Increasing supplies of local seafood in Samoa

Case Study

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Village economies and decision making in Samoa

The economy of Samoa is heavily based on subsistence fishing and agriculture. Plantations and commercial fisheries are also being introduced. The economy depends heavily on foreign aid and remittances from relatives overseas.

Each village comprises a group of aiga (extended families) which include as many relatives as can claim membership of the family. The more in an aiga, the more powerful it can become. Food and other goods are shared between family members.

Over 80% of Samoan land is owned by aiga. The land includes the lagoons and reefs beyond them.

The aiga is headed by a chief, called a matai, who represents the family on the fono (village council). Matais are normally elected by all adult members of the aiga. The matais are responsible for making decisions, law enforcement and punishment that may occur in their village.

There is also a national government based on the British system of parliamentary government. The national government makes laws for all Samoans but must work through village councils for matters related to village lands, agriculture and fishing. It does this through special courts and links with village councils.

Why have Samoan seafoods been depleted?

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 has also contributed. Commercial fishing is an important industry in Samoa. Commercial fishing boats catch fish outside the reef. Some of these fish must come inside the reef to breed. Thus, fishing interrupts the breeding cycle. Many of the species have also been over fished.

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 1991, the Government of Samoa approached the Australian Government to request the assistance of AusAID in improving the standard of living for Samoan fishers and their families and increasing supplies of local seafood. 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 Samoan Fisheries project was developed to addressing fishing problems in the region. Some of the work undertaken by the project includes

1. assisting villages to assess the health of their reefs and lagoons and to decide on practical ways to improve them
2. establishing community fishing practices which result in greater fish numbers and ensure that fish will still be available in the future
3. providing technical support for villages to draw up their own Village Fisheries Management Plan.

What can villagers do to help themselves?

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:

• made decisions to enforce national government laws banning the use of dynamite or chemicals to kill fish
• made local laws to ban other destructive fishing methods
• enforce the laws which ban the catching of fish smaller than a minimum size
• made sure that only the fish which are needed are caught
• reduced the number and size of fish traps in the village
• created 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:

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

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.