The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced some villagers to resort to illegal fishing.
This was revealed in a recent study conducted for the Province of Bua, Cakaudrove, Lomaiviti and Ra.
Minister for Fisheries Semi Koroilavesau says this is evident in places where job losses have resulted in an influx of individuals resorting to fishing for sustenance.
He says given the current situation facing a lot of Fijians, they only issued them a warning.
“That out of 26 assessed villages that were assessed 38 admitted to committing illegal fishing.”
Koroilavesau adds that their inspection carried out last year also shows other infringements by fishermen.
“To guarantee that we continue to regulate the increase in fishing effort, the Ministry’s inshore fisheries management division conducted 1140 inspections from January to December of 2020. The finding indicated that out of the 297 infringements documented, the percentage of compliance rating was 74 percent.”
The stringent monitoring effort by the Ministry of Fisheries and relevant stakeholders has seen no case of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing in Fiji waters during the COVID-19 period.