Fiji wrestles with plans to restore Indigenous rights over world-famous surf breaks

"In Fiji, babies know a connection to the sea from birth; their umbilical cords, or vicovico, are sometimes implanted in the reefs that frame the coastal Pacific nation, embedded among the coral. It's an age-old practice among iTaukei, the Indigenous Fijian people creating a lifeline to the ocean, a reminder of their roles as traditional custodians. Yet for decades, controversy over the rights to the Fijian seabed has cast a long cloud over the island nation, which sees a million tourists flock to its shores each year, many to surf the perfect, barrelling reef breaks. It has led to heartache and, at times, violence."

"Until 2010, access to Cloudbreak, one of the world's most famous surf waves, was barred to Fijian locals, due to an exclusivity deal with a high-end resort from the early 80s. It was demeaning, it was shameful, says Ian Ravouvou Muller, an iTaukei surfer who recalls being threatened and chased out of the waters where the vicovico of his three sons are buried."

"In 2010, the Frank Bainimarama-led military dictatorship introduced a surfing decree, banning payments for the use of Fiji's reefs, lagoons and beaches, and putting an end to all exclusivity deals. Prior to 2010, Tavarua Island Resort paid local Nadroga tribes so it could offer its guests private access to Cloudbreak, and leases totalling 12m Fijian dollars (US$5.2m) between resorts and villages in that region were estimated to have been overridden by the decree."

In Fiji, many iTaukei bury newborn umbilical cords (vicovico) in coral reefs as a cultural lifeline and assertion of custodial ties to the sea. Tourism and surf resorts brought contests over seabed rights, producing exclusivity deals that barred locals from waves like Cloudbreak and provoked threats and violence. In 2010 a Bainimarama-led decree banned payments for use of reefs, lagoons and beaches and ended exclusivity deals, opening waves to tourists and locals but undermining customary marine governance and local revenue. The government proposes returning qoliqoli governance to iTaukei so Indigenous communities can be compensated for reef-based tourism.

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