Check out ICRI’s New Coastal Management Report. Namena is Featured on Page 13 – Download Now!

We are proud to announce that Ecotales from Kubulau: A Guide to the Cultural and Natural Heritage of the Vatu-i-Ra Seascape is now available. This guide, a joint publication by WCS Fiji and the Coral Reef Alliance, showcases the remarkable plants and animals that are both astounding in their beauty and culturally important to the people who live in the Vatu-i-Ra Seascape.

It is our hope that the guide will raise awareness about the importance of the plants and animals to local livelihoods, cultures, and ecosystem functions. The stories in these pages come directly from the elders of Kubulau, who have described their associations with species for medicine, decorative arts, building materials, food, and totem spirits. By collecting these stories, we are preserving the traditional knowledge that is rapidly fading away with modernization for future generations.

Proceeds from the sale of the guide will directly support ecosystem management and community development in Kubulau.

The guide is available at bookshops around Fiji and through the University of the South Pacific’s Book Center. For information about how to order your copy, please contact us.

This summer, a group of divers on board the Nai’a were lucky enough to jump in at the North Save-a-Tack dive site to be greeted by not only a school of hammerheads, but also a 12-meter whale shark!

Whale sharks are extremely rare creatures—so rare, in fact, that they are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and in Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).

The fact that they have been sighted within the Namena Marine Reserve confirms the health of the ecosystem within the Kubulau Qoliqoli. Johnny Singh from the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort confirms a sighting by L’Aventure divers around this time two years ago, and once before that also. These repeat sightings suggest that the Namena Marine Reserve is on the migratory pathway for at least one individual.

Whale sharks are endangered for many reasons, including unsustainable fishing in parts of their range. Whale sharks are caught for their meat, fins, liver, cartilage, skin, and viscera. Increased levels of noise and pollution resulting from an increase in boat traffic may also have a negative impact on the migration patterns normally followed by whale sharks, through disturbance to habitat or individual sharks. Damage to ecosystems that whale sharks rely may result in changes to their behavior and migratory routes—another great reason to protect the precious coral reefs within the Kubulau Qoliqoli.