Vanua Levu, Fiji — Jelly Ravea, 58, glides out to sea on a bilibili, a traditional Fijian raft made of bamboo. She is fishing off the coast of Vatulele, a village on the south coast of Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second-largest island.

The sea has long been the main source of food and materials for islanders here, providing everything from seaweed and seashells to various fish. For centuries, Fijians like Ravea have paddled out once, if not twice, each day to scour the ocean for their daily catch.

But this tradition is now in danger.

“Every day, we should be able to eat something from the sea,” says Ravea, who wears a deep blue sulu, a traditional wrap, around her waist. “But times are hard, the shells are sometimes dead, and the oil from yachts spreads over the sea and kills the fish.”

An abu

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