When Cook Islander Dr Antony Vavia walked off the stage earlier this month with a piece of paper he had worked hard for six years, he achieved more than just becoming the first Pacific Islander to earn a doctoral degree in marine biology from Auckland University of Technology (AUT).

After spending about two years researching subsistence fisheries on his island home of Mitiaro, Vavia realised that the doctorate was merely a byproduct. His major achievement was learning more about the island’s language, history and culture.

Vavia has ancestral roots in both Mitiaro and Mangaia through his mother and in Taveuni, Fiji, through his father. He grew up in Manurewa, South Auckland in New Zealand.

When he was in high school in Auckland, Vavia’s father encouraged him to look into marine biology after he quizzed him about his career interests.

“I only told him that I sought for adventure and wanted to help solve problems,” shares Vavia.

“When I started undergraduate study at AUT in 2014, I never imagined being able to conduct research back home in Mitiaro – the idea seemed far too romantic.

“But here I am. The pathway to do a PhD opened since I performed well during my undergraduate. I was able to skip doing a master’s and was offered a scholarship to pursue doctoral studies. It wasn’t the plan, but it was a difficult offer to decline.”

His studies have looked at using scientific methods to document and better understand marine resources and how Pacific islanders use them.

For his PhD research, Vavia focused on Pacific Islands fisheries, with Mitiaro as a case study.

He spent 21 months on the southern group island, which has a population of under 200, after arriving there in 2019.

“It was really interesting to catch a glimpse of Mitiaro’s subsistence fishery – what fish were being caught, how often, how big, at what times of the year. And by looking at the growth rates of some popular reef fish, it could lend some insight into how we look at our fishing behaviour such as how we might decide to target reef fish based on the species and sizes.”

Antony Vavia in his makeshift lab at his home on Mitiaro. 21090818

Since remote islands often lack fisheries data, Vavia says it was a great opportunity to learn from the locals about how fishing has changed over time and to explore the many variables within the Mitiaro lifestyle and culture that may influence these changes.

Initially, he believed that learning more about Mitiaro’s language, history and culture would be a by-product of his research.

“This eventually transpired to be quite the opposite as I found that learning the Mitiaro lifestyle, getting the hands dirty, and committing to local responsibilities was the real work, and the doctorate was the by-product.”

The six-year PhD journey through the Covid-19 pandemic was not easy for Vavia. There were several challenges during this time, and he continues to grapple with some of them today.

“A core challenge was the result of just jumping into the deep end of this project and not knowing what to do or where to start,” recounts Vavia.

“I’d visited Mitiaro several times growing up, but I’d never lived there. My reo Māori Kuki Airani was basic, and I barely knew anyone on the island. This made the beginning of the journey painfully slow.”

Vavia lived by himself, balancing being social and participating in local commitments, maintaining his uncle’s property and finding time to catch, harvest and prepare meals.

“I tried to rest when I could, all meanwhile trying to conduct my fieldwork. I had to navigate spending time with people and finding or creating my role within Mitiaro society – a sense of belonging.”

As time went on, Vavia had several people take him under their wing spending time with him, sharing meals and dragging him into more Mitiaro responsibilities.

“They did so much for me which helped to extinguish much of that ugly feeling of being marginalised.”

Other challenges were all in his head, says Vavia.

“Continuously dealing with imposter syndrome, wondering if I was conducting my research correctly, especially with the lack of resources and needing to make do with what little I had access to while on Mitiaro.

“I literally turned my kitchen into a two-star science lab and sauna because I’d shut all the doors and windows to prevent the swarm of flies rushing in to greet the stench of fish guts!”

Vavia would have online meetings with his supervisor who made an effort to assure him that whatever process he was going through was likely the “right one”.

“It helped because I kept thinking that I’d need to defend against anyone who’d criticise my work as being an easy task, which it was not. I was encouraged by understanding that was just the reality of conducting research on a remote island.

“But those sly thoughts continued to creep in making me question whether I could successfully complete this doctorate.”

Dr Antony Vavia with his family and friends after his graduation earlier this month. SUPPLIED/24082330

Vavia often had to reflect on his “whys” to keep him going – “my family and treating myself to an enjoyable career”.

“It’s not like I could just bail anyway, so it paid to just keep swimming through the difficulties.”

Amidst the challenges, there were some memorable moments that left an indelible mark on his life. 

“I have vivid memories of being chased and hassled by three grey reef sharks one time I was spearing fish. That definitely got the heart rate up.

“Friends in Rarotonga think they’re small and have playfully mocked me. But the one’s in Mitiaro are clearly on steroids or something … ask (marine biologist) Dr Teina Rongo!”

However, one of the most memorable moments during his doctorate journey was flying back to New Zealand during the Covid-19 lockdown. Knowing that he had to return to Mitiaro to continue his data collection, Vavia risked flying back and potentially being stuck in New Zealand just to surprise his family.

“I hadn’t seen my family or friends after a year in Mitiaro so when there was a small window allowing flights in and out of the country, I took it. I did end up being stuck longer than planned, but it was worth seeing my family after being disconnected for a long time,” he says.

Family has been Vavia’s driving force, especially the women in his family.

“On my Māori Cook Islands side, my generation and the generation above in our family tree are mostly women – fierce ones too.

“I spent most of my youth growing up in Manurewa with my mum, little sister and stepfather. And although it was far away from where I lived, I attended Onehunga High School which enabled me to spend a lot of time with my Nana and Papa. My older sister lived up the road from my school at the time too.

“My old man ignited the spark for my career path. He took my simple joy – the ocean and fishing – and directed me towards a rewarding career and lifestyle.

“All of these family members, and many others have been integral to my upbringing through their inspiration, humility, compassion and discipline.”

Mitiaro’s Dr Antony Vavia is the first Pacific Islander to earn a doctoral degree in marine biology from Auckland University of Technology (AUT) New Zealand. SUPPLIED/24082325/ 24082327

On August 1, when he graduated with the hard-earned doctorate degree, becoming the first Pacific Islander to earn a PhD in marine biology from AUT and second Cook Islands Māori with a doctorate in this field after Dr Teina Rongo, Vavia felt both honoured and challenged.

Throughout his academic journey, Vavia, who is a lecturer at AUT, says the common narrative of being the only “brown face” within these spaces was often observed through a victim lens, tokenism and using that narrative to highlight inequities within academia.

He saw it differently.

“Being the only brown face was exciting!” Vavia says.

“As a by-product of my own career interests, I had the honour to help positively spearhead some challenging stereotypes and highlight the potential for other Pacific Islanders considering academia – or rather, pursuing their dream career in general.

“But the challenge is that it comes with a sense of pressure, an expectation to do whatever is necessary to uplift other Pacific Islanders, even if it may be at the expense of my goals.”

One of the major ideas Vavia says he pondered on since before and even more so after writing his thesis is that “if we are wanting to make positive changes for our environment and marine resources to ensure that our people can continue to thrive, how do we establish healthy working relationships with our Aronga mana and members of the kavamani?”.

“Trigger warning – perhaps we can start by not pulling down the so-called ‘akamea scientists’ in our community and embrace new knowledge.”

Vavia says he is always excited when he discovers other Cook Islanders considering marine science, including climate change and anthropology.

“But understand that tertiary education is not everything. The other pieces to the puzzle are found beyond academia – in your hobbies, your communities, during your time out of your comfort zone, during that Saturday coffee with your mates, on the other side of the world,” he shares.

“As long as they have a passion for what they’re wanting, then lean into it! I’ve adopted what my first tattoo artist, Tetini Pekepo said to me, ‘if it doesn’t turn you on, don’t do it’.”

Vavia plans to return to Mitiaro to celebrate and deliver his work to the people.

“If it weren’t for them, I definitely wouldn’t be able to celebrate this success,” he adds.

“Besides, success is better when you can share it with others. That goes for all the great community I’ve surrounded myself with throughout the Cook Islands.”