawa and donu but for other fish as well,” Siwatibau said.
And the prices of the fish are escalating, making it less affordable for many.
“When my elderly mum came to live with us in Suva I used to buy kawakawa for her because she loved them and it was also easy for her to chew at her old age. But nowadays they are very expensive for me, especially as a retiree, so I do not buy them,” she said.
Siwatibau said she hoped everyone who had taken the pledge would engage their networks, families and friends to explain why letting those species of fish breed would mean more fish for everyone.
What would she say to fishermen still fishing these fish during the spawning period?
“In the short term you can enjoy the returns you get from it. But in the long term, you will have no market and no income,” she said. “And our young people are already missing out on what we had growing up, and they will be missing more if we do not take action now.”
Siwatibau also has a message for those who say we will never run out of fish because God will supply our needs.
“God created and gave these resources for us to manage, and he also gave us freewill. So he won’t interfere with our decisions. It is our responsibility to maintain those gifts and not destroy them. We are being irresponsible if we’re given a gift and do not appreciate it and nurture it,” she said.
“And it was not given for us only but also for the next generation and we should ensure it is passed down to them. This is my message to those who use God as a way to make right their unsustainable use of our resources,” Siwatibau said.
To join Suliana Siwatibau in making the 4FJ pledge, just text your (1) name, (2) village/town, and (3) “I pledge” to 7189537. Digicel users can also use 4679 as it’s free.
* Alumeci Nakeke is a program associate at SeaWeb Fiji.
