News

Fijians warned not to harvest live coral

January 2, 2018 5:55 pm

The Fisheries Ministry is urging Fijians who make a living from harvesting live coral to look for other alternatives in generating an income from the ocean.

Minister Semi Koroilavesau says people must now adhere to the current ban of live corals and aquarium rocks in order for it to grow back to a sustainable level.

Koroilavesau says some local exporters have been found hiring villages from coastal areas to help harvest coral and this must stop.

Article continues after advertisement

“There are other alternatives that people can generate from within the ocean and the resources that it has. The coral exporters mainly constitute of three to four exporters and they employ people to harvest coral from the reefs themselves but we have to think of the long term sustainability of our own reef system.”

The ministry adds that the ban helps in conserving the habitat of many fish that are becoming extinct and those found breaking the ban can face heavy penalties.

Meanwhile, the ban is part of Fiji’s commitment to COP23 last year and its partnership with Sweden on stopping the extraction of live coral from reefs.