Fiji Sharks - Cause for Celebration!

Fiji is set to put in place a landmark fisheries policy to ban all shark finning in the country and address the alarming decline of sharks.

Department of Fisheries and Forests permanent secretary Commander Viliame Naupoto says the ban would be similar to laws that currently protect turtles.

The proposed new law would ban the trade of all shark fins and other products derived from any type of shark that is captured in Fiji waters.

The ban only affects trade and does not stop villagers from consuming shark meat.

However shark meat is not a regular diet for Fijians in villagers – although it is available in Fish and Chips shops in urban centres.

Sharks are also held sacred as the totem animals or Vu of the people of Cakaudrove and other islands.

Commander Naupoto says sharks play a critical role within the marine ecosystem by controlling the population of certain marine species.

He adds the emerging market in shark tourism has huge potential as an economic exchange earner and as employment for locals – and sharks are more valuable alive than dead.

Beqa Adventure Divers director and shark conservationist Mike Neumann highlighted that Beqa Adventure Divers generated about $3million in direct and indirect revenue that were all invested in Fiji.

Fiji will be the first Melanesian country to approve such a law.

The Adventures of Shark Girl and Shark-Free Marinas Fiji

The Adventures of Shark Girl Blog has in depth coverage of the Shark-Free Marinas Initiative in Fiji this week.

Also known as industry gal Jillian Morris and often seen on the company of Duncan Brake, her blog coverage this week is a must read:

For a small island nation, Fiji has set a standard for their involvement in the Shark Free Marina Initiative. With 25 marinas signed on, they are still going strong. The Fijian culture respects sharks and the people realize the tourism and environmental value of a live shark. Island nations are limited in their economic ventures, so they protect that which is valuable. At the forefront of the Fijian campaign are Stuart Gow of Matava Eco Resort and Mike Neumann and his team at Beqa Adventure Divers. We interviewed Stuart for a PSA video and he said his involvement was a “ no brainer.” The resort is home to a popular sport fishing charter that also encourage catch and release if catching at all. He said is what a natural progression of the message the resort is already operating by. Stuart was also able to get PADI Project Aware involved in order to cover the cost of purchasing signs for all the marinas.

Mike Neumann and his team at BAD offer the ULTIMATE shark dive and care deeply about the animals they work with everyday. His feeders and dive team have a special connection with the sharks, like nothing I have seen before. Mike did not speak to us on camera, but the actions of his whole crew spoke volumes. Every one of them is truly an ambassador for sharks and for the ocean.

Complete post here. As a side note we have added Jillian's blog to our hallowed blog roll;)

Fijian divers urge for stop of shark finning - Well done!

When Mike, aka Da Shark, dives into the news he doesn't not bother with "small things," he swims right into the middle of "epic issues."

Case in point an article that made nationwide news in China this week, taking the message to the people:

Fijian Divers have called for stopping shark finning in the island nation to save the reefs, local media FijiLive website reported here Tuesday.

Mike Neuman, Director of the Beqa Adventures Divers made the call after conservationists found that local fishermen are engaging in the illegal practice of shark finning, says the report.

"Like our mangroves, the reefs protect our coastline and their demise will lead to coastal erosion and flooding, especially during cyclones but also as the sea level rises due to Global warming," Neuman was quoted as saying.

Neuman said sharks play important roles in local marine ecosystems and were worth more alive than dead. "As an example, it has been observed that where there are reef sharks, the parrot fish that feed on coral cannot stay in one location for long but need to remain on the move. This prevents them from over- exploiting the corals."

The principal reason why tourists visit Fiji is because of Fiji's intact marine habitats, Neuman further explained, adding "be it for simply enjoying our beaches or for engaging in a plethora of water activities. If we destroy our oceans we risk loosing countless jobs and 55 percent of our GDP."

"This is simply not a risk the country can afford" and there have been instances in which local fishermen had targeted sharks specifically for their fins, he stressed. "Finning is just a particular harvesting technique that consists in cutting off the fins, often while the shark is still alive, and discarding the carcasses."

According to Neuman, fish stocks can recover if the reefs are being subsequently protected but sharks are very slow breeders and stocks will very likely not recover once they have been wiped out.

"As to the value of sharks for dive tourism, we have calculated that a single shark on our shark dive contributes 30,000 Fiji dollars (16,600 U.S. dollars) to the local economy annually, or 600,000 Fiji dollars (330,000 U.S. dollars) during its lifetime this compares to a few hundred dollars for its value when dead," he said.

A report by Pacific Scoop in 2009 stated that shark fins in Fiji can only fetch 50 U.S. dollars for 500 grams, while elsewhere the shark fins can cost 400 to 800 U.S. dollars a kilo depending on the size and species of the shark.

Article here.