Villager's plan nets a big catch

By Lisa Rogers

JAKARTA (JP): At first the logic seems a bit crazy: stop fishing in one place so you can catch more fish in another. But that's exactly how the people of a small village in North Sulawesi have reinvigorated their fishing grounds.

In late 1998, when the devastation of their coastal environment seemed almost complete, the villagers of Blongko set aside six hectares of reef and mangrove forest as the first community-run marine sanctuary in Indonesia. Less than a year later, the fishermen were catching more of their favorite pelagic fish closer to home.

"We started the sanctuary to bring the fishing back to how it was in the past," explained Blongko's new village head, Dolvi Janis. "Now, for the first time in years we can even cast a line from the beach near the sanctuary and catch a pelagic fish."

How can such odd logic work? A brief look at the coastal ecology of Blongko offers an explanation.

Before the sanctuary was set up, lots of fishermen were trying to catch fish near Blongko's reefs. As the pressure increased and the fish declined, some fishermen resorted to desperate measures, including bombing and cyanide. Others switched to cutting forest areas to plant crops or to harvesting mangrove trees for income.

All of these combined to severely damage the reefs and deplete the fish living there. With few fish left around the reefs, there was no reason for the hunting fish of the sea -- the pelagics -- to come. So fishermen had to go farther and farther away from the village to catch them.

This is a common problem around the coasts of Indonesia. Often the answer seems to be bigger boats and more aggressive fishing methods. But that has only led to fewer fish. Instead, Blongko villagers decided to try to bring the pelagics back by offering them what they like to eat: little fish.

The best place to find little fish is around the reefs, but because so many fishermen were using (and abusing) Blongko's reefs, they were in no condition to support the schools of fish that pelagics hunt. How could the reefs be restored to health? By leaving them alone.

So in 1998, after surveying the area, setting up a management committee and agreeing on a long-term plan, Blongko's residents set out permanent marker buoys around their new marine sanctuary. The rules were simple: don't go in except to look and don't take anything out.

The results have been impressive. Under the mangroves and out on the reef the fish population has exploded. In the safety of the sanctuary, large schools of reef dwellers now patrol the coral, and even adult fish are making it their home. The villagers had provided their part of the marine equation by supplying the little fish, but they weren't sure if the pelagics would respond. They didn't have long to wait. The little fish soon brought the hunting pelagics back to Blongko.

Nor has enforcement been a problem. Fishermen from the village know about the sanctuary and stay outside the marker buoys. News about the better fishing has spread quickly, and fishermen from neighboring areas now visit Blongko. They too usually stay outside the boundary, but residents keep a sharp eye on the sanctuary and don't hesitate to remind the occasional trespasser about the no-go area.

Blongko's success is inspiring other villages to follow its example. In Blongko's district of Tenga, about 100 km southwest of Manado, all thirteen coastal villages want to know how to set up their own sanctuaries. Elsewhere in North Sulawesi, two other villages are also busy with the idea.

The sanctuary in Tumbak, about 100 km south of Manado, is already marked off, awaiting the official paperwork. Residents of Talise village, who live on two small islands off the tip of North Sulawesi, are working step-by-step toward the day when they can place their own marker buoys.

The success of a community-based marine sanctuary depends in general on the support of the residents themselves and their vision of a better future. The specific "how to" part of the process in this case came from outside. Blongko and other villages in North Sulawesi have received technical assistance from Proyek Pesisir -- a cooperative program between the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Coastal Resources Center of the University of Rhode Island and the government of Indonesia that aims to improve coastal resource management in Indonesia.

With the help of Proyek Pesisir, Blongko's residents first learned about how a marine sanctuary might work. Then they learned how to choose an appropriate location and survey it. They learned how to organize the management of the sanctuary, how to monitor it and how to plan for its future.

Now they have taken over full responsibility for it, and on a recent visit by Minister of Marine Exploration Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, they proudly showed him what a great success it is.

In recognition of their efforts, Sarwono presented the sanctuary management committee with a National Coast Merit Award at the second national Coastal Management Conference in Makassar in May, 2000.

Though it starts on a small scale, the idea of community-run marine sanctuaries offers many areas around Indonesia an opportunity to revive their fishing grounds. By taking responsibility for improving their own coastal environment, residents can also reap the benefits of better fishing without resorting to bigger boats, more expensive equipment or destructive practices such as bombing and cyanide.

A series of coastal sanctuaries managed by local communities could bring dramatic results to each village involved. And when neighbors share a common goal, the benefits go even further and everyone can look forward to a better future.