Fiji’s Bycatch Guidelines & Bycatch Mitigation Toolkits -A good start to the New Year

The Great Fiji Shark Count contributed identification posters to Fiji’s Bycatch Guidelines & Bycatch Mitigation Toolkits, the latest in a series of initiatives designed to reduce the amount of sharks, turtles, seabirds and other “bycatch” species that may be accidentally harmed during tuna fishing activities.

Ms Emma Christopher, Development Programme Coordinator from the New Zealand High Commission, presents Great Fiji Shark Count Shark, Ray and Turtle ID posters to Captain Charles Pickering of the Fiji Fishing Industry Association

On the 21 January 2021, a valuable set of guidelines and equipment designed to assist fishing boat crew to release accidentally caught species unharmed was launched at the Suva Holiday Inn. These kits will be provided to more than 90 offshore fishing vessels working in Fiji waters, and used in educating students at the Fiji Maritime Academy.

Sets of Identification materials, guideline booklets and equipment for releasing accidental bycatch assembled ready for presentation.

The kits include an instructional booklet and a laminated guide for use on offshore fishing vessels:

‘Bycatch Best Handling Practices: A Guideline for Skippers and Crew on Longline Fishing Vessels in Fiji’ and ‘Best Practice for Bycatch Mitigation in Fiji’s Tuna Longline Fishery: For Vessel Owners & Operators’
supported by the New Zealand government.

The guideline booklet shows how unwanted bycatch species can sometimes be caught alongside fishery targets and details the methods to release animals unharmed

Bycatch Mitigation Toolkits

The toolkit ‘Bycatch Mitigation Toolkits for Fiji’s Offshore Industry’ provides the tools needed to release sharks, turtles and seabirds, and was created as a partnership between the Fiji Ministry of Fisheries, Fiji Fishing Industry Association, Fiji Maritime Academy and the World Wide Fund for Nature, supported by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme through the Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) Programme.

Toolkit contents and explanation of how to use release equipment

Further information can be obtained from WWF Pacific’s Communications Officer, Ravai Vafo’ou on Email: [email protected] or Mobile: 7399255.

The Great Fiji Shark Count provided more than 200 posters and waterproof boards to assist with identification of sharks, turtles and rays that are commonly encountered in nearshore and offshore waters. These were laminated by WWF for use on Fiji’s domestic longline fleet of vessels, and will also be provided to the Fiji Maritime Academy as teaching awareness materials for new captains and crew.

Inshore and offshore species posters from the Great Fiji Shark Count, alongside information on how to release turtles and seabirds caught in fishing gear

From left to right:
1. Ms. Radhika Kumar - President, Fiji Fishing Industry Association
2. Ms. Noa Sainz - European Union in the Pacific’s PEUMP Project Manager
3. Ms. Emma Christopher - Development Programme Coordinator, New Zealand High Commission
4. Ms. Kelera Macedru - Fiji Bycatch & Integrated Ecosystem Management Country Coordinator, SPREP — From left to right:
Ms. Radhika Kumar – President, Fiji Fishing Industry Association
Ms. Noa Sainz – European Union in the Pacific’s PEUMP Project Manager
Ms. Emma Christopher – Development Programme Coordinator, New Zealand High Commission
Ms. Kelera Macedru – Fiji Bycatch & Integrated Ecosystem Management Country Coordinator, SPREP

Fiji’s Bycatch Guidelines

The ‘Bycatch Best Handling Practices: A Guideline for Skippers and Crew on Longline Fishing Vessels in Fiji’ and ‘Best Practice for Bycatch Mitigation in Fiji’s Tuna Longline Fishery: For Vessel Owners & Operators’ is a first for Fiji, where bycatch guidelines have been developed for both skippers and crew and vessel operators; possible through funding by the New Zealand government.

The supply of bycatch mitigation toolkits to Fiji’s offshore fishing vessels is supported through the By-catch and Integrated Ecosystem Management (BIEM) Initiative being implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme under the Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) Programme funded by the European Union and the Government of Sweden.

Throughout the months of April and November every year, you have the opportunity to help celebrate and record Fiji’s amazing coral reef biodiversity, show you care about our world’s delicate coral reef systems, and have fun, by taking part in the FIJI-WIDE SHARK COUNT!

Easy to do, this is suitable for visitors and locals alike, whether you like to fish, snorkel, or SCUBA dive. We hope that tourists, school children, scientists and all people with an interest in the marine environment will take to the reefs with us to search for the Sharks of Fiji!

The Great Fiji Shark Count will be held across Fiji every April and November every year.

You can do a single count, or take part as many times as you like during that month, so that you cover different reefs. All data will be gratefully accepted!

So, see your resort, watersports operator or travel agent, get your Shark identification materials and dive into the beautiful blue waters of Fiji, to be a part of history!