A team of researchers from Columbia University and the Republic of Fiji has found a unique and time-effective way to improve the design of marine protected areas in on coastal fisheries in Fiji—and, potentially, around the world. This method, which was used to assess a proposed temporary fishery closure in the village of Nagigi, Fiji, is described in a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Abigail Golden of Columbia University and colleagues from Columbia, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the University of the South Pacific.

Corporate giant Fiji Water makes millions of dollars every year selling bottled water, but only 47 percent of Fiji Islanders have access to clean drinking water. That may change.