Fiji is at risk of facing massive financial setbacks due to rising ocean temperatures, according to Margaret Vakalalabure, the manager of the World Wildlife Fund’s Coral Reef Rescue Initiative in Fiji. She emphasized that coastal communities would suffer significantly as their livelihoods depend on fishing, which is increasingly threatened by warmer waters.
Vakalalabure highlighted the importance of maintaining specific temperature levels for marine life to thrive, spawn, and feed. During a workshop hosted by the Wildlife Conservation Society, she warned that without urgent intervention, the potential economic repercussions could amount to millions of dollars.
She explained that elevated surface temperatures contribute to rising water heat, resulting in dangerously low oxygen levels in the sea. This phenomenon can lead to mass fish deaths, as witnessed in March 2016, shortly before Cyclone Winston struck Fiji, particularly along the Coral Coast and in other affected areas.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ocean temperatures have risen by two degrees Celsius, which harms coral reefs as well. Vakalalabure likened coral reefs to the forests of the sea, stating that when they are affected, the entire marine ecosystem suffers greatly.