Partners in Community Development Fiji marine scientific officer Iliapi Tuwai said pig waste was a manure high in nutrients and when it is discharged into the sea it causes plants such as algae to grow at a faster rate which covers the corals and suffocated them, according to the Fiji Times.

"Corals are smothered or suffocated when nutrients from pig wastes and other source of wastes whether they be liquid or solid feed algae or a type of seaweed called sargassum macroalgae," Mr Tuwai told the Fiji Times.

Areas along the Coral Coast have been devastated by sargassum, which has led to the death and slow growth of corals.

The coastal villages have been advised to build their piggeries inland as far away from rivers, lakes or sea or have the drainage system leading from the piggeries to their gardens to drain off the nutrients before it was absorbed by water sources such as rivers and sea.

The advice from Partners in Community Development Fiji was not based on any scientific research but on observations on various sites along the coral coast and island communities.

USP Institute of Applied Science manager environment unit Dr Bale Tamata agreed saying waste from piggeries resulted in dead corals which then turns to rubble when they are smothered by the macro organisms algae or seaweeds.