Abstract
Coastal habitats form a critical source of livelihood for a large number of inhabitants in Fiji. The absence of historical and baseline information creates a significant challenge in effectively designing suitable management plans. This study aimed at developing reliable benthic cover maps of village intertidal resource harvest areas (Cakaunisasi and Yarawa reefs) and anthropogenic perceptions of Votua Village in the Ba region of Fiji for better resource management planning and monitoring. Images captured by the WorldView2 satellite were used as a base for mapping out the resources. Data logging on-site, Global Positioning System (GPS) recordings, local interviews and high-resolution video capturing were utilised for ground-truthing techniques. Six classes of benthic cover were identified, which included algae, coral, sand and gravel, buried reef, coral rubble and seagrass. Accuracy assessment and supervised classification were done using ground reference points. There was an existing marine protected area (MPA) on the Yarawa reef, which did not seem to be working as well as anticipated by observing the habitat maps of the two reefs. Baseline maps constructed here and possibly ecosystem maps can allow for monitoring of the existing MPA as well as the formation of a new and more informed MPA. The maps generated in this study serve as baseline information about resource distribution on Cakaunisasi and Yarawa reefs to inform management decisions.
Highlights
Pacific Island countries (PICs) consist of mostly small developing states, with a large proportion of the population having heavy dependence on coastal resources for their subsistence and socioeconomic livelihood
Such perceptions are dangerous as coastal resources are influenced by various factors, including coastal land use activities, over-exploitation, coastal tourism, deforestation and anthropogenic waste disposal along the inland watersheds leading to the coasts
Sand and gravel had a higher coverage on the Yarawa reef compared to the Cakaunisasi reef of the Votua reef system (Figure 3A)
Summary
Pacific Island countries (PICs) consist of mostly small developing states, with a large proportion of the population having heavy dependence on coastal resources for their subsistence and socioeconomic livelihood. The absence of historical and baseline information creates knowledge gaps and poses a significant challenge in effectively assessing the state of coastal resources and designing suitable management plans. This is true for Fiji, where coastal habitats form a critical source of livelihood for a large number of inhabitants. The local perception seems to assume the changing climate as the major or the only factor posing a negative influence on coastal habitats. Such perceptions are dangerous as coastal resources are influenced by various factors, including coastal land use activities, over-exploitation, coastal tourism, deforestation and anthropogenic waste disposal along the inland watersheds leading to the coasts. Research works have shown that the distribution and abundance of coastal fishery resources are considerably influenced by anthropogenic effects [2,4,5]
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