Marine Ethnobiology: A Foundation for Marine Science
Education in the Pacific Islands
Randolph
It is s u g g e s t e d here that one of the m o s t
exciting possibilities for improving
marine
science e d u c a t i o n at all levels, could be to
take
our
students
into
their
marine
e n v i r o n m e n t to study marine ethnobiology
and its relationship to marine biodiversity. If
w e do so it may m a k e marine education
m u c h more interesting and m u c h
more
relevant in the rapidly c h a n g i n g small island
states of the Pacific O c e a n . T o e x a m i n e this
possibility w e m u s t first define the concepts
of
"marine
biodiversity",
"marine
ethnobiology" and the " m a r i n e environment".
"Marine
biodiversity"
(short
for
marine
biological
diversity)
is
defined
as:
all
e c o s y s t e m s and plant and animal species,
including
h u m a n s , f o u n d in the
marine
environment. " M a r i n e ethnobiology" is defined
as: the study of uses, practices, knowledge,
beliefs a n d language that a given culture has
concerning its marine biodiversity. In more
general t e r m s , marine ethnobiology is the
study of the interrelationship between a
culture and its living marine environment. T h e
" m a r i n e e n v i r o n m e n t " is defined as those
areas w h i c h are permanently under the direct
influence of the sea. S u c h areas include: 1)
entire atolls a n d small islands which a r e
constantly affected by sea spray, tidal effects
or w a v e action; 2) coastal areas and lower
tidal reaches of rivers and streams of larger
islands; a n d , 3) all marine e c o s y s t e m s within
the exclusive e c o n o m i c z o n e s ( E E Z ) of
Pacific Island countries. E x a m p l e s of marine
e c o s y s t e m s include m a n g r o v e s , algal and
seagrass beds, beaches, a range of reef and
lagoon types, estuaries, offshore slopes,
terraces, shelves, c a n y o n s , sea mounts,
abyssal plains and the o p e n ocean, plus,
subsets of these, such as seabird rookeries,
sea
turtle
nesting
areas, currents
and
upwelling s y s t e m s in the o c e a n .
R.
Thaman
T o truly appreciate w h a t biodiversity really
m e a n s to Pacific societies, it is useful to
identify the main classes or categories of
living things (organisms) that might be f o u n d
in different e c o s y s t e m s , and w h i c h could be
the focus of study by our students. A n
attempt to do this is s h o w n in T a b l e 1 .
Although there are other types of living things
and more "scientific" w a y s of classifying
t h e m , the s y s t e m presented is an a t t e m p t at
providing a basic s y s t e m that could be used
by students and teachers to focus their
attention
on
the
diversity
of
biological
resources found in "their" e c o s y s t e m s .
F r o m such a perspective, it can be seen that
the
"biodiversity"
of
almost
all
island
ecosystems would
be considerable,
and
constitutes an educational
resource
that
biologists in colder t e m p e r a t e countries or
inland locations w o u l d love to have.
T h e educational possibilities and the relevance
for
Pacific
societies
that
have
d e p e n d e d on these resources for t h o u s a n d s
of
years
become
even
more
exciting,
however, for both teachers and students if w e
incorporate ethnobiology into our teaching,
i.e. if w e also focus on the cultural uses,
knowledge and beliefs that Pacific societies
have of their marine biodiversity. O n e w a y of
doing this is to have different students or
groups of students focus on the ethnobiology
of specific types of living things. For e x a m p l e ,
just as w e can break d o w n marine biodiversity into n u m e r o u s categories, marine
ethnobiology can also be broken d o w n into
many interesting subdisciplines. T h e s e s u b disciplines include marine e t h n o b o t a n y (the
ethnobiology of marine plants) and marine
ethnozoology (the ethnobiology of marine
animals).
These ecosystems
include some of the most interesting
and most accessible
found in the islands. They are ready-made
living laboratories,
at the doorsteps
of
of our island
schools.
areas
many
Table 1
Class
Sub-Classes
Lower
Lifeforms
Plants
Indigenous
Aboriginal Introductions
Recent Introductions
W i l d Plants
D o m e s t i c a t e d Plants
Food Plants
N o n - F o o d Plants
Terrestrial
Freshwater
Marine
Animals
Indigenous
Aboriginal Introductions
Recent Introductions
Wild A n i m a l s
Domesticated Animals
Food S p e c i e s
N o n - F o o d Species
Terrestrial
Freshwater
Marine
Specific T y p e s
Utility
Bacteria
Viruses
E,s,c
E,s,c
Phytoplankton
Algae
Fungi
Mosses
Other Lower Plants
Ferns
Herbs/Forbs
Grasses/Sedges
Vines
Shrubs
Trees
E,s,c
E,S,C
E,S,c
E,s
E,s,c
E,S,C
E,S,C
E,S,C
E,S,C
E,S,C
E,C,C
Protozoa
Zooplankton
Sponges
Corals
Jellyfish
Worms
Molluscs
Insects
Crustaceans
Echinoderms
Holothurians
Other Invertebrates
Fish
Amphibians
Reptiles
Birds
Non-Human Mammals
Humans
E,s,c
E,s,c
E,s,c
E,S,c
E,S,c
E,S,C
E,S,C
E,C,C
E,S,c
E,S,C
E,s,c
E,S,C
E,s,c
E,S,C
E,S,C
E,S,C
E,S,C
E,S,C
Classes, sub-classes, specific types and utility of resources found in Pacific Island marine
and coastal ecosystems (Under "Utility", E, S and C = direct major Ecological, Subsistence
or Commercial or Export utility to people at the community and national level in Melanesia,
Polynesia or Micronesia, and e,s and c = minor or indirect ecological, subsistence or
commercial/export importance, e.g. plankton is of indirect importance to commercial tuna
fishing in terms of its importance in marine food chains; it must be stressed that organisms
in some categories may also be harmful or have a negative impact on sustainable
development, e.g. pathogenic virus or bacteria, malarial mosquitos, etc.)
These c a n be further broken d o w n into more
specialised fields of study, s u c h as marine
ethnophycology
(study of algae or s e a w e e d s ) , e t h n o m a l a c o l o g y (shellfish), ethno¬
ornithology
(sea
birds),
ethno-ichthyology
(finfish), a n d ethno-herpetology
(reptiles);
g r o u p s of o r g a n i s m s , e.g., s e a w e e d s , tunas,
noddy birds, s h a r k s or cowries; or the study
of the cultural importance of an individual
species, e . g . , the edible s e a w e e d or sea
grapes, k n o w n in Fiji as nama, the octopus,
the hawksbill turtle, the s p e r m w h a l e or the
reef heron.
Taking such an ethnobiological a p p r o a c h also
o p e n s the door, for the involvement in marine
education, to older w o m e n and m e n , the
traditional
Pacific
Island
biologists
and
ethnobiologists, w h o are the holders of
valuable
knowledge
accumulated
over
thousands
of
years
in
their
marine
environment. S u c h an innovative a p p r o a c h ,
w h i c h is so widely mentioned as a possibility,
but so rarely e m p l o y e d , w o u l d not only m a k e
marine e d u c a t i o n m o r e meaningful for our
students, but w o u l d also serve to enrich the
knowledge
of
urban-based
and
urbane d u c a t e d teachers, as well as serving to give
due recognition to traditional science.
In taking such a practical approach with my
biogeography students at the University of
the S o u t h Pacific, I h a v e found that the
students p e r f o r m e d m u c h better, w e r e more
enthusiastic, and began to understand, in
concrete,
familiar
terms,
what
marine
biodiversity is and why it is so important to
the cultural integrity of their people. For
e x a m p l e , preliminary results of c o m m u n i t y level,
MacArthur
Foundation
(Chicago)f u n d e d studies by U S P students in the
coastal villages of Ucunivanua and Kumi in
V e r a t a Tikina, about 30 kilometres f r o m
S u v a , revealed that the villagers eat or sell
commercially
7
seaweed
species,
199
invertebrate species, 2 1 0 finfish species and
3 turtle species. T h e invertebrates include 2
coelenterates, 1 annelid w o r m , 2 sipunculid
sea w o r m s , 18 e c h i n o d e r m s (17 sea slugs or
bêche-de-mer
and
1 sea
urchin),
143
molluscs, 3 c e p h a l o p o d s and 25 crustaceans.
T h e finfish include 17 sharks or rays (Class
Chondrichthys) and 184 true finfish (Class
Osteicthys). T h e turtles include the hawksbill,
g r e e n and leatherback turtles.
T h e students also identified a w i d e range of
bait species, w h i c h are important in the local
food system and to the s u c c e s s of both
small- and large-scale fishing. T h e s e include
a w i d e range of bait-fish species so critical to
the s u c c e s s of the pole-and-line tuna fishery,
a range of small C r u s t a c e a , including hermit
crabs, and the blood w o r m or
sewasewa
(Marphysa
sanguinea)
one of the main
species used as bait by w o m e n in nearshore
linefishing.
Studies of the utilisation of marine resources
in the s a m e villages, by t w o U S P postgraduate students Aliti V u n i s e a a n d Kelvin
Passfield, s h o w that the sale of m a r i n e foods
is the main s o u r c e of c a s h and non-cash
(subsistence) income in the area. Passfield
(1994) has e s t i m a t e d the resource to be
worth in e x c e s s of F $ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 annually, if
account is taken of both the s u b s i s t e n c e a n d
c o m m e r c i a l harvest of U c u n i v a n u a and the
other six settlements in the area, including an
estimated F $ 1 9 0 , 0 0 0 w h i c h is harvested f r o m
the area by "licensed" outside f i s h e r m e n .
V u n i s e a (1994) has stressed the critical role
that w o m e n play in fisheries production,
particularly in the exploitation of the extensive
shellfish resources of the area.
In short, this extensive range of marine food
products and the k n o w l e d g e relating to their
acquisition constitutes only o n e e x a m p l e of
how biodiversity is not only a vast e c o n o m i c
and cultural resource, but also a vastly
unexploited educational resource. It is, thus,
suggested that the incorporation into our
curricula
at
all
levels,
with
particular
emphasis
on
in-the-field,
with-the-people
studies of such marine ethnobiological k n o w ledge, could significantly enrich a n d m a k e
more meaningful our a t t e m p t s to incorporate
marine education into the curriculum.
By involving
women and men
from
local
communities
in the
formal
education
systems
we can
both
enrich the educational
experience
of
Pacific
Island students
as well
as
protect
and possibly
preserve
the
wealth of traditional
knowledge
that
is currently
being ignored
by most
modem
scientists.
T h e importance of preserving s u c h k n o w ledge is of particular importance b e c a u s e ,
w h e r e a s the classifications a n d k n o w l e d g e of
W e s t e r n and Eastern t a x o n o m i s t s have been
c o m m i t t e d to paper a n d will hopefully never
be lost to humanity, a s w e sit here, similar
k n o w l e d g e f o r t h e rural peoples of t h e
tropical Pacific Islands, w h o still maintain a n
essentially oral culture, is being lost forever
as t h e old w o m e n a n d m e n o f Nauru,
P o h n p e i , Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tahiti, t h e
C o o k Islands, Niue, S a m o a , Fiji a n d other
Pacific Islands pass away, taking with t h e m
their ethnobiological treasure chests. Just a s
w e c a n never bring back an extinct species,
o n c e lost, this biocultural inheritance is lost
forever, a n d with it t h e potential for t h e
sustainable
management
of marine
biodiversity in t h e Pacific Islands.
In t h e e n d , "biodiversity", as a concept, only
exists in t h e h u m a n m i n d , a n d if t h e h u m a n s
in t h e Pacific Islands lose their k n o w l e d g e
about, a n d language f o r their biodiversity,
their rich island biocultures will be d o o m e d to
o b s o l e s c e n c e a n d extinction. Moreover, it
might
also
be argued
that
if
marine
ethnobiological k n o w l e d g e is not included in
the curriculum, Pacific Island societies will
probably
follow
the
same
paths
to
BIOCULTURAL
SUICIDE
that
other
nearsighted
and
ecologically-blind
societies
have
followed. In other w o r d s , they will lose their
love for, links t o a n d understanding of their
rich m a r i n e environment.
References
Dahl, A. L. (1980). Regional ecosystems survey of
the South Pacific area. Technical Paper No.
179. Noumea: South Pacific Commission.
Passfield, K. (1994). An assessment of the
monetary value of the subsistence and smallscale commercial coastal fishery in Fiji: A
case study of villages in Verata, Tailevu
Province, Viti Levu. In South, R. G., Goulet,
D., Tuqiri, S. and Church, M. (eds).
Traditional marine tenure and sustainable
management of marine resources in Asia and
the Pacific: Proceedings of the lnternation
Workshop, 4th - 8th July, 1994. University of
the
South
Pacific:
International
Ocean
Institute Operational Centre, Marine Studies
Programme: 208-215.
Thaman, R.R. (1994). Land, plants, animals and
people:
Community-based
biodiversity
conservation
(CBBC)
as a basis for
ecological, cultural and economic survival in
the
Pacific
Islands.
Pacific
Science
Association Information Bulletin. 46 (1-2):115.
Vunisea, A. 1994. Traditional marine tenure at the
village level: A case study of Ucunivanua, Fiji.
In South, R.G., Goulet, D , Tuqiri, S. and
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and sustainable
management
of marine
resources
in Asia
and the
Pacific:
Proceedings of the lnternation Workshop, 4th
- 8th July, 1994. University of the South
Pacific:
International
Ocean
Institute
Operational
Centre,
Marine
Studies
Programme: 200-207.