Ministry programs not helpful, say fishermen
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Fishermen living in the Kepulauan Seribu (Thousands Islands) regency in northern Jakarta complained that the floating net cages provided by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries were unhelpful because they had not received any information on the usage of the cages.
Their complaint was conveyed to members of House of Representatives Commission III for agriculture and food affairs, and officials of the maritime affairs ministry who visited the island on Thursday to distribute the cages.
The distribution of the cages was part of a program that also saw the ministry kick off a pilot project for coral reef conservation. The project involves the establishment of artificial coral reefs.
According to reports by the Pulau Seribu regency, 85 percent of the coral reefs scattered among the 110 islands in the regency have been destroyed over the last few years.
Despite the presentation of the net cages, many of the local fishermen were unhappy with the program.
"Based on our experience since 1996, the ministry officials only visited us to hand over the cages. Worst was they left us without adequate knowledge and assistance on how to use and manage the cages. So far, fishermen have never benefited from the project," grumbled Syahrulloh, a fisherman who lives on Panggang island.
His neighbor, Abdullah, expressed similar sentiments.
"We don't need such ceremonies. It's only an annual ritual. What we need is to enhance our knowledge of using the cage technology with some assistance from the ministry," he said.
Despite the complaints, the ministry's secretary-general, Andim H. Taryoto, insisted that the program was not poorly targeted. He claimed the latest cage program would be different from previous ones, in that fishermen would be guided by non- governmental organizations in the use of the cages.
"It is a consequence of regional autonomy, in which the ministry technically does not provide staff to teach the fishermen. It's the responsibility of the City Fishery Agency, which had appointed PT Arsedia as an NGO for the purpose," he said.
The director of ocean conservation and national marine parks, Achmad Abdullah, claimed that the program had received a green light from fishermen despite their objections.
The involvement of an NGO in the program was met with skepticism by the fishermen, who expressed doubt about its ability to assist them. So far, they have yet to receive any assistance from the NGO.
"We still don't understand why the ministry staff did not come here to inform us (about the use of the cages) instead of appointing an NGO whose capability is questionable. We haven't met them (the NGO) up to today," said Syahrulloh.
The attempt to establish colonies of artificial coral reefs was also criticized by the director of the World Wildlife Foundation Indonesia, Ketut Sarjana Putra, who said the program was merely ceremonial.
"The choice of the area of Pramuka island is poor because the spot is not ideal for the nurturing of coral reef. The sea bottom contains muddy sediment which could prevent coral reef from growing," he said.
The ministry spent at least Rp 190 million (US$19,000) for Thursday's program alone. Some Rp 100 million of the budget was used for the floating net cages while another Rp 90 million went to the artificial coral reef.