Grouper Fisheries in a Fijian Community: A Case Study in Dravuni Village, Kadavu, the Fiji Islands

抄録

Groupers play a significant commercial role in Fiji because they are a highly sought-after food fish. Grouper fisheries in Fiji are currently experiencing sustainability issues. This study explores grouper fisheries in Dravuni Village, Kadavu Province, Fiji, based on structured interviews conducted with fishers. This study identified the characteristics of grouper fisheries in a community context and highlighted the level of understanding of fishers in terms of grouper management. Fishing is the main local economic driver in Dravuni Village and grouper species are captured in a multispecies fishery, and are male dominated, with majority of the fishers engaged seven days per week. The three commonly caught grouper species in Dravuni Village are Epinephelus polyphekadion, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus, and Plectropomus leopardus. Fishers understand the importance of implementing a ban on harvesting during the grouper spawning periods, to protect the grouper stock for the future, as well as protecting spawning aggregations. Fishers identified that more fishing pressure comes from outsiders as well as other villagers. Strong suggestion from fishers indicate community needs more assistance in monitoring its fishing grounds, as well as the need for fisheries managing authorities (Ministry of Fisheries, Fiji) to increase monitoring and enforcement. The information collected adds to the existing knowledge on Fiji’s grouper fishery industry.