Five traditional fishing grounds in the Western Division will be closely monitored by about 50 wardens who have been trained to ensure their marine resources are protected.
The wardens from Nailaga, Votua and Bulu in Ba and Nacula and Yasawa have been tasked with being the eyes and ears of the Fisheries Ministry in their respective fishing grounds.
As part of their work, the wardens have been engaged in a week-long training program by the Marine Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) together with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pacific and with the support of the Living with Change Fiji and PNG (IKU) project, WWF Netherlands and the Fiji Ridge to Reef project.
WWF Pacific community development officer Metui Tokece said the fish wardens played an important part in ensuring illegal fishing did not occur in their communities.