One year after volcanic blast, many of Tonga’s reefs lie silent
- Eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano has dealt significant blow to Tonga’s fisheries and aquaculture sector, according to United Nations estimates
- Young corals are failing to mature in the coastal waters around the eruption site, with many areas once home to healthy and abundant reefs now barren, survey shows
One year on from the massive eruption of an underwater volcano in the South Pacific, the island nation of Tonga is still dealing with the damage to its coastal waters.
When Hunga-Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai went off, it sent a shock wave around the world, produced a plume of water and ash that soared higher into the atmosphere than any other on record, and triggered tsunami waves that ricocheted across the region – slamming into the archipelago which lies southeast of Fiji.
Coral reefs were turned to rubble and many fish perished or migrated away.
The result has Tongans struggling, with more than 80 per cent of Tongan families relying on subsistence reef fishing, according 2019 data from the World Bank. Following the eruption, the Tongan government said it would seek $240 million for recovery, including improving food security. In the immediate aftermath, the World Bank provided $8 million.
“In terms of recovery plan … we are waiting for funds to cover expenditure associated with small-scale fisheries along coastal communities,” said Poasi Ngaluafe, head of the science division of Tonga’s Ministry of Fisheries.
The vast majority of Tongan territory is ocean, with its exclusive economic zone extending across nearly 700,000 sq km (270,271 square miles) of water. While commercial fisheries contribute only 2.3 per cent to the national economy, subsistence fishing is considered crucial in making up a staple of the Tongan diet.
The United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization estimated in a November report that the eruption cost the country’s fisheries and aquaculture sector some $7.4 million – a significant number for Tonga’s roughly $500 million economy. The losses were largely due to damaged fishing vessels, with nearly half of that damage in the small-scale fisheries sector, though some commercial vessels were also affected.
