Dwindling catches turn villagers to canned fish

Tag: Preserved Vegetables

WHEN you live in the urban areas, returning to your coastal roots for that occasional visit is like enjoying a slice of heaven.

You salivate at the prospect of eating fresh fish, caught right there in the sea and tossed into the pot.

Boiled, cooked in coconut cream, smoked or roasted over a fire by the beach, fresh fish is the treat of treats.

But that seems to be dying now. Now the dietary fashion is canned or preserved fish. Or as it is more commonly called - tinned fish.

Today, all you see are empty fish cans everywhere.

They come in all sizes, colours and brands.

Even though the coast is a few feet away from their homes, coastal community households are turning to the tinned version of fish.

It’s not that people are lazy to go out fishing, but because fish is just getting harder to find.

In Namada village on the Coral Coast, Fish Warden Jowasa Bola says people would rather buy tinned fish than waste time going fishing for nothing.

Kelevi Biu, 53, of Rukua Village on Beqa Island looks after the village store.

He says the experience there is similar to coastal communities that have almost given up on fishing,

“Our qoliqoli are overfished, not only by us but by poachers too. Most people do not go fishing anymore because there is not much fish” Mr Biu said.

“I see everyday more people buying tinned fish and corned beef and noodles and the demand is getting bigger.

“And also those who work at the nearby hotels have turned to tinned stuff because they have no time to go fishing.

Mr Biu said women can spend up to half a day fishing and return with only a few fish. This is not a morale booster.

“They are reluctant to go out to sea because it is time consuming and they return tired and cold without enough fish,” he said.

“Even those who go spear diving during the day also return with only a few fish that are some times too small.”

The problem was confirmed by the National Food and Nutrition Centre’s third survey in 2004.

It aimed to determine the nutritional status of the population and re-assess the food and nutrition situation.

The survey sample was made up 7,372 individuals from 1,696 households representing the three major ethnic groups from 45 randomly selected enumeration areas.

About 55 per cent of the respondents were rural dwellers and 45 per cent from the urban areas

The survey found that the proportion of households that reportedly consumed canned fish was high as about 70.8 per cent for Fijians and 72.8 per cent for Indo-Fijians.

Overall, 66 per cent ate fresh fish once or twice a week.

Many people believe fish is the best food to give children because it makes them smarter. This is also the reason women are advised to eat a lot of fish during pregnancy.

NFNC nutritionist Babeeta Prakash says this could be part of folklore and superstitious, although some research shows that eating fish does improve mental health,

Ms Prakash says fresh fish provides various vitamins and minerals.

“It is also an excellent source of protein, vitamin A, D and B and calcium iodine, fluoride and zinc. It contains small amounts of fats and oils, which are beneficial to the body because they help reduce the risk of heart disease,” she said .

“These oils assist in lowering blood cholesterol - the ones that contribute to heart disease, lower fat and excellent food for all age groups and can be used in so many recipes.”

Tinned fish on the other hand loses most vitamins and minerals during processing. In addition, other ingredients harmful to health are added such as salts and oils.

It has also been discovered that processed food plays a part in the rise of non-communicable diseases like diabetes and heart problems.