For the past 30 years, the women of Namuaimada in Fiji have made almost daily trips out to the reef flats. For hours, they wade through the shallow, pristine waters, collecting kilos of the seaweed in large potato sacks.
Most women will then make the three-hour journey south to the capital Suva by bus, to sell their produce at a sprawling fresh fruit and vegetable market.
“I spend two to three days in Suva and come back on Saturday night,” fisherwoman Nancy Tataba says.
“I like it because it brings me money.”
Indigenous Fijians have a long tradition of collecting and consuming different species of seaweed. Nama, also known as sea-grapes, is one of the most common species harvested for consumption and sale in Fiji. It is often soaked in coconut milk and served in salads with fresh tuna flakes, tomato and onion.
Marine Biologist Alani Tuivucilevu works for Women in Fisheries Network Fiji, an NGO set up to recognise and value the contributions women make in the fishing industry. She says Namuaimada Village is heavily dependent on revenue from nama fishing, but increasingly supplies are dwindling.
“Most of the women, they get at least FJD$300 ($192) a week, which is a lot for the average family living in a village.
“[But] some of the exchanges that I’ve been having with the women within this village is that as time goes by, they have to go further out to sea to harvest the nama. So, this in itself is a great challenge for them.”
Ms Tuivucilevu believes climate change is driving the decline.
“Temperature increases and rising sea levels. Nama is known to be very sensitive to heat change.”
Read more:
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/climate-change-is-threatening-the-livelihoods-of-fiji-s-fisherwomen/d2aaa13f-aad7-4de1-afe7-aa2cfdc26cdc