In April, Tropical Cyclone Maila wiped out every seaweed crop in the Solomon Islands, and shifting El Niño weather is making it harder for Pacific farmers to rebuild their livelihoods. Wilfred Luiramo, owner of Haleta Seaweed in Western Province, says unpredictable rain and scarce sunlight are delaying the drying and sale of seaweed, the income his community depends on.
“The weather pattern keeps changing and it’s impossible to predict,” Luiramo said. “Today it will rain, tomorrow it’s sunny, and it keeps changing all the time.” Each morning, he checks the seaweed stakes, clears debris and examines every line. But a week without sun can undo that work. “This affects the income of everyone in the community,” he said.
Livelihoods on the weather’s terms
Across the Pacific Islands, aquaculture generates an estimated US$130-180 million a year, roughly 0.5 per cent of regional GDP. Fisheries and aquaculture account for 7 per cent of national GDP in Solomon Islands. Behind those figures, farmers make daily calculations: whether the sun will dry seaweed, whether fishponds will have enough water, and whether cattle will find enough pasture.
In Wagina, a seaweed hub in Solomon Islands, farmers can earn US$1,200 a month, compared with a national average annual income of US$800. Luiramo says the usual low-tide period around June stretched through June, July and August this year. “El Niño is already here, and we need to quickly adapt,” he said.
Fiji’s Katarina Senabu Baleisuva checks water quality in her tilapia ponds and feeds the fish three times a day. Heat can lower water levels, while rain can chill the water or flood the ponds, hurting production. “We’re finding it hard to make a livelihood,” she said. Government support helped her dig more ponds to store water, but she says securing financial support for aquaculture remains difficult.
Fiji produces about 400 tonnes of tilapia a year, and more than 350 farms operate across the country, mostly at subsistence and semi-commercial levels. Households that farm tilapia can earn about US$700 net per production cycle. Baleisuva can’t rely on aquaculture alone: “I have to do both agriculture and aquaculture.”
Tarusila Veibi, a mud crab farmer in Fiji, makes cages from bamboo and tree bark, visiting them two or three times a day. She says the weather is dry, cold and windy when rain normally starts. Hard soil, dying trees and falling river levels make farming and cattle care more difficult. Veibi moves cattle in search of green pasture and plants crops in swampy areas that haven’t dried out. In Fiji, wild mud crab fishers—88 per cent of whom are Indigenous women—can earn 60-70 Fijian dollars a week for school fees and daily needs.
Local work, limited room to wait
In Palau, giant clam farmer Patty Kloulechad says unusually hot, dry weather has warmed tap water and parched the soil. High coastal water temperatures and low rainfall have sped up algae growth in her clam cages, smothering the clams. Deeper water once protected them, but routine cleaning now takes more effort. “We have adjusted our maintenance schedule to align with the lowest tides to allow sufficient time to thoroughly clean the cages,” she said.
Farmers are reorganizing their work as familiar patterns break down. Kloulechad’s community is switching to weather-resilient crops and moving vulnerable crops closer to home. Baleisuva has dug boreholes to reach groundwater. Near creeks, some tilapia farmers fill standby ponds and reuse pond water. Water tanks supply households and farm work, including washing seaweed and fish cages.
Luiramo says brief sunny spells now decide when the community can work. “When there is sunlight, we have to be there. We cannot waste any time.” The need to wait at the coast nearly every day restricts family errands. He says solidarity has kept seaweed farming alive for around 40 years, despite inconsistent commercial or government support.
Farmers ask to be heard
Baleisuva says rural farmers are left behind and their voices aren’t heard. “We really need to work together with the government,” she said. Luiramo wants policies that bring local knowledge, seaweed farming expertise and scientific research together. Gaps between government and communities, he says, delay responses to farmers’ needs.
China’s National Climate Centre says the 2026-27 El Niño is developing rapidly and could become the strongest since instrumental records began. In the first half of August, sea surface temperatures in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific were more than 2.5°C above normal. Forecasters warn the event could become a “super” event.
The farmers’ advice is practical: monitor conditions, share knowledge and diversify work. “Don’t rely on one commodity but do integrated farming,” Baleisuva said. Luiramo wants seaweed farmers to try short-term crops such as cabbage, aubergine and tomatoes. Their options are constrained, but farmers are already responding in ponds, farms and communities—while the institutions they ask for support still have to listen.