SUSTAINABILITY
Sovereign Magazine
Stories from Indonesia’s coasts how fishermen have abandoned destructive fishing Ali Yansyah Abdurrahim, Human Ecology Researcher, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
T
he island nation of Indonesia, where waters teem with coral fish, banned the use of bombs and cyanide for fishing in 2004 but weak enforcement means some fishers in Indonesia still bomb reefs and poison sea creatures. Protecting Indonesia’s marine ecosystems and ceasing to use these destructive methods is, in fact, in the best interests of the country’s fishing communities. I study human ecology. Between 2016 and 2018 I took part in research in Selayar, in South Sulawesi. The area is in the centre of the Coral Triangle, a vast network of coral reefs dotting the waters surrounding six countries in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. The research team lived among fishing communities in three villages to learn why and how fishing communities in Indonesia stopped using bombs and cyanide to fish. The study found that some individuals who previously participated in destructive fishing can transform into inspiring leaders and influence others to protect coral reefs. We’ve collected stories of 15 champions for sustainable fishing, from former fish bombers to heads of villages (one of them female) and local government officials who work far beyond the requirements of their jobs. These individuals undergo their transformation in different ways. However, almost all of them began to change their ways after being exposed to a government program called COREMAP (Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program) who’s implementation at the local level, ended in 2017. Here are four of their stories.
Yudi Ansar - The death of four friends from fish bombing changed his perspective Yudi Ansar started fishing by detonating bombs underwater after graduating from high school. One day, however, a terrible bomb accident killed four of his friends. Now 38 years old, Ansar said he couldn’t remember the exact year of his friends’ death. He said that, at the time, he was not aware that it was illegal to use bombing and cyanide to fish. Law enforcement in the Batangmata Sapo village in the east coast of Selayar district, where he was living, was weak. Several officials even protected those involved in destructive fishing. Ansar gave up on being a fisherman and looked for other jobs. He moved to Patikarya, one of the villages in the COREMAP program. Ansar joined the program, taking part in the Community Committee for Coastal Resource Management (LPSP). The community’s main task is to protect the coral reefs by providing villagers alternative livelihoods, such as salted fish and shrimp paste production. He now serves as a government facilitator for village development, a role that allows him to influence other fishers to abandon illegal and destructive fishing practices in Patikarya village.
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