“The big fish hide”. Frictions between perceptions of marine life on Lavongai Island (Papua New Guinea)

Abstract

On the shores of Lavongai Island (also known as New Hanover), in the Bismarck archipelago of Papua New Guinea, interactions are taking place between various perceptions of marine life, in the context of climate change and coastal ecosystem degradation. The inhabitants of the island say that big fish are now hiding. They explain this by a lack of respect towards the reefs shown by some people, who disregard traditional social norms. Exogenous considerations on these matters also reach the island, highlighting the dangers of using toxic plants to catch fish, and the risks of Malthusian overfishing. The two environmental NGOs that voice such concerns encourage locals to create marine protected areas. Based on three months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in late 2019, this article focuses on the “frictions” between these different points of view, and analyses how such frictions reconfigure or revalue various aspects of knowledge.