Fishermen against reclamation

MANADO, North Sulawesi: Manado fishermen grouped in the Indonesian Fishermen's Association are protesting coastal reclamation on which houses, shops and other buildings are being built.

Association chairman Achlan Halim said that the local administration should have considered the fishermen's fate before deciding to turn the coastline into a shopping mall and houses.

The fisherman are demanding that piers be constructed to enable them to dock their boats and operate on the sea as usual.

The fishermen's demand was an outcome of a conference held by the association on Wednesday.

Many fishermen have reportedly become construction workers.

The coastline in the southern part of the city of Manado has become Jl. Piere Tendean Boulevard. A hotel and shopping mall are being constructed on the reclaimed land.

The five-kilometer northern coastline is now a road that connects by flyover to the southern coastline road.