Les villagers promote sustainable fishing

Les villagers promote sustainable fishing

Pariama Hutasoit, Contributor, Buleleng, North Bali

Blessed with abundant marine resources, Bali waters are home to a
wide variety of underwater species, including aquarium fish --
lucrative for local fishermen as well as greedy businessmen.

Tropical fish have become one of the island's top export
commodities, generating huge amounts of foreign exchange in
return. Most of the fish are exported to countries like the
United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

In Les, a remote fishing village in Buleleng regency, North
Bali, some 100 kilometers northeast of Denpasar, an extensive
supply of tropical fish has attracted people to catch the
valuable commodities and, in the process, many of them are netted
using explosives.

Exploitation of marine resource in this village started in the
early l980s when the demand for tropical fish sharply increased,
both in local and international markets.

Arsonetri, a researcher at Bahtera Nusantara Foundation (BNF),
a non-governmental organization focusing on coastal development
and preservation, explained that increased demand for aquarium
fish had caused overfishing in Indonesian waters, including Bali.

"They (local fishermen) never bother to think that the use of
poisons and explosives will cause serious environmental damage,
which, in the end, will also destroy and eliminate the once rich
marine resources and sustainability of underwater life," he said.

A survey carried out by the foundation in 2001 revealed that
underwater life in Les village and its neighboring areas was in a
very serious and severe state due to overfishing and the use of
deadly substances like potassium cyanide.

The poor fishermen in Les village thought only of catching as
many fish as possible. "They then sell their catch immediately so
they can feed their families. Environmental considerations and
longer-term consequences never cross their minds," Arsonetri
said.

He said that most of the fishermen did not know any
alternative to their destructive and unsustainable fishing
practices.

"They just don't realize that later, overfishing will take
away their own livelihood, so they must be made aware of other
fishing methods," he said.

Once, Les was a busy small fishing port in north Bali where
traditional seamen from eastern Indonesia anchored their fishing
fleets. In the past, fishermen in Les used modest and simple
fishing tools like dragnets and hooks to catch fish. In later
developments, they were introduced to "instant and easy" fishing
techniques such as the use of poisonous potassium cyanide.

"It was easy to catch fish if we used this potent chemical
substance," admitted Wayan Gobleg, a local fisherman who claimed
he had stopped using cyanide.

Gobleg acknowledged that many of his friends were already
aware of the disastrous consequences of using potassium cyanide.

"But the thought of getting more money and meeting the huge
market demand forced us to use the fastest and easiest method,"
he said.

Destructive fishing techniques badly affect fishing yields.
The quality of tropical fish dropped alarmingly due to exposure
to hazardous chemical elements. As a result, the market price for
the commodity dropped too.

"Many of the fish (caught using destructive methods) went to
the black market and were sold at a very low price because of
their physical condition," he said.

Arsonetri explained each time they fished, the fishermen would
use around 50 grams potassium cyanide, enough to destroy a 25-
square-meter area of coral reef, the place where fish live,
breed, hide and feed.

He assumed that if 50 fishermen were working in Les waters,
they would have used around 2.5 kilograms of potassium cyanide
per day. Every month, they caught at least 40,000 tropical fish,
of 57 different species.

"You can picture for yourself the hazards to which tropical
fish and other marine creatures have been exposed for the last 20
years," he said.

As of 2001, fishermen in the village still used potassium, but
in the last few months BNF has been promoting a more
environmentally friendly fishing technique to local fishermen.

The foundation has, for instance, run a series of workshops
with advocacy on how to preserve underwater species and the
environment, as well as promoting sustainable fishing practices.

Instead of using potassium, fishermen were required to use
only a one-meter-by-six-meter-wide net to catch fish. In
addition, the foundation also provided the fishermen with simple
management and marketing skills.

Coral reef management has also been introduced, increasing
local fishermen's awareness about the real function of corals.

After two years of training, Les fishermen can be proud of
their hard and painstaking work. They have not only benefited
from exporting tropical fish but are also able to attract
visitors, mainly divers, to plunge into the deep and beautifully
preserved underwater life.

Les village is a pilot rural project in Bali, which promotes
sustainable fishing. If these local fishermen can play a
significant role in maintaining the sustainability of marine
resources, the large-scale fishing industry can certainly do it,
too.