With the growing number of visitor arrivals and Fiji’s dependence on the ocean increasing the challenge now is to protect our resources against future adversities to make them truly sustainable.

This was the message by the Minister for Fisheries, Semi Koroilavesau as World Ocean Day was celebrated on Wednesday with the theme revitalisation, collective action for the ocean.

The event was marked by hundreds of people including children with a march from the Flea Market to the Civic Centre in Suva.

“As a world class tourism destination emerging from the pandemic, Fiji is using our reopening to the world as a reset to a highly sustainable and resilient tourism sector,” he said.

“In the protection of our ocean, we never doubted our tourism brand will keep its value and our tourism sector will bounce back.”

Mr Koroilavesau encouraged everyone to raise awareness on protecting the ocean.

“As we work towards protecting our oceans, we should collectively raise awareness and share the same messaging around the wider protection of our natural ecosystems,” he said.

“If we are able to share this with those who visit our shores, we will be able to educate them and allow them to live with the new marvels of nature and wider benefits of protecting our oceans.”

“The onus is on us to take action to ensure that our ocean is protected not only for tourism, not only for economic benefits it provides but for the intrinsic value as a critical component of our global ecosystem.”

He said Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama had set his stand on the global arena focusing on the world’s attention on the plight of small island states in dealing with sustainable development and climate change and we must collectively work towards getting global attention to our oceans work.

“We need to make larger nations realise how important it is to our livelihood and survival but while we wait for the world to catch up, we are taking action at home,” the minister said.

“We cannot ask others to do what we are not willing to do ourselves.”

“This may mean developing models that center around protected mangrove forests and marine protected areas for visitors to tour and learn from while visiting our shores.”

Mr Koroilavesau also emphasised on the importance of organic farming to help protect our ocean.

“In protecting our ocean, we urge the need to focus on organic farms that are healthy and prevent harmful surface runoff,” he said.

“Protecting the ocean is not just a community or group approach, it needs the support of everyone because it affects everyone.”

“As stewards of the ocean, our task is to lead, to be a beacon of blue leadership that inspires the world to turn away from the model of development that harms our ocean and threatens to strip them of our life given resources.”

“Our beaches, reefs and forests are not just hallmarks of our way of life, but they are part of our culture,” he said.

“They provide our livelihoods and protections for what nature throws at our people.

Pacific Islands Forum Deputy Secretary General Dr Filimon Manoni said: “For many of us, the ocean is all we have and is all we turn to in times of need either for daily sustenance, for economic development and nation building aspirations.”

He said the participation of many people in the march has shown the world what the ocean meant to us.

“This ocean is your future, remember that it is a provider and it can provide you with nourishment and opportunities.”

Feedback: sheenal.charan@fijisun.com.fj