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In April 2001, John and Silvana Nicholls, today owners and operators of Vanuatu Hotels, arrived in Vanuatu to launch and manage the new White Grass Ocean Resort on the island of Tanna. It was their intention to ensure that it would operate according to strict environmental guidelines, so they immediately declared it a bird sanctuary, protecting fowl from the indigenous practice of hunting and eating them. Although a parallel ‘turtle emergency rescue’ program of buying turtles captured by locals as a step in saving them from the cooking pot unfortunately had to be discontinued as it created a new industry – the capture of released turtles in order to sell them back – the resort nevertheless became the island’s de facto animal refuge, even providing veterinary assistance when need.

The coconut crab can weigh over five kilograms and measures one metre from claw to claw when fully grown.

As part of their efforts, the Nicholls also banned coconut crab from their menu (see more information), a practical step in helping to building the first and only coconut crab habitat in Vanuatu.

“Instead of eating them, our guests could handle and photograph living crabs. The kids had a ball seeing, touching and hand-feeding these awesome creatures, which are coloured in beautiful greens and blues, rather than seeing them cooked red,” said John. “In order to immediately sensitise people to the unique, fun eco-experience in store for resort guests, I sometimes welcomed them with a giant coconut crab… a live one, that is!”

Although their efforts initially made little impact, and maintaining the habitat was no easy task – these largest land-living crustacean can cut themselves out of any corner with their powerful claws and easily climb any surface, like the coconut trees from which they take their name – John and Silvana persisted.

“When travelling to the capital, Port Vila, we were appalled to see coconut crabs sold in restaurants,” confirmed John. “The irony of it is that they are actually quite bland in flavour, hence inevitably covered with strong sauces to make them interesting to eat. There was quite a trade in coconut crabs and we knew this was not sustainable, as numbers were dwindling fast. When we contacted a few experts on the subject, our fears were confirmed: there was a real problem.”

Predictions were that if coconut crab consumption could not be curbed, a number of islands in Vanuatu would feast them into extinction. The problem was not specific to the resort’s island of Tanna; it was true of many other islands as well.

A White Grass Ocean Resort turtle emergency rescue program of buying turtles captured by locals had to be discontinued when released turtles were captured and sold back to the resort.

“We then set out to make the tourism industry aware of the coconut crab plight,” continued John. “At the beginning, most hospitality colleagues did not know much about us and discarded our message as coming from recently arrived tree-hugging greenies. Only a few backed our little movement. But in mid 2002 the country’s iconic resorts banned coconut crab from their menus and things changed rapidly for the better. The message was being taken seriously.”

The movement relied not at all on a committee, printed brochures or criticism of anyone persisting in selling crabs. It simply consisted of information (see more information) shared via regular emails, at association meetings and on the resort website. With the hospitality industry in Vanuatu composed principally of independent individuals, many who have left their countries of birth “to get away from the top-down approach of their governments and local associations,” John and Silvana believed that their movement would function better with a grassroots approach.

With everyone allowed to come to their own conclusions based on the information provided, the strategy appears to have worked. In Vanuatu, coconut crabs are rarely found on menus.

“New or ignorant restaurateurs and some greedy ones persist,” added John. “It’s tough fighting ignorance. The owner of the resort where we built the habitat closed it down shortly after our departure. We just have to keep bringing the facts to the public, then those restaurants will be reminded of the coconut crab plight from their patrons and will have to change their ways. The next stage is then to encourage indigenous inhabitants to see the coconut crab as a tourist attraction and create venues for them to be protected, prosper and generate an income from the accessibility to this fascinating creature by the public.”

>> More Information:

• Read this article written by the Nicholls when working at the White Grass Ocean Resort.
• Read more about the coconut crab on Vanuatu Hotels.
• Read about the Vanuatu Post’s support of coconut crab conservation efforts.

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