Fijians are being urged to refrain from buying, selling and eating of Kawakawa and Donu over the next four months as these highly valuable fish species enter their breeding season.

The 4FJ campaign says according to the Fisheries ministry, close to eighty percent of Fiji’s known Kawakawa and Donu breeding sites are either declining or have died out.

One study found fish landings have declined seventy percent over thirty years, with some areas hardly catching the prized fish anymore.

Founder of cChange, the non-profit that developed the campaign says these fish are critical to the food and livelihood needs of our communities.

Launched in 2014, the campaign has received more than 15,000 voluntary pledges to forego the fish during the peak breeding months.