N. Jakarta anglers support operations against trawlers
JAKARTA (JP): Muara Angke fishermen in North Jakarta have urged that operations against trawlers be stepped up, but suspect certain officers of tipping off trawler owners.
"Every time a patrol is conducted the trawlers disappear," their leader, Tri Sukmono, told The Jakarta Post during an exhibition of fishery and agricultural products in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.
He said it is difficult to prove which officers are corrupt.
"If this goes on, traditional fishermen will be wiped out," said Royani, the leader of a group of 70 fishermen in Muara Angke.
He said 200 trawlers, called arad by the locals, operate within a kilometer of the coast.
This is against a 1980 Presidential decree forbidding the use of trawls, which can be made for as little as Rp 300,000 (US$128.21).
"Maybe it's just better to annul the decree if it can't be enforced," Royani said.
Most of Muara Angke's 6,500 fishermen operate within 16 kilometers of the shore. They sail four to six-meter-long boats powered by five to 10 horsepower engines.
He said the fishermen are afraid to go to sea because several of them have had their nets snared by the trawlers.
"The trawls drag along nets and fish, and damage reefs," Royani said. "Many of us, including myself, are just leaving our nets idle."
The poorer fishermen, who have capital worth under Rp 500,000, are the most hurt by the trawlers because they have the smallest boats and nets. They included crab fishermen.
Royani said the fishermen are living off the steady income earned by their wives. The wives glue together boxes for shoe and confectionery factories.
The cottage industry brings in about Rp 150,000 per month, Royani, a father of four, said. Luckier fishermen like himself earn side income from their food stalls.
Boat owners can catch up to Rp 1 million a day, Royani, who has two boats, said. But a usual haul is Rp 15,000. Boat owners get half the value of the catch. and divvy the rest between three or four crew members.
Royani and Sukmono, who head the city's fishery and agricultural groups, said trawlers are a chronic problem for Muara Angke fishermen.
Royani said the chronic problem is ironic because the government continually states, at events like the one held in Pasar Minggu, that their livelihood should be improved.
The municipality-organized event aimed to reduce poverty through the improvement of agriculture, fisheries and family planning.
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said at the Tuesday opening that open fish markets should help fishermen.
Sukmono said the Muara Angke fish auction has more than doubled the worth of their catch in a few years.
Direct access to the auction and involvement in cooperatives eliminates the need for the bakul middlemen.
The loan-sharking middlemen lend money to fishermen in need of equipment. They then claim the right to buy the catch at a low price, Sukmono said. (anr)