Campaign launches Ambitious effort to reach all communities with information to help better manage fishing grounds
Ministry of Fisheries Deputy Secretary Atelaite Rokosuka launches the 4FJ Fish Smart toolkit aboard the Uti Ni Yalo, which will be part of a national plan to distribute the toolkit to all communities in Fiji.
The launch of the 4FJ Fish Smart toolkit today marks an exciting new chapter in the 4FJ Fish Smart campaign that aims to reach all communities with the information they need to improve Fiji’s fishing grounds.
Fiji, like nations across the Pacific, face enormous challenges engaging communities in meaningful ways, with limited resources and capacity and communities spread over large ocean expanses. Historically, support has only reached a small number of communities.
“The 4FJ Fish Smart toolkit is part of an innovative national information strategy to empower all communities access information to better manage their fishing grounds and take local actions to improve food security and livelihoods,” said Minister Semi Koroilevesau, of the Ministry of Fisheries, said in a prepared statement.
cChange Pacific Program Manager Mafa Qiolele shares the distribution plan for the toolkit. Led by the Ministry of Fisheries, but supported by a host of partners, to goal is to reach every household in Fiji.
“And that’s the core objective behind the 4FJ Fish Smart campaign, to find cost-effective information pathways to empower all communities to better manage their fishing grounds,” the minister said.
The tools include illustrated booklets, which promote community discussions, posters that share minimum sizes, videos, podcasts, and more. The new toolkit also includes a 4FJ Fish Smart mobile app that shares legal sizes for common food fish, the Set Sizes, which are the recommended minimum sizes, and banned marine species that should be completely avoided.
“Reviving Fiji’s fishing grounds, now there’s an app for that, too,” said Mafa Qiolele, program manager for cChange, the organisation that led the tools development, and coordinates the campaign with its many support partners. The app will be available in the Google Play and Apple stores.
Sanaila Rokosuka, Silana Village, Dawasamu, Tailevu, is a community champion for 4FJ Fish Smart.
“We are really excited to be rolling out these tools, through Division offices, provincial offices and our many partners, from government, civil society, faith-based organisations and the private sector,” Qiolele said.
Qiolele said the tools are jargon-free explanations of overfishing and fisheries management that resonate with the lived experience in Fiji and designed to help promote opportunities for discussion. She explained that this is the Fijian way, to work out issues together through discussion. The tools are designed to not just inform but promote group reflections, including worksheets to host their own discussions.
There are plans for additional tools to be shared as communities move from discussions to actions. But the immediate goal is bringing everyone into the 4FJ Fish Smart national talanoa, Qiolele said.
Register to access the tools here and download ‘4FJ Fish Smart app’ in your app store today!
Background on the 4FJ Campaign
The 4FJ campaign was launched in 2014 to revive at risk kawakawa and donu fisheries, commonly called grouper in English. 4FJ Fish Smart is the next phase of the campaign, promoting sustainable fishing practices to help the rest, revive all marine species with a focus on local management actions at the community level and pledges to avoid legally undersize fish at the national level.
The campaign is funded through the Pacific-European Union (EU) Marine Partnership (PEUMP) programme and implemented in partnership the Locally-Managed Area Marine Network International (LMMA) and the Pacific Community (SPC). The PEUMP programme is funded by the European Union and the Government of Sweden.
The campaign is also funded through Oceans 5 and Bloomberg Philanthropies Vibrant Oceans Initiative and is being implemented in partnership with cChange, Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji, Fiji Locally-Managed Area Marine Network, Conservation International, and International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
