Villager's plan nets a big catch

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.