Indonesian 'sea gypsy' fights for fishing rights

Indonesian 'sea gypsy' fights for fishing rights

SYDNEY (Reuter): An Indonesian "sea gypsy" detained for the
past five months for illegally fishing in Australian waters plans
to use an Aboriginal "native title" argument to defend his right
to fish off Australia.

Captain Nasir and his four crew, nomadic Bajau or "sea
gypsies" from the island of Roti near Timor, argue that their
ancestors have plied the waters off northern Australia for
thousands of years.

They say this ancestral right exempts them from Australian
fishery laws, which have seen hundreds of Asian fishing boats
burned by Australian customs and their crews deported for
illegally fishing in Australian waters.

Nasir and his crew will launch their unique test case when
they appear in court in the port of Broome on Australia's
northwest coast on Oct. 16.

"This is the first 'native title' case I have heard of in the
16 years I have been on the job," said Tom Morris, the department
of fisheries supervisor for northwest Australia.

Nasir's lawyer Wally Goodlet told Reuters yesterday that just
as Aborigines had "native title" or indigenous rights to land
because their ancestors inhabited Australia before white
settlement in 1788, the same applied to the Bajau people.

"Nineteenth century European navigators independently report
in their logs these people fishing these waters," Goodlet said.

"They are not claiming ownership, only the right to fish the
waters. It is like having right of way on a piece of land. If you
have had that right for time in memorial, then the law would
recognize that."

Each year Australia's navy catches scores of Asian boats
illegally fishing off the northwest coast. Many are motorized,
with modern navigation and some boast large refrigerators. About
100 Asian fishing boats, from Indonesia and Thailand, have been
detained this year.

But Nasir's boat, the Karya Abadi, is a traditional Bajau
sailing craft. The canoe-shaped 10-meter (30-foot) wooden vessel
is powered by a lone triangular sail. Its low freeboard limits
its fish catch and the absence of a refrigerator means fish have
to be smoked to be preserved for the home voyage.

Nasir and his crew cook on an open fire on board and
navigation is by compass and the stars, aided by a homemade depth
sounder -- a piece of lead tied to a fishing line.

Under a 1974 memorandum of understanding between Indonesia and
Australia, traditional Indonesian fishermen are allowed to fish
in a special area which overlaps both countries territorial
waters near Ashmore Reef. But they are only allowed to use
traditional fishing methods, which exclude motorized vessels.

"They sail down from Roti island to a series of reefs for one
month to six weeks, collecting trocha shells, sea cucumbers and
fishing. It's a real family affair, with fathers taking sons and
brothers," Morris said.

When Nasir, 40, was caught by the Australian navy, he argued
that, by his seamanship, he was not in Australian waters. He has
fished these waters for 23 years.

But the navy's satellite navigation equipment put him 10.75
nautical miles inside Australian territorial waters, outside the
special traditional fishing area of the Timor Sea.

On May 18, Nasir and his crew were towed into Broome and taken
to a detention center. But the Bajau fishermen opted to live on
board their boat, moored in a tidal creek and there they have
stayed for the past five months awaiting their fate.

Goodlet said Nasir was not only defending his right to fish in
Australian waters, but was also trying to save his boat from
being destroyed by Australian customs. Nasir bought his boat for
about US$140 earlier this year and has not yet paid for it.

"If he loses, it will certainly be burned. He will be in debt
for the rest of his life," said Goodlet.