Vava'u housewife survey of tidal area usage

Abstract

The scope of the survey was two-fold aimed primarily at the village officers and housewives. The rationale behind such a two-pronged approach was that the village officer was responsible for coordinating communal activities within each village whereas the housewife was the main user of the area foraging the mud flats for edible organisms. The survey scope, however, was limited by time and available manpower resources. This report summarizes that part of the survey directed toward housewives. Basically, housewives were interviewed to get information on the tidal flat area in terms of (1) range of edible/marketable marine forms within, (2) level of harvest of these resources, (3) catch and effort, and (4) appreciable changes of standing stock over the years.