Earlier this month, Pacific Island communities gathered together to summon the strength to confront the climate battles ahead. They were joined by communities from all over the world in a show of solidarity and support to collectively hold space for the Pacific.
My little darlings, on 28 July 2016 as you slept with the sound of the ocean keeping you both company, there was a big commotion on the other side of the ocean.
Most of us know the story of coal miners and their caged canaries. When my seven-year-old daughter heard it, she was sad that the canaries had to give up their lives to warn the miners to get out. She asked me if miners still use canaries today and I reassured her: ‘No, we have come a long way since those days. The truth is, sometimes I fear that we Pacific Islanders are the closest thing to those canaries.
Tropical Cyclone Winston was one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever been through. I live on the western side of Viti Levu, in Nadi. On Saturday night, by the time the sun went down, the wind had began howling and it was bucketing down. The electricity went off. Within a few hours, the concrete walls of our apartment were shaking. The light and fan fittings in our ceiling came loose and water started gushing through them. We couldn't go outside, because trees and signs and bits of people's roofs were flying around.
Originally published on Pina.com
These are worrying times for our local tuna industry. In Fiji boats are being tied up, and staff are being laid off in Samoa, Tonga and in American Samoa where entire fleets are up for sale. Now there is talk of Starkist’s American Samoa cannery potentially losing 2,000 jobs due to limited tuna supplies.
Seeing the sun coming through my cabin’s porthole early on Wednesday morning was a very welcoming wake-up call. I knew that this meant land ahead. Captain Mike had predicted an early arrival to Tanna Island and I was more than ready for some steady ground.
SYDNEY, 30 MARCH 2015 ---- There could soon be a whole lot more demand for sustainably caught tuna from the Pacific. For the first time ever, Greenpeace has just released a canned tuna guide in the United States - the largest tuna consuming nation in the world.
Greenpeace ship the Esperanza transported relief goods to communities in the Philippines devastated by typhoon Pablo (Bopha). Mark Dia, our Regional Oceans Campaigner, is currently serving as our onboard team leader for our Pablo Response mission.