Illegal Harvesting of Beche-de-Mer from Outsiders: Totoya Islanders Frustrated

The illegal harvesting of beche-de-mer has frustrated Totoya islanders who are beginning to lose hope in the lucrative commodity as a source of income generation.

When unknown boats and fishers continue to illegally harvest these sea cucumbers despite countless warnings they have has slowly become a lost treasure for people of Totoya.

They are harvesting from areas that had been on taboo for over 10 years, said the island’s conservation representative, Uludole Yanuyanulala.

He said the commodities harvested could have amounted to almost $1million given the years they had been preserved and the sizes.

Government, last month lifted the ban to kill, take, land, sell, or offer or expose for sale, deal in, transport, receive or possess beche-de-mer effective from July 1, 2023 for a period of six months. The ban ends on December 31, 2023.

Fiji exports fully dried whole sea cucumber to Asian markets - mainly Hong Kong and China.

“There’s nothing we can do about it, but wait for relevant authorities to deal with it,” Yanuyanulala said.

The concern was highlighted during a talanoa session with Minister for Agriculture, Vatimi Rayalu during his visit to the Lau Group of islands.

“We believe they are from Moala. We have lodged a report,” Mr Yanuyanulala said.

“But we are still waiting for them to respond.”

He said such inconsiderate actions dampened their spirit of making progress.

He said Government must step up its game towards addressing the issue because it was one of their highest income generating opportunities.

“Get on with it, we need your help,” he said.

“We need more awareness on how far we can go when it comes to dealing with illegal harvesting.”

Mr Rayalu has assured people that it would be dealt with.

“I will take it to Cabinet,” he said.

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