Matuku was the first island in the Lau group we visited with our Pitufa in July 2022. The little island doesn’t see many yachts as it lies off the beaten track and we were amazed by the hospitality the villagers showed us and the wonderful underwater landscapes that we found just off our anchorage.
During our second visit in Matuku we started raising awareness for sustainability among the villagers, starting with the kids (drawing colourful parrot fishies and talking about their role in the eco-system) and finally doing presentations for the chiefs and headmen about the problem of overfishing. We found that the fishermen were already concerned about dropping numbers of fish and eager to hear solutions for sustainable fishing. We explained our experiences among Pacific Islands and suggested installing no-fishing areas.
Returning to Matuku in February, we were happy to hear that some villages were planning to implement no-fishing-zones, but then we had a horrible boat accident while scouting out a possible location for a tabu on the Southern side of the island, that left me with serious injuries and ended fatal for Maikeli Tamani, the headman of Makadru village…
A week after the accident we managed to sail back to Suva and only after having x-rays and a CT scan done, did we finally realise how serious my injuries were. 5 broken ribs, a pneumothorax and a partially torn triceps tendon…
Spending my days on the sofa in Pitufa’s salon without being able to move around, I started contemplating how we could turn the accident into something positive. My idea of buying medical equipment for the hospital in Matuku failed due to bureaucratic hurdles, but we wanted at least to help the villagers implementing their marine protection area.
We tried to raise local interest in Matuku and the planned Tabu by giving an interview to the Fiji Sun newspaper
We kept in touch with “our island” and are now happy to announce that the final decision to install 3 big, permanent no-fishing-zones! has been made!
The villages of Matuku will need some financial help installing and patrolling their Marine Reserve.
11 comments
Humberto says:
July 4, 2023 at 9:06 pm (UTC 0)
Spending hours to see your travels.many memories and many places I still haven’t visit.
Very beautiful ,enjoy watching the pictures and reading thanks
And good work in Matuku
Christian says:
July 5, 2023 at 2:24 am (UTC 0)
Thanks Humberto! See you around
Christian says:
July 12, 2023 at 6:12 pm (UTC 0)
The first donations are coming in!
thanks to Marijn and Sanne for 10,- Euro
and Kerstin and Roland for 50,-!!
Thanks a lot to Kate und Paul for 200,- Euro!
And 80,- Euro from Nancy and Rob, vinaka vaka levu!
50,- Euro from Graz, thanks Tina and Gerald!
And the donations keep coming in!
30,- Euro from Susan and Darrell–thanks!
10,- from Veronika, danke!
10,- from Mario
Another 10,- sent by Romana, danke!
And 10,- from Petra!!
Further 10 from Olivia, danke!
And 20,- from Janine, danke!!
50,- from Manu and Richard, danke sehr!
And 50,- from Kathi and Gerry, vielen Dank!
100,- from Martina, danke!!
And 500,- from Lisa, thank you so much!!!
We have reached our goal of 1000,- Euro – thanks a lot to all you wonderful people who have made this possible!
Actually, we have collected even more than our initial goal, which means that we’ll be able to print more educational material to use in schools and info material to spread awareness on other islands as well.
We’ll keep posting pics and updates so you can all keep track of how your donations are being used
Birgit says:
July 18, 2023 at 11:07 pm (UTC 0)
And the donations keep coming!
Thanks a lot to Karen for transferring 20,- Euros!
And Inge sent 10,-, danke!!
Birgit says:
July 18, 2023 at 11:07 pm (UTC 0)
We have already surpassed our initial goal of 1000,- Euro – thanks a lot to all you wonderful people who have made this possible!
If we collect more than that, it just means that we’ll be able to support Matuku for a longer time and also that we can print more educational material to use in schools and info material to spread awareness on other islands as well!
We’ll keep posting pics and updates on our blog so you can all keep track of how your donations are being used
Birgit Hackl says:
July 29, 2023 at 6:30 pm (UTC 0)
Katie and Mike have donated 100,- Euros, thanks!!
Birgit says:
August 2, 2023 at 8:28 am (UTC 0)
Wayne donated 25,-, thanks!
Birgit says:
August 9, 2023 at 4:22 am (UTC 0)
And 300,- from Sylvia and Tom, vinaka vaka levu!!
Birgit says:
August 13, 2023 at 5:49 am (UTC 0)
Kellie and Mike donated 100,- – vinaka!!
Christian says:
September 6, 2023 at 12:04 am (UTC 0)
And another donation: Thanks, Clyde, for 20,- euros!
Christian says:
September 25, 2023 at 1:31 am (UTC 0)
Gisela has donated 100,- Euros, thanks!!