Barru Fishers Benefit from South Sulawesi’s Fish Apartment Programme

Makassar (ANTARA) - Fishers and coastal communities in Barru Regency, South Sulawesi, are seeing substantial benefits from the provincial government’s fish apartment programme, with catches increasing.

Kupa Village Head Suardi Haruna said in a statement in Makassar on Friday that local fishers had once caught as much as six tonnes of bakuta fish, a type of cepa fish, in half a day. The catch was estimated to be worth Rp200 million.

Fish apartments are artificial reefs made of tiered structures with partitions and cavities that are submerged on the seabed. They provide a home, spawning grounds and a safe nursery for fish larvae and juveniles.

The structures have increased fish populations in the surrounding waters, leading to higher catches for local fishers.

Suardi expressed his appreciation and gratitude to Governor Andi Sudirman for the fish apartments built in 2025.

He said the structures had had a positive effect on fishing activity and fishers’ incomes in the area.

The results illustrate how the South Sulawesi Governor’s fish apartment programme can boost fisheries productivity, improve the welfare of coastal communities and bring the benefits of marine development closer to fishers.

“We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Governor of South Sulawesi, Andi Sudirman Sulaiman, for providing the fish apartments. With this facility, fishers’ incomes in Kupa Village can increase,” he said.

Muhammad Anas, a fisher from Kupa Village, said the fish apartments helped local fishers catch fish without having to travel far out to sea.

He hoped similar programmes would continue and be expanded so that more fishers in coastal areas could benefit.

“Thank God, we fishers in Kupa Village no longer need to go far to find fish. Thank you to the Governor for providing these fish apartments. We can really feel the benefits,” he said.

The fish apartment programme in the coastal waters of Kupa Village, Barru Regency, is one of 1,657 units built in 2025 across 13 locations in South Sulawesi.

The 13 locations are the waters off Makassar, Takalar, Jeneponto, Bantaeng, Bulukumba, Sinjai, the Selayar Islands, Pangkep, Barru, Panikiang Island (Barru), Pinrang, East Luwu and Palopo. The programme covers a total area of about 11 hectares across coastal areas of South Sulawesi.