Bali has abundant and unexplored marine potential

Ayu Anggraeni, Contributor, Singaraja, North Bali

For years, the travel and tourist industry has generated major income for Bali, while industries like agriculture and fisheries were ignored to make way for tourism development projects.

Green and spacious rice fields and blue seawater were sacrificed for the development of star-rated hotels, restaurants, villas -- although almost everyone involved in the travel and tourist industry realized their businesses were vulnerable to external factors like security and political issues, the health of the world economy and even global health situations.

The Bali bombings and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak hit Bali's tourist industry hard.

Dietriech Bengen, a marine expert at the Bogor Agriculture Institute recently said Bali should properly develop its agricultural and marine potentials rather than relying solely on the tourist industry.

The fisheries industry has been growing slowly in Bali despite the fact that there are more than 140 fishing villages across the island.

"Bali waters have been unwisely overexploited by fishermen coming from outside of the island," Bengen said.

Within the Balinese cosmology and religious beliefs, seas and oceans play a significant social and religious function. The sea is the place for spiritual and physical purification.

"The seas and oceans are sacred places which should be preserved and maintained," said a local priest.

Economically, Bali's waters are home to vast numbers of fish and marine products. Demand for Bali's fishery products remains very high. Plenty of frozen tuna, lobster, tropical fish, crabs, shark fins and other items are regularly shipped to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Geographically, Bali is divided into three major fishing grounds. These three are off Buleleng regency in North Bali; Karangasem, Klungkung and Gianyar in East Bali; Jembrana, Tabanan and Badung in West Bali.

Since l998, the fisheries industry has been one of the main economic pillars in several regencies, such as Klungkung, Buleleng, Badung and Denpasar.

One thriving fishing area in Buleleng, for instance, is Tejakula district, some 100 kilometers northeast of Denpasar. Nine out of 10 village in the district, which has 57,000 residents, are fishing villages, including Pacung, Sembiran, Julah, Madenan, Tejakula, Les, Sambirentang and Tembok.

However, only Les village has been able to improve the economic situation of residents through sustainable fishing. The village is one of the island's major suppliers of tropical fish.

A recent study of marine potential conducted by the Bali provincial government identified a number of significant factors hampering the development of the island's coastal and marine potential.

The study, jointly implemented with the Bogor Agriculture Institute's Marine Study Center, found that these factors included regulations that prevented the further development of the fishing industry, weak legal enforcement and the absence of adequate business infrastructure.

A lack of proper management and technology were also listed among the factors.

Historically, Bali has a tradition of empowering its coastal areas and seas. In an ancient manuscript, Prasasti Sembiran, dated around the year 922, the small village of Julah, next to Les village in Tejakula district, had already established regulations to control fishermen from other areas coming in and out of the village.

According to the manuscript, residents of the village had the authority to detain "illegal" vessels and their crew, and to confiscate their catch. The manuscript said the regulations were successful in managing and protecting the island's seas and coastal areas.

The recent study of marine potential also found a lack of access to freshwater. Most fishing villages do not have access to freshwater, decreasing the quality of their catches which in turn lowers the prices. Moreover, outdated technology and a lack of capital have also worsened fishery activities in most of the province's coastal villages.

To make matter worse, the majority of local fishermen still employ destructive fishing techniques, including the use of potassium cyanide and other hazardous chemicals. These destructive activities destroy coral reefs, the breeding grounds for fish and other marine species. Consequently, the number and types of fish in some areas has diminished both in quality and quantity.

"Marine resources in Bali waters have been seriously exploited and overfished. Therefore, we must develop a breeding system to maintain and preserve the decreasing numbers of valuable species," said Bengen.