Cakra Dara pulls mussels from their shells for a living

Text and photos by P.J. Leo

JAKARTA (JP): An early evening stroll in the country's big cities uncovers a seafood lover's paradise of abundant fresh fish, crabs and mussels available in sidewalk stalls.

Green mussels are a favored delicacy as they are easy to obtain and cheap.

Cakra Dara, like so many fishermen in Kapuk Muara, Pluit, North Jakarta, depends on green mussels for his living. Each day he collects more than 50 sacks, each weighing 30 kilograms. After shelling, each sack weighs around 4.5 kg. The father of two sells the mussels for Rp 1,500 per kg at the Muara Angke fish auction.

Cakra, 37, keeps an offshore green mussel breeding farm. Fifty bamboo poles tied to one another are driven fast into the seabed to form a rectangular fenced enclosure. From afar, the area appears no different than a regular space for breeding fish.

But while a fish-breeding farm is usually brightly illuminated as the fishermen work deep in the night, no lighting is needed for green mussels. The mussel breeders are active during the day. A rope is a must, however. Cakra and his fellow green mussel breeders coil medium length ropes weighing some eight kilograms around the bamboo poles. The ropes provide a comfortable setting for the mussels to breed.

"After seven months, small green mussels sticking to the bamboo poles are ready for collection," he said, adding that these poles must be replaced after four to six harvests.

At the crack of dawn, Cakra and his younger brother, Darsin, join several assistants in their two boats. They eat their breakfast during the hour-long journey.

They check the condition of the bamboo poles as soon as they arrive. They don simple goggles and masks to dive and determine if the mussels are ready for collection. Later, they go to farms of other mussel breeders to buy their yield.

"I pay Rp 4,500 a sack for green mussels. Usually I get seven to 10 bags from one breeding farm," he said. "If we need more green mussels, we will go to Muara Kamal, Cengkareng, to buy some more."

He named Muara Kamal and Cilincing, North Jakarta, as the biggest suppliers of green mussels. He added that other mussel breeders occasionally visit his enclosure to buy the yield.

Originally from Indramayu, West Java, Cakra has made fishing part of his life since his childhood. He followed in the footsteps of his father, a fisherman. In 1995, he migrated to Jakarta in search of a better life.

"I want to change my life. That's why I came to Jakarta... My earnings are better now than when I was still in my hometown," he said.

He opened the business with the assistance of his wife, Yanti, and Darsin. In addition to owning the two boats, he employs 10 men.

The boats return later in the morning. The sacks are carried to steel drums to be boiled. Cakra pays Rp 450 to each bag hauled from the boat to the drum.

The shells are removed from the boiled green mussels, a task usually done by children and women from the neighborhood. They are paid Rp 1,250 for each bag.

"Removing the shells of the green mussels will continue until later in the afternoon, or even into the night, if there are a lot of green mussels but only a few hands to shell them," said Cakra.

A concession is made to consumer tastes. The color of the green mussels, originally pale yellow, is rendered a deeper shade of reddish yellow by soaking them in a colorant.

"With their original color, they will not sell," Cakra said. "I have to give them some color, which will take 10 to 15 minutes, to make them look more reddish yellow."

With their new color intact, the mussels are transported to the fish and sea produce auction site in Muara Angke, Pluit, in the evening.

It has been a long and tiring day, but the journey is never too long for a steaming plate of green mussels.