Papua New Guinea warns against fishing in New Ireland after mystery deaths of marine life

Papua New Guinea’s government has warned communities not to fish from parts of the New Ireland coastline as preliminary tests show evidence of metals in some water samples, after months of residents reporting dead marine life in the area. On 7 May the fisheries minister, Jelta Wong, said initial testing conducted by an independent company detected various metals in water samples taken from affected areas around Kafkaf village and Larairu lagoon in New Ireland, an island in eastern PNG. “The results indicate the presence of poisonous minerals in the marine environment and further investigations are continuing,” Wong said at a press conference. Concern was first raised in December 2025, when residents on New Ireland’s coast began reporting unusual numbers of dead fish washing ashore. The communities of Kafkaf and Mangai were most affected. Commercial and subsistence fishing take place in New Ireland. Independent environmental organisation Ailan Awareness has conducted assessments in the area and at least 11 villages and more than 1,250 people have been affected through illness or contaminated food and water. Residents said reef fish were found floating dead in shallow waters with swollen eyes, damaged skin and discoloured flesh. Within weeks, the number of marine animal deaths rose, alarming communities that are heavily dependent on the ocean for food and income. Some residents have reported health problems after swimming or fishing in the affected waters. The seawater has been described as having a strong sulphur-like smell and appearing cloudy or discoloured during low tide. Authorities have warned communities not to consume fish or seafood from the affected waters until more testing has been completed. They said no conclusions had been reached regarding the source of the metal substances found in the water. Investigations involving national agencies, independent scientists and international laboratories are continuing as authorities attempt to determine the full extent of contamination and whether long-term environmental damage has occurred along New Ireland’s east coast. In January, provincial authorities declared Kafkaf an environmental hazard and contaminated zone after continued reports of marine deaths and illness among residents. New Ireland’s governor, Byron Chan, told parliament in March that the unexplained fish deaths in the province had become a major environmental and public health concern and called on the national government to take urgent action. The national government has been criticised for failure to act more quickly and the lack of immediate assistance for affected villages. Marine conservation advocate John Aini said the slow response from authorities had left communities without much-needed assistance, describing the situation as “total neglect in our time of crisis”. Kafkaf community leader Martha Piwas said families have stopped fishing as fears grew over contamination of marine food sources. “We are suffering because the sea is our supermarket and our garden,” Piwas told local media. “Mothers cannot feed their children fish any more. People are getting sick.” She said many people in the village depended entirely on fishing for their survival, but no longer felt they could safely enter the water. Ailan Awareness, led by conservationist John Aini, conducted a five-day coastal assessment in March across affected communities and documented more than 3,400 dead marine organisms across at least 15 species. Aini warned at the time that the scale of marine deaths pointed to a serious ecological disturbance affecting reef systems and coastal biodiversity. Residents said communities continue to face food shortages and economic hardship as fishing activities were suspended. “The communities are frightened because they rely entirely on the ocean for food security and livelihoods,” Aini said.