Dolphin poaching out of control in Riau
Dolphin poaching out of control in Riau
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau
Thousands of fishermen in the coastal areas of Bagansiapi-api,
the capital of Rokan Hilir regency, Riau province have reportedly
been poaching dolphins for the last ten years.
As the fish yields in the area have been rapidly decreasing,
the fishermen have turned to dolphins as an alternative, and
dolphin meat is sold openly at markets in Bagansiapi-api, said
Bismark Tampubolon, the head of the Natural Resource Association
in Riau (KPSA).
According to Bismark, you can usually see about five dolphins
a week on sale in Datuk Rubih market in the heart of Bagansiapi-
api, some 300 kilometers north of Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau
province.
"If dolphins are continually poached, we're afraid that the
protected species will be extinct in the near future. The
terrible thing is, the government is not even concerned about
the matter," he said.
The price of dolphin meat can reach Rp 10,000 (US$1.16) to Rp
15,000 per kilogram on the local market.
Besides local demand, dolphins are also traded in the middle
of the sea between fishermen from Thailand, Malaysia and
Singapore.
"They also sell them to foreign fishermen. A complete 200-
kilogram dolphin cost a mere Rp 1 million (around $116)," he
said.
Locals believe that eating dolphin meat can cure male
impotence. As a consequence, fishermen who previously had no
interest in dolphins, are now hunting them down as fast as
possible.
"Not only are fishermen from Bagansiapi-api involved, but also
those from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. They continually
hunt them in the Malacca Strait," said Bismark.
Dolphins used to be seen regularly leaping playfully alongside
vessels sailing in the seas off Riau, but are now nowhere to be
seen, he said.
Meanwhile, the Rokan Hilir Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
office head, Amrizal, objected to the criticism, saying that
fishermen in Bagan were not intentionally catching the dolphins.
The dolphins were accidentally trapped in the fishermen's nets
along other fish, he claimed.
He did admit, however, that the trapped dolphins were later
sold openly in Bagansiapi-api.
He said that the dolphin trade was attributed to ignorance on
the part of impoverished local fishermen, who did not realize
they were killing protected animals.
Amrizal promised to educate the fishermen in Bagan about
releasing dolphins that were trapped in their nets.
Bagansiapi-api municipality, prior to the 1980s, was one of
the most prosperous areas of the archipelago for fishermen. Not
only that, it was also known as the second busiest fish harbor in
the world after Norway.
As a busy fishing port, Bagansiapi-api had once reached its
glory during the Dutch colonial period, in the 1930s, when the
harbor that faces the Malacca Strait once processed as much as
300,000 tons of fish per year.
The fishing industry in Bagansiapi-api began to take shape in
the in the 1880s, when waves of immigrants arrived from other
parts of Asia in search of fish, much like the 1849 gold rush in
California.
But the fishing business has gradually declined, most
strikingly since the 1970s, as more and more fishermen, including
the foreigners, competed for fewer fish in Bagansiapi-api waters.
Local fishermen have said this has been the worst year ever for
catching fish.
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau
Thousands of fishermen in the coastal areas of Bagansiapi-api,
the capital of Rokan Hilir regency, Riau province have reportedly
been poaching dolphins for the last ten years.
As the fish yields in the area have been rapidly decreasing,
the fishermen have turned to dolphins as an alternative, and
dolphin meat is sold openly at markets in Bagansiapi-api, said
Bismark Tampubolon, the head of the Natural Resource Association
in Riau (KPSA).
According to Bismark, you can usually see about five dolphins
a week on sale in Datuk Rubih market in the heart of Bagansiapi-
api, some 300 kilometers north of Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau
province.
"If dolphins are continually poached, we're afraid that the
protected species will be extinct in the near future. The
terrible thing is, the government is not even concerned about
the matter," he said.
The price of dolphin meat can reach Rp 10,000 (US$1.16) to Rp
15,000 per kilogram on the local market.
Besides local demand, dolphins are also traded in the middle
of the sea between fishermen from Thailand, Malaysia and
Singapore.
"They also sell them to foreign fishermen. A complete 200-
kilogram dolphin cost a mere Rp 1 million (around $116)," he
said.
Locals believe that eating dolphin meat can cure male
impotence. As a consequence, fishermen who previously had no
interest in dolphins, are now hunting them down as fast as
possible.
"Not only are fishermen from Bagansiapi-api involved, but also
those from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. They continually
hunt them in the Malacca Strait," said Bismark.
Dolphins used to be seen regularly leaping playfully alongside
vessels sailing in the seas off Riau, but are now nowhere to be
seen, he said.
Meanwhile, the Rokan Hilir Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
office head, Amrizal, objected to the criticism, saying that
fishermen in Bagan were not intentionally catching the dolphins.
The dolphins were accidentally trapped in the fishermen's nets
along other fish, he claimed.
He did admit, however, that the trapped dolphins were later
sold openly in Bagansiapi-api.
He said that the dolphin trade was attributed to ignorance on
the part of impoverished local fishermen, who did not realize
they were killing protected animals.
Amrizal promised to educate the fishermen in Bagan about
releasing dolphins that were trapped in their nets.
Bagansiapi-api municipality, prior to the 1980s, was one of
the most prosperous areas of the archipelago for fishermen. Not
only that, it was also known as the second busiest fish harbor in
the world after Norway.
As a busy fishing port, Bagansiapi-api had once reached its
glory during the Dutch colonial period, in the 1930s, when the
harbor that faces the Malacca Strait once processed as much as
300,000 tons of fish per year.
The fishing industry in Bagansiapi-api began to take shape in
the in the 1880s, when waves of immigrants arrived from other
parts of Asia in search of fish, much like the 1849 gold rush in
California.
But the fishing business has gradually declined, most
strikingly since the 1970s, as more and more fishermen, including
the foreigners, competed for fewer fish in Bagansiapi-api waters.
Local fishermen have said this has been the worst year ever for
catching fish.