VILLAGERS living along the Suva coastline are concerned about their coral reefs.
They say the reefs are being smothered to death by seaweed.
They say algae is growing over the coral and driving fish away from their habitat.
A spokesman for members of a clan, Asakaia Balawa, said they were worried that if the coral died, there would be no more fish.
The villages of Muaivuso, Nabaka, Waiqanake and Namakala of the yavusa Navakavu outside Lami town toward Navua, blame the run-offs and sewage outlets from factories in Lami and Suva city as the source of food for the algae.
Mr Balawa said algae were growing fast and the algae-eating fish could not keep up. As a result, he said, algae was growing over the coral and blocking the reefs from sunlight.
Mr Balawa believes that if dead coral stops supporting the ecosystem, within a couple of decades, big ocean waves will reach the beach during storms and cause erosion.
Professor William Aalbersberg agreed that the overgrowth of algae was a definite concern which would eventually kill coral reefs. He pointed out that while it was easy to blame industries for causing the problem, the real issue was the home.
"Populations keep increasing in Suva and Lami," he said, adding that waste from septic tanks were washed into the sea, nutrients and all.
"I suspect that human waste from thousands of houses is more a factor than a few industries."
Prof Aalbersberg said research done in the past on pollution in Suva harbour had shown high nutrient and pollutant levels near the shore but less effect further to sea.
"There is no data as to whether currents carry high levels of pollutants to Muaivuso reef or not," he said.
"This needs to be studied. Nutrients come from many sources.
"We did a study on the Coral Coast that showed that 15 to 20 per cent of nutrients came from hotels, 40-45 per cent came from septic tanks and 35-40 per cent came from village piggeries."
