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.