Sasalu Tawamudu Fiji - Sustainable Reef Resources
Live Rock
Each year, the worldwide marine aquarium industry consumes 1000 tons of live rock, the substrate on which coral and other reef organisms grow. Fijian villagers use crowbars to hack the live rock from their lagoon reef flats and sell the product for 15 cents per pound. The villagers know that the practice is unsustainable, and many villages have banned the practice of breaking off pieces of their reef even though the villagers give up important revenues.
Sasalu Tawamudu—along with partners at the University of the South Pacific and the Georgia Institute of Technology--facilitates the sustainable transformation of this industry through “cultured” live rock. Instead of hacking up the living reef, custom pumice stone “blanks” are planted by villagers on the sandy part of the fringing reef. After six to eight months, coral, algae, and other organisms colonize the blanks, resulting in artificial or cultured live rock. Tagaqe Village, on the Fijian Coral Coast, was the first village to replace traditional live rock harvesting with sustainable cultured rock. The live rock project provides them with needed revenues and with a greater awareness of their aquatic resources. Sustainable practices can be profitable.
Walt Smith International, the largest marine exporter operating in Fiji, provides technical assistance and markets the green live rock. The Georgia Aquarium, the world’s largest, uses Fijian cultured live rock in its exhibits. This green alternative has been praised by many, including Audubon Magazine and the Coral Reef Alliance.
Your tax-deductible donations to Sasalu Tawamudu, Adopt-a-Coral or Adopt-a-Reef provide seed money to expand live rock culturing to other villages. With your help, this industry can be transformed and the villagers of Fiji will benefit from green practices.
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