Ocean Sentry
(From fijitimes.com) – University of the South Pacific Institute of Applied Science scientist James Comley says the endangered coral reefs could become extinct in Fiji and the Pacific because of large scale fishing. “Unique coral reefs are found in Fiji, yet we see island communities fishing in large scales and this could pose a danger, he said.
Mr Comely said, “Fisherman killed large scale of fish from habitats of marine organisms.” Coral reefs need marine organisms such as crustacean, algae and fish to feed them, yet these fish are being over exploited by communities”.
Mr Comley said Non Government Organizations along with the local communities needed to work together to protect the coral reefs from extinction. “They should create awareness in island communities on the consequences of exploiting the marine organisms,” he said.
USP Geographical student Teddy Fong said some marine organisms were only found in coral reef surrounding. “Coral reef and Parrotfish depend on the marine organism for survival and if they are over exploited it poses a threat to our coral reef structure,” Mr Fong said.
