Degraded coral reef ecosystems yield limited
goods and services, which is expected to have signiWcant
socio-economic impacts on isolated tropical island communities
with strong reliance on coral reefs. This study investigates
socio-economic changes, speciWcally in fresh Wsh
consumption and Wshing activities, associated with environmental
degradation at Wve Wshing grounds (qoliqoli) in the
Lau Islands (Fiji). Semi-structured interviews with Wshers
and senior household members revealed that the importance
of Wshing was low relative to other occupations, and consumption
of fresh Wsh has declined over the last decade.
Reduced Wshing and choice of fresh Wsh is largely attributable
to an increased need to derive income as well as new
income-generating opportunities. A possible consequence of
reduced reliance on marine resources was limited awareness
of recent environmental degradation caused by climateinduced
coral bleaching and outbreaks of coral-feeding
crown-of-thorns starWsh. Limited use and reduced awareness
of the local marine environment in the short term may
erode social memory and local ecological knowledge, reducing
opportunities to fall back on marine resources. This may
also compromise long-term economic and social stability.
Conversely, low reliance on marine resources may confer
greater Xexibility to adapt to future ecological change in the
marine environment. Importantly, changes in Wsh consumption
and exploitation of marine resources were linked to
socio-economic factors rather than a consequence of recent
degradation of marine environments. Greater knowledge of
the dynamics driving change in marine resource use is necessary
to understand how societies respond to ecological and
socio-economic change, and to identify opportunities for
adaptive sustainable ecosystem management.