Sangeeta Mangubhai
Director of WCS Fiji Program

Sangeeta Mangubhai,
Director of WCS Fiji Program

OOn Saturday, February 20, Cyclone Winston—a Category 5, the highest ranking of cyclones—came tearing through Fiji in one of the most intense natural disasters we have ever witnessed here. Initially we were without power, and the country was in a state of emergency. As I returned to work, I was both shocked and saddened to see the extent of the damage that 185 mile-per-hour winds had inflicted. My mind immediately turned to the 120 communities we work with across Fiji’s second largest island of Vanua Levu, who bore the brunt of the cyclone. Our staff pooled donations to help provide much-needed food rations to our communities.

About two weeks after the storm, I boarded the NAI’A, a live-aboard dive ship, to assess the condition of coral reefs in the Vatu-i-Ra seascape, where WCS has worked for more than a decade. Coral reefs are critical to people’s food security and livelihoods in Fiji, so it was important to understand the scale of damage caused by both the cyclone and by coral bleaching. I knew that even before the cyclone, the corals were suffering from elevated sea surface temperatures caused by the current El Niño cycle. This cycle has been stronger than average, most likely due to climate change, and the higher water temperatures can lead to deadly coral bleaching events. By understanding what stresses the reefs were under, I would be in a better position to determine the best course of action for WCS and partners to protect the reefs from further damage and ensure they will bounce back.

In my 10 days at sea, I focused on 3 important sites: the proposed Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Park which WCS has been supporting efforts to establish; the famous Nigali passage, known for its grey reef shark populations; and the Namena Marine Reserve, which is the largest community-managed reserve in Fiji. Rolling backwards off the boat for my first dive in Vatu-i-Ra, I was dreading what I would find below the surface. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that the majority of the reef was still mostly intact. In both the Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Park and in Nigali, I documented vast swaths of healthy hard corals, which are the building blocks of coral reefs that also provide shelter for small fish and invertebrates. I also delighted in seeing fish schools thriving on plankton, and predators like barracuda and grey reef sharks thriving on prey fish.

The Namena reserve was not so lucky, as the force of the cyclone’s waves ripped and shredded sea fans, soft corals, and delicate branching corals. Despite this damage, there was evidence of resilience that gave me hope. In a well-protected marine reserve like Namena, as long as there are enough herbivorous fish on the reefs to keep the algae down, the corals that survived should eventually spawn and settle back onto the reefs.

On each of my 26 dives, I collected data on the scale and intensity of bleaching across these sites. The highest bleaching recorded was in the south of the seascape, with 20 percent of the reefs suffering from mild levels of bleaching. But even the more severely bleached colonies were still alive. As long as the water temperatures continue to cool as we head towards our “winter,” we can expect that most of the affected colonies will return to normal fairly soon.

This is the first time in my knowledge that our reefs here in Fiji have had to deal with both climate-induced bleaching stress and the damage of a cyclone. While I found no measurable pattern to the destruction (and this is normal when you have such a large event like a Category-5 cyclone), I am incredibly hopeful that the protection granted to these regions, thanks to efforts by WCS and other organizations, will help the reefs stay strong and poised to bounce back.

After I completed these reef assessments, the Fijian government used them to help inform their post-disaster needs assessment. Recognizing our expertise, the government has now asked WCS to spearhead studies of the impact of the cyclone on fisheries, in partnership with other NGOs. The results of this work will help guide recovery efforts. WCS’s continued monitoring of these fisheries and reefs will give them a fighting chance for long-term survival so they can continue to sustain Fiji and its people.

Sangeeta Mangubhai