Saving fish in Samoa

Case Study

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Why are fish important to Samoans?

Samoa is made up of two main islands and a number of smaller islands. The main islands are Upolu and Savaii. These islands were formed by the eruption of volcanoes. The centres are high and the land slopes down to the sea on all sides. Villages are built around the coast. Most villages own the land from the crest of the mountain or hill to the coral reef.

The Samoan islands are surrounded by coral reefs. Coral reefs make lagoons which provide shelter and food for fish, shellfish, crabs, lobsters and sea urchins to live and breed. These creatures provide food for larger fish and humans. Seafood is an important part of the diet for Samoans. Each Sunday families share food cooked in the "umu" or ground oven which is made by heating stones and covering the food with banana leaves. Fish and other foods are baked in the oven.

Samoans grow their vegetables and catch their fish. They also raise poultry and pigs. Roast pork is kept for very special occasions. Many Samoans are not able to find paid work because there is very little industry. Therefore the foods provided by the village are very important for survival. Fishing is generally men's work. Some men are able to earn money from fishing.

Decisions are made and enforced by Village Councils. Changes in village life need to be discussed and agreed upon by the members of the council.

Why is there a shortage of fish in Samoa?

Traditionally men used nets, lines and hooks for fishing. In more recent times some have used dynamite because it was so easy to stun the fish and scoop them up. Some have used chemicals to stun the fish. These newer methods have killed far more fish than were needed and damaged the coral reefs. The damage to the reefs prevented fish from breeding. Other important sources of seafood such as giant clams were also killed.

Commercial fishing boats catch fish outside the reef. Some of these fish come inside the reef to breed. The dynamite and chemicals kill the young fish. In 1990 and 1991 there were two devastating cyclones. These whipped up the sea causing further damage to the reef.

The Samoa Fisheries Project

In the last few years the Samoans have found it harder and harder to catch fish. There are less fish in the lagoons inside the reefs since the cyclones.

In 1991, the Government of Samoa approached the Australian Government to request the assistance of AusAID in increasing supplies of local seafood to provide food for the Samoans and a better income for the commercial fishers. AusAID is the Australian Agency for International Development. It manages funds provided by the Australian government to assist people in developing countries to implement programs to meet their needs.

The project has:

• assisted villages to find out how healthy their reefs and lagoons are and to decide on practical ways to improve them
• set up ways of fishing which will not decrease the fish numbers and which will ensure that fish will still be available in the future
• helped villages to draw up and carry out a plan for managing their fisheries.

How can villages increase their supply of fish?

These are some of the things The Village Council has done to increase the supply of fish for the village now and in the future:

1. enforce government laws banning the use of dynamite or chemicals to kill fish
2. make local laws to ban other destructive fishing methods
3. enforce the national laws which ban the catching of fish smaller than a minimum size
4. make sure that only the fish which are needed are caught
5. reduce the number and sizes of fish traps in the village
6. create a no-fishing area in the lagoon to allow fish numbers to increase.

What can the Samoan Fisheries Division do to support more efficient fishing methods?

These are some of the things the Fisheries Division has done to increase the supply of fish for villages now and in the future:

1. set up aqua-culture by introducing new types of fish such as fresh water tilapea, and assisting villages to farm these in ponds
2. bred giant clams for local use and export
3. arranged for village loans to purchase small boats with outboard motors to fish just outside the lagoon
4. trained village people in outboard motor maintenance, sea safety and methods of fishing outside the lagoon
5. run workshops on ways of increasing the value of outer reef fish catches including fish smoking so they could be stored or sold.

The first phase of the Samoan Fisheries project has now been completed and has achieved significant improvements in the management of fisheries in Samoa. The project is expected to recommence in January 1999 for another three years.

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