Abstract
In this chapter Veitayaki looks at fisheries management and focuses on a situation in which cultural principles are taken into account, or considers how elements of traditional practice influence the contemporary resource-use system.
The author looks at traditional resource-use culture, examines the contemporary resource-use culture, and outlines issues of fisheries resource-use culture before closing with comments on future implications.
There are lessons to be learnt from the way Fiji has endeavoured to take culture into account in its fisheries management, marrying it with research and grassroots participation.
Table of Contents
Like other Pacific Islanders, most Fijians are maritime people, with ongoing fishing traditions that are continually retold to the younger generations. Skilled fishers and seafarers are highly regarded. In coastal areas, fish provide an important component of the people’s diet, and are of considerable cultural significance. The way in which people use their fishery resources is still influenced to some degree by these cultural factors. Although they may no longer believe literally in all the supernatural aspects involved, or, indeed, slavishly observe all the traditional prohibitions, they are generally aware of them and make reference to their usefulness.
The current consciousness surrounding the significance of traditional fishing practices has made it important that people today understand the culture that was part of traditional resource use. Traditional resource-use practices were based on empirical knowledge of localised natural and cultural systems. Although resource-use methods are rapidly changing, contemporary practices include features that were once part of the traditional system, and these often provide knowledge that can be usefully employed to enhance the sustainable utilisation of fishery resources.
There is an on-going debate as to whether the management practices of traditional fishery resource can be introduced as part of contemporary resource management arrangements (Johannes 1978; Hviding 1994; Ruddle 1994; Veitayaki 1995), but it is beyond the scope of this chapter, which is limited to considering how elements of traditional practice influence the contemporary resource-use system. The system of resource-use now observed in many parts of the country is a combination of the traditional system of resource-use and contemporary methods, that take into consideration the changes in Fijian communities. Understanding how the changes in resource use culture takes place and their implications on future fisheries resource-use will influence the successful implementation of sustainable fisheries development and the effective involvement of local communities.
Coastal communities in Fiji today are undergoing socioeconomic and technological modernisation. Commercial exploitation has given most communities the capability to deplete coastal resources rapidly. With the economic demands to which the people are subjected and their increased capacity and productivity levels, the sustainable use of marine resources has become a major issue. The situation has become so serious that one of the main contemporary challenges is the sustainability of fisheries development projects (Carleton 1983; Johannes 1989; David 1990; Dolman 1990; Liew 1990; Munro and Fakahau 1993). Meanwhile, most coastal fisheries development continues to be characterised by the periodic boom and bust cycles which are associated with the peaks and troughs of trade in marine commodities.
The changes that have taken place in most communities in Fiji call for modern management input. Most traditional communities have not fully understood the environmental issues and the scientific base of inter-relationships in the ecosystem. Science is required to provide information on the nature of the resources and ecosystems. Furthermore, the impact of modern fishing technology on the resource base is important because fishers now have the capability to overfish distant areas where they have never gone before. The increase in the number of fishers makes it critical that every fisher is familiar with the need to keep production levels well within the stock’s capacity to replenish itself. The scenario is made more complicated by the deteriorating state of the marine environment.
In some areas of Fiji, the traditional owners of fishing grounds and fishing rights have become passive observers, allowing government officials and external experts to make all the resource-use decisions. In these instances, the traditional owners of fishing grounds and fishing rights are instructed in new ways to use their resources. In others, traditional fishing ground and right owners are suspicious of the government’s motives because they do not fully understand them. The short lifetime of most fishery development projects, which have been introduced to increase productivity, income-earning opportunities and employment, has often negatively affected the state of the resources and the people’s enthusiasm to be part of projects. In some cases, the people are burdened by the failure of projects that were doomed from the beginning because they did not accommodate the sociocultural reality of Fijian communities.
Fishery exploitation in Fiji involves five discrete sectors: subsistence, artisanal, aquaculture, recreational and industrial. The different sectors vary in nature, characteristics and associated issues. Interesting developments are now taking place as coastal Fijian communities are addressing the ecological problems associated with dwindling resources. The people have initiated various attempts to identify more sustainable ways of using their fishery resources and are incorporating traditional and community-based resource-use methods into contemporary arrangements.
The most significant traditional practice still followed in Fiji is the customary ownership of rights to fishing grounds, which extend to the outer reef slope (Iwakiri 1983; Kunatuba 1983; Fong 1994; Waqairatu 1994; Veitayaki 1995). Like land rights, traditional fishing area rights are defined and owned by vanua or tikina (social units that include a number of villages in a district) which regulate their use and exploitation. People are expected to use their own allocations, and those seeking to use grounds belonging to others are expected to get permission from the owners. From time to time fishing ground owners may declare a portion of their grounds out of bounds to preserve the resources for a special purpose such as a wedding, birth or a death ceremony (Ravuvu 1983). On other occasions, the people can place restrictions on fishing methods to protect the resource (Fong 1994).
Traditional management arrangements were embedded in the wider social system, in which traditional authority prevailed, and the systems of retribution ensured compliance. In some parts of Fiji people were killed or banished for serious offences relating to fishing practices (Tippett 1959). The traditional notion of ‘sacred ground’ is still prominent in many parts of Fiji. The sacred fishing grounds were special areas where special rules were strictly adhered to. In such cases ‘a close association was perceived between the living and the dead, whose spirits inhabited sacred areas, who showed offence when customary taboos and rituals were not adhered to’ (Siwatibau 1984:366). Fishing at such sites was conducted only with the permission of a bete, or traditional priest, or when special requirements were met. In Qoma today, the people going to Cakau Davui, the sacred fishing ground, are expected to obtain special permission, to perform the rituals of an arrival party at the reef, and to fish according to the rules. Among the turtle fishermen of Qoma, the belief is that their gods will provide a catch sufficient for the purpose for which the fishing was asked. The fishers know that once a turtle swims through their net they have caught enough and they will not catch any more. To be successful in their fishing, the people need to please their gods by doing the correct and expected things. In Kaba, the traditional swimming spot for the paramount chief is fished only at the request of the chief.
This association with the supernatural ensures that the ‘sacred grounds’ are respected and protected at all times, and not only when enforcement officers are around. The supernatural associations can also lead to incidents that seem to defy normal logic and rational thought (Koroi 1989). Fijians accept these special cases because they embody their traditional culture and beliefs. The close ties between the people of Cakaudrove and sharks is one such example. In this part of Fiji, sharks are revered by the people, who in turn are protected by them while at sea. During a trip to one of the islands on the edge of Fiji’s Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ), a naval vessel with the former president and high chief of Cakaudrove on board was caught in a freak storm. At the height of the storm, the listing vessel was propped up by a shark as large as the boat that stationed itself alongside the vessel until the storm passed (Fiji Times, 1 June 1985). In a similar incident, a barracuda which had stationed itself at the Suva Wharf before the Royal yacht Britannia berthed only swam away after the same chief arrived and communicated with it (Sunday Times, 31 October 1982).
On Naigani island, trevally are traditionally fished and eaten according to certain prescribed rules. Fishing is decided by the traditional priest. People would only take home fish sufficient for the day. No fish was to be kept overnight at home, and the unsevered bones are returned to the sea in the morning, where they again become a live fish (Veitayaki 1990). In Vanua Balavu, the inland lagoon at Masomo is fished by the community only when the traditional priest authorises it (Koroi 1989). During the fishing, which normally takes around six hours, fishers are not allowed to wear anything other than grass skirts specially made for the occasion. The people should also oil their bodies well. Failure to follow the rules will anger the gods and is a recipe for trouble. Penalties which reflect the severity of the offence are meted out by the spirits.
The thought of retribution by the ever-vigilant gods are a continuous reminder to the people of the need to adhere to tradition, and expected behaviour. The fishing grounds in Fiji, like the land, are associated with the spirits that protected them. Siwatibau explains that in such societies the environment is not something separate ‘but an integral part of one’s self, providing the physical manifestation of the vital link between the living and the dead’ (1984:367). Outsiders, therefore, must observe the protocol and code of conduct in any area they are visiting. For instance, visitors are expected to make an offering to publicise their arrival at a place. This practice ensures that the members of the community are aware of the presence of visitors among them and also protects the visitors from the wrath of the spirits who show offence when customary protocol is not followed (Siwatibau 1984). The tradition also ensures that the customary owners of fishing grounds and rights are consulted every time outsiders want to fish in their area.
Totemic beliefs may also contribute to conservation goals. All Fijians have a plant, a bird and a fish totem (Cappell and Lester 1953; Ravuvu 1983; Veitayaki 1995). The taboo associated with totems restricts particular clans, families, age groups or sexes from catching or eating the species concerned. Exploitation is thus restricted to a certain extent because the fishers are always careful not to harm their totem. In Qoma, for example, the fishers would abandon their nets if their totem fish was caught. Fishing was also a highly specialised activity, carried on by only a relatively few members of the community. This in itself limited the catches and contributed to the general maintenance of stock and the protection of the marine environment.