Nataleira village has a well kept secret, the playful and graceful dolphins in the i qoliqoli. Long being part of their seascape, the villagers delight their visitors by sharing this secret and they have been doing so for a couple of years.
Naturally, the dolphins became the magnet that pulled staff of WWF, the conservation organisation, to take their meeting to ‘Natalei Ecolodge’ in the village.
The ecolodge is owned by Nataleira, one of 11 villages in the tikina Dawasamu and houses local and overseas tourists while generating income for the villagers.
A meeting room is the newest addition to the Natalei Ecolodge.
As it were, the WWF team is first to use the beach side meeting room and no doubt, countless others will follow.
Set in a row, fifty feet from the black sandy beach, the six thatch bures built with local materials by the villagers are ordinary but quaint, comfortable and clean.
Drifting asleep on and waking to the gentle burst of waves crashing on the beach is soothing and brings memories of hard work and a carefree childhood in my seaside village.
From the wooden decking under the dilo tree, no reef system is visible on the horizon and one stares out to the expanse of open sea.
Coral reefs are submerged in this i qoliqoli giving the illusion of open waters. ‘Moon reef’, called thus for its shape, is one of these and is home to the famed dolphins of Nataleira, a pod of 30 to 50 spinner dolphins.
The Dawasamu i qoliqoli(fishing ground) is 150.01 sq. kms or the size of 21,430 rugby fields and no fishing of any type is allowed in the ‘tabu’ or protected area, which takes up an area the size of 157 rugby fields.
Those that have been studying this i qoliqoli(fishing ground) say fish numbers are rising, sizes are bigger, there is more variety caught, the coral reefs are healthier and family income associated with fishing is increasing compared to a couple of years ago.
A management plan to guide the use of the collective iqoliqoli(fishing ground), and protect the dolphins, was put together in 2006 by the tikina and enforced on behalf of the tikina by the coastal villages of Nataleira, Silana, Nasinu, Lolomalevu and Driti, to address the increased take of fish and the associated damage it brings.
With benefits from managed i qoliqoli’s seen and felt by i qoliqoli(fishing ground) stewards, there is renewed commitment and resolve by the Dawasamu community, to improve and maintain the health and bounty of the i qoliqoli*fishing ground) “Me kedra sasalu tawa mudu na noda kawa” or ‘everlasting fish for our future generation’.
Emphasis Healing The Land Ministry
For those who may not know Nataleira village went through the Healing the Land process in 2004 and it was at this meeting that Rev Vuniani Nakauyaca prophessied that the Fire of God will fall in Nataleira, and it did, literal Fire fell on top of the water 3days later witnessed by villagers. Straight after that fish swam close to the shore after years of absence.
