Fisheries face tough challenges a year after tsunami

Fisheries face tough challenges a year after tsunami

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Despite the billions in international aid pledged, a year after
the tsunami the fishing industry in Aceh is yet to recover, and
the price of fish in the province is twice what it used to be.

Before tsunami disaster, the price of fish averaged about Rp
10,000 (US$1) a kilogram, but now the cost of the province's most
popular food has jumped to at least Rp 20,000.

"Before the tsunami we spent only Rp 3,000 for a dish of fish
and cooked rice, but now the price has risen to around Rp 5,000
per meal," an Aceh-based journalist said on Thursday.

People in Lam Pulo Fish Market, the biggest in Aceh capital
Banda Aceh, said the tsunami had decimated the industry, claiming
the lives of many fishermen and destroying most fishermen's
boats.

The increasing cost of production after the fuel price hike on
Oct. 1 has also made things more difficult for fishermen, who
depend on cheap fuel for their boats, and has ensured prices have
not tracked down although there are more fishermen at sea.

"I believe the fish are still plentiful ... but we lack
people and facilities," said Amri, a former boat owner who lost
four boats to tidal wave on Dec. 26 last year.

And while aid and reconstruction work is getting the industry
back in the water, it is not going quickly enough for many.

The Aceh Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) has
confirmed in its report released recently that the fisheries
sector, which it says was the hardest hit by the giant tidal
wave, would take some time to recover.

"The fishing industry was the most severely affected of all
economic sectors with damage and losses estimated at US$511
million," the agency says in a joint report with international
partners.

Due to the tsunami, two-thirds of all boats were damaged,
destroyed or lost and more than a quarter of seaports, harbors
and landing sites rendered inoperable. Estuaries and river
entrances have become silted and shallow, making access to
landing places more difficult and dangerous.

In order to speed up a recovery in the fishery sector, the
agency says restoring port infrastructure and dredging harbors
and estuaries is a high priority.

About 1,800 boats have already been replaced and rebuilt,
while about 2,350 others are being constructed or have been
pledged.

This supply is supposed to meet more than 80 percent of the
total need.

While some fishing families are receiving the boats -- with
the agency coordinating efforts to replace lost vessels -- there
are real concerns about their quality, safety and sustainability.

"Some boats are unsuitable in size, design and durability. In
many cases, fishermen were not consulted first and sometimes
those that were, were ignored," the report says.

In order to tackle the problem, the body said that the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had trained the boat builders
in order to meet an acceptable standard that could improve safety
and lead to longer boat life.

The agency has also coordinated efforts to build larger
vessels that could allow fishermen to fish further offshore but
it is still to be seen whether these attempts would prove
economically feasible.

"Building larger vessels is a must. With the larger vessels,
the fishermen can catch more fish and on top of that, the larger
vessel could absorb more Acehnese manpower," said Azhar, a fish
trader who lost parents, two children and wife in tsunami
disaster last year.

And then there is the question of whether the right people are
getting the boats.

Some former boat owners and fishermen have complained that the
boat-aid distribution had missed it proper targets.

"It is weird that (many) fishermen whose life have been
destroyed by the tsunami have not received aid so far, while in
contrast, the aid has gone to the mainland people," Basyah, a
former boat owner, said.