Surfers who want to ride the waves in Fiji may soon have to pay for it. The government wants to repeal a law that gave access to the country's reef breaks for both tourists and locals.
It may sound unthinkable in Hawaiʻi, but in Fiji, foreign-owned resorts once controlled access to certain surf breaks. Only hotel guests could ride those waves.
Fifteen years ago, the military dictatorship heading the country at the time changed the law. They called it a Surfing Decree, and it made the waves accessible to anyone.
People could surf anywhere without having to pay a fee or get a permit. It helped turn Fiji into a premier surf tourism destination.
But critics say the Indigenous owners of coastlines where people were surfing lost their potential to make money from the tourism boom.
The decree also banned other water activities from surfing hotspots, like fishing.
Tourism Minister Bill Gavoka told Australia's ABC News that a bill to revoke the surfing decree will go to Parliament this week.
The new legislation is intended to restore Indigenous rights over marine areas, rather than give back exclusive wave access to resorts.
There is still much uncertainty about the new proposal, including how Indigenous owners will be compensated.
The Fiji Surfing Association and the country's Hotels and Tourism Association say they're waiting to see details of the changes before they comment on the proposal.
