We came together to help
kawakawa and donu with The Ban campaign,
now let’s help the rest thrive. 

It's hard not to be aware of ocean issues today.

From climate change to water pollution to decreasing fish numbers, the word is out, Fiji’s ocean, reefs and coasts need our help.  But with all the information coming at you, it is easy not to hear anything at all.

The 4FJ campaign (short for ‘For Fiji’) breaks through the noise about the future of Fiji’s fisheries. Population growth, increased income needs, modern fishing gear, and increased access to markets along with environmental threats place pressure on the sustainability of Fiji’s fisheries. The future of Fiji’s fisheries is critical for food security, livelihoods and the sustainability of coasts and oceans. 

This is why Fiji takes the future of fisheries seriously. In fact, research shows that people are increasingly concerned about Fiji’s fisheries, including the livelihoods of fishers and the overfishing of fisheries. 

The good news is that we can do something about the future of Fiji’s fisheries, and most people feel there is something they could do to make a difference and want to know what they can do to help. 4FJ is here to do that: to help people understand why the increasing loss of fish is critical to the people of Fiji, and empower all Fijians to do something today to protect our fishing grounds, and ultimately, our way of life. 

This starts with having a robust national talanoa to sustainably manage Fiji’s fishing grounds.

For communities, fishing smart means stopping harmful fishing practices, such as poison root fishing, night-time SCUBA spearfishing and small mesh sizes for nets. It also means such things as establishing and respecting community tabu areas, protecting breeding seasons and sites and avoiding undersize species.

For those in Fiji’s towns and cities, the Fish Smart campaign will empower people to ensure community efforts are not wasted by a few bad actors by pledging to not buy legally undersized fish. 

4fj fish smart in action

+ Qoli Vakamatau Radio Program airs first and third Wednesday on Fiji Broadcasting Company on Radio Fiji One.

+ Regular national and social media outreach, including champion announcements, issue stories and community stories.

+ National events, including Pledge Drives.

+ Private sector/fish seller engagement, including new official minimum sizes and banned species rulebook.

+ New innovative community self-facilitation/outreach tools, including illustrated booklets, videoes, animations and discussion guides.

+ Communications capacity building for key local institutions, partners and community networks.

+ Fisher forums.

+ National annual surveys to assess impact.

The 4FJ movement empowers Fiji to be Fish Smart.

The 4FJ Fish Smart campaign is coordinated by cChange and supported by Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) Programme, with guidance from the Pacific Community and the Locally-Managed Marine Area Network International. The campaign is also funded through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Vibrant Oceans Initiative. Key local partners for implementation include the Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji Country Program, the Fiji Locally-Managed Marine Area Network, Conservation International, and International Union for the Conservation of Nature.