'Big savings' by banning cyanide fishing, bombing

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will lose an estimated Rp 6.5 trillion (US$3 billion) a year because of coral reef damage unless it can stop fish bombing and cyanide fishing, an expert warned yesterday.

Herman Cesar of the Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program, initiated by the government to improve the management of coral reefs, said that all the government needed to stop the damage was political will.

"It (stopping the unsustainable fishing practices) is relatively easy to enforce," Cesar told The Jakarta Post after a presentation organized by the Worldwide Fund for Nature Indonesia Program.

Cesar, also a consultant for the World Bank which cosponsors the program with the Asian Development Bank and the Global Environmental Facility, cited the Philippines as an example.

"In the Philippines, cyanide fishing has decreased over time, because there is a political will from the government there to do so.

"There was a poison testing station set up and it was easier to bring violators to court... here in Indonesia it's another case which makes it difficult to stop the destructive fishing practices," he said.

Coral reefs

Cesar said in his presentation that, unless such unsustainable fishing was banned, the value of Indonesia's 70,000 hectare coral reefs, which can potentially generate an estimated Rp 6.5 trillion in annual income, would diminish.

He estimated the potential of Indonesia's coral reefs to generate this huge annual income by calculating the reefs' potential in terms of fisheries (Rp 5 trillion), tourism (Rp 1 trillion) and environmental protection (Rp 500 million).

Cesar said a hectare of coral reef in good condition could generate about 40 tons of fish a year, 20 tons if it was in a fair condition, while a damaged coral reef could only generate about five to 10 tons of fish.

"You don't have to be smart to know that destructive fishing practices (such as using bombs and cyanide) should not be done, because their cost will be much higher than the benefits in the long run," he said.

According to recent survey by the National Institute of Science, 41.78 percent of Indonesian coral reefs have been damaged, 28.3 percent are in a moderate condition, 23.72 percent are in good condition and only 6.2 percent are in excellent condition.

Cesar said that, in an excellent condition, coral reefs could generate more money once their potential for ecotourism was explored and properly managed.

"A lot of tourists would like to see Indonesian coral reefs," he said, adding that the unsustainable fishing practices only gave momentary gains to individuals while costing the larger community greatly. (09/aan)