WWF Field Staff

/WWF Field Staff

A Funeral to Remember – Goodbye Paramount Chief Ratu Aisea Katonivere

25 - 27 April 2013 - Naduri, Vanua Levu, Fiji Sevusevu with the late Tui Macuata, Ratu Aisea Katonivere, Paramount Chief of Macuata Province in Vanua Levu with Koli Musudroka of WWF South Pacific. We started our journey to Macuata Province first and foremost with a traditional sevusevu in Naduri with the Macuata Province Paramount Chief Tui [...]

Sea Cucumber Hunters of Fiji in the GSR

April 2013 - Kavewa Island, Nukusa Village, Yadua Island Sea cucumber is a high value, high demand Chinese delicacy that is sought after by Chinese traders buying dried sea cucumbers from all over the world especially in Asia and the Pacific. Sea cucumbers are flexible, elongated echinoderms belonging to the class Holothuroidea.  They live on the sea floor in reefs, lagoons and coastal [...]

Yadua Turtle Monitoring and Irris

20 April 2013 Patricia Mallam WWF South Pacific Communications Manager brought her lovely 9 year old daughter Irris to rendezvous with us on Yadua Island - we, coming from Macuata Province and they, coming from Suva. They were joined by Pita Qarau, Turtle Monitor from Yadua Village in Suva and they all took the ferry from Viti Levu to [...]

Yadua Island and Cyclone Evan

19 - 22 April 2013 December 16 - NASA’s Aqua satellite image as Cyclone Evan spirals over Vanua Levu and Viti Levu. The 17th of December 2012 will forever be etched in the minds and hearts of Fijians and the memory is unfortunately not a good one. With a maximum wind speed of [...]

WWF and University of South Pacific at work in the Great Sea Reef

April 2013 Our visits to the Fijian villages and the one resort in Macuata Province were made the richer when we were able to document the fieldwork of WWF South Pacific Marine Species Coordinator Laitia Tamata, WWF Labasa staff Koli Musudroka and University of South Pacific Laisiasa Cavakiqali. They were visiting 5 sites in the target reef systems [...]

Kia – The Remote Island Paradise of the Great Sea Reef

10 - 14 April 2013 Kia Island in the horizon surrounded by the Great Sea Reef. Google Earth Map - Kia island It was a long 4 hour boat ride from Nukusa Village to Labasa Town where we stayed overnight before heading to Kia Island. We armed ourselves for the next stretch [...]

Kavewa Island – Turtle Monitor

4 - 6 April 2013 Emosi Time, son of Kavewa Village chief is known as a Dau ni Vonu or Turtle Monitor. Emosi used to be a turtle hunter, catching turtles for turtle meat offered in traditional Fijian celebrations. Since 2011, Emosi has turned from the dark side and is now a guardian of turtles. Lifting [...]

Days with the Chiefs – Mali Island (Nakawaqa Village, Vorovoro Island and Ligaulevu)

30 March - 2 April 2013 Mali Island Google Earth - Mali Island, Fiji The nearest island to Labasa Town is Mali Island, comprised of 3 villages on the island (Nakawaqa, Ligaulevu & Vesi) and 1 (Matailabasa) on mainland Vanua Levu. We visited 2 villages and experienced real Fijian life head on. [...]

Life in Navakasobu Village with Kava, Weaving and Fishing

30 March 2013 Navakasobu Village, Vanua Levu, Fiji Our wonderful guide and companion Koli Musudroka, WWF Field Officer for Labasa invited us to his village on Black Saturday. He had been telling us about the women in his village weaving a special kind of mat and traditional Fijian wedding costumes made of a reed locally called kuta. So we [...]

First Day – Labasa, Fiji’s Northern Division

28 March 2013 Labasa Town, Northern Division, Fiji The incredibly efficient and fired up WWF South Pacific team in Fiji has given us a packed itinerary for our five weeks stay to document the entire length of the Great Sea Reefs of Fiji. Locally known as Cakaulevu, the Great Sea Reefs is the world’s third longest continuous barrier reef [...]