Fishermen prepare to go out to sea on the waters of Krueng Raya, Aceh Besar, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, on Sunday (12/3/2017). Despite the great potential of fisheries in Aceh, a majority of traditional fishermen in the province, hampered by a lack of funding, live below the poverty line.
A boat with a 45-horsepower engine danced to the tide of the Krueng Raya Sea in the Aceh regency of Aceh Besar on Saturday (11/3) at dusk. The red and green-painted vessel was carrying eight fishermen, Imrazi, 28; Fadli, 35; Abdullah, 45; Mulianur, 32; Afan; 40, Yah Cut, 42; Rizal, 29 and Arjuna, 21. They specialized in catching bilis (anchovy) using the bagan tool.
Malahayati Port in Aceh Besar could be seen in the distance. The export-import port was deserted. Dozens of bagan were floating on the bay, around 3.2 kilometers from a cliff, the former defense fort of the Aceh Darussalam Kingdom. It took about 20 minutes to get onto the bagan belonging to Fadli’s family.
The bagan is a platform from where fishermen catch fish. It’s a small house built across two boats. It measures 7 x 8 meters. It is equipped with a net and diesel-fueled generator set. Lamps are attached to the walls of the bagan to attract fish at night.
Imrazi and friends are called anchovy fishermen, because they specialize in catching anchovy. Yet, sometimes they get shrimp or tuna, too.
Imrazi sees fishing as his fate. The father of one,who has been a fisherman for 10 years,once aspired to join the Air Force but failed to realize his dream. He did not pass the final selection test.
Using his high school certificate, he had applied for jobs but did not get one. He gave up and returned to the sea.
After the Maghrib dusk prayer, Imrazi and friends put the net out. Without instruction, each of them knew what to do. Four men installed the net. They flipped a wooden switch slowly. One man threw a light into the water to attract the fish. Others stayed on the boat to ensure the net opened perfectly.
After 30 minutes, they pulled up the net. The wooden switch was flipped quickly, so that the fish did not escape from the net. “Not bad. We got a basket of anchovy,” Fadli said. A basket is equal to 45 kg and sells for Rp 200,000 to Rp700,000.
In a week, they go out to sea six nights. They take a break on Thursday night. They go out to see during sunset and return home at sunrise. Their catches are uncertain. During the main season, they can catch 8 tons in one night. It was not a good night for them. They put the net out five times but only got four baskets of fish, which they sold for Rp 1 million. After deducting Rp 300,000 for fuel, Rp 100,000 for the bagan and Rp 100,000 for the meals,the rest was divided evenly; each of them got Rp 62,000.
Uncertain
The income as a bagan fisherman is uncertain. During the high season, a fisherman can earn Rp 500,000, but in low season, it could be as low as Rp 50,000. There was a time when Imrazi returned home without any money. Fishing is his only source of income to support his family.
The Social Health Care Insurance (BPJS Kesehatan) helps him get medical treatment. His small savingsare not sufficient to build a house and are spent on daily necessities. So, he still lives with his parents-in-law.
Abdullah’s fate is not very different. “We are not looking for wealth. The most important thing is that we can eat,” Abdullah said. They enjoy whatever amount of money they earn.
Abdullah said he hoped to own a boat someday. He and his friends had submitted a proposal for boat assistance, but it was not approved. “The [government] assistance was wrongly targeted. We, the real fishermen, did not get boat assistance,” he said.
The secretary of the Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Fishermen Union, Miftah Cut Adek, said many of Aceh’s fishermen lived below the poverty line. Only 30 percent of the 80,000 fishermen in Aceh had boats of their own.
According to data from the Aceh Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office, there are 18,397boats in the province, consisting of 16,075 engine-powered boats and 2,322 without engines.
Of the former, more than 5,000 are under 5 gross tons (GT) and another 2,000 are between 5 and 10 GT. “With small boats, the cruising distance is limited. An improvement of the fleet and fishing tools is needed,” Miftah said.
Over the past year, the fishermen’s catches improved after the government tightly supervised foreign vessels. However, during the high season, when their catches are too large, many of the fish are dumped, because they are too plentiful to carry. In contrast, during the low season, the fishermen face a hard life, because of reduced earnings. In these conditions, their economic situation is not improving.
Aceh Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office head Diauddin said Aceh had an annual fish catch potential of 180,000 tons,but, the realization of that potential is still low. Supporting facilities, such as the 60-hectare Lampulo Fisheries Port in Aceh, are not equipped with proper facilities.
Aceh Anticorruption Movement advocacy division head Hayatuddin Tanjung said the budget management for fisherman development at the Aceh fisheries office was full of problems. In 2013, for example, the Aceh fisheries office allocated Rp 97 billion in grants to purchase 30GT and 40GT vessels, but his organization found that those vessels did not meet the specifications and therefore many of them could not be operated.
