INCREASED awareness is needed for communities to understand which specific marine species were banned from export, says Seru Moce, a representative of the Macuata Qoliqoli Cokovata committee.
He made the comment during the Northern Fisheries Forum yesterday. Participants at the forum expressed confusion over a seafood classed as vasua or giant clams.
A participant told the workshop many were unaware that the Tridacna maxima or kata vatu also fell under the vasua category which was prohibited from sale. Mr Moce said sharing information at community level was the only way to ensure people were aware.
“This is important and the communities need to be informed about the kind of species that are banned because it carries very heavy fines as penalties,” he said.
“For example, everyone knows the grouper fish species are banned but most people think it’s just the kawakawa and the donu. They fail to realise there are many more species under grouper which are also banned.
“So this kind of information needs to be made known at community level to prevent them from paying heavy fines just because they were unaware.”
Mr Moce also applauded the ministry for making changes after the divisional forum.
“This is the fourth year of the forum and we have seen positive changes like the formation of the inshore fisheries department and a compliance team.
“It’s positive and we must thank the ministry for such initiatives because this is a huge leap from where we were before the forums started.”
Ministry officials at the forum assured participants that their queries and concerns would be attended to.
