Fate of ‘Komodo Family’ Contrasts Beautiful Waters
The currents and underwater creatures of the waters of Komodo in West Manggarai regency, are a great tourist attraction.
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·5 minutes read
Kompas/Ichwan Susanto
The golden sweeper fish (Parapriacanthus ransonneti) live in schools in the clean deep waters of lagoons, along coral walls or in underwater caves. The fish, which can grow up 10 centimeters long, hunt for zooplankton at night. The photo was taken on Aug. 29 at the Shotgun dive site, a channel in Gili Lawa off Komodo Island in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara.
The currents and underwater creatures of the waters of Komodo in West Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara, are a great tourist attraction. Tourists chase these wonders. Yet, beyond the natural beauty, the local people feel marginalized.
As part of its exploration of the villages of Komodo and Rinca, the boat carrying the Kompas team arrived at Papagarang village on Friday (1/9). Looking dry and brown, the rolling grasslands are considered to be the most barren area of West Manggarai’s Komodo National Park.
The sun’s scorching rays shining down through the clear skies were too bright for the eyes. Heavy feet were reluctant to lift over the hull and walk onto the pier. One small relief was the blue waters along the coast. Small boats were docked at the pier and tethered to the side of the villagers’ stilt houses.
Entering the village, a group of young men chatted under a wooden stilt house. A pile of domino playing cards was scattered on a metal plate.
Beyond the plate was a stack of empty woven bamboo trays that the people used to dry salted fish. This year, they have not caught any Indian scad (Decapterus lajang), or lajang. “Normally, we catch lajang in the fifth month [May],” said one young man, identified as W.
W and his friends wanted to remain anonymous because they did not want to cause problems with the Komodo National Park (TN Komodo) management. The Papagarang village secretary accompanied Kompas during the meeting.
As the scad fishing season had not arriving, the kapal bagan (fishing boats) were moored along the coast. The young men earned money as pukat gandong (gillnet) fishermen. The device required around 20-30 people to deploy it and haul in the catch.
The seine net is deployed at a depth of 2.5 meters, and then pulled in by the fishermen who stood watch on a float. They used gillnets with a 2.5-inch (about 6 centimeters) mesh that caught only fish that were bigger than 2.5 inches, or adult fish.
Even so, park officials confiscated the gillnet because the fishermen were deemed to be damaging the environment. “It was a pukat gandong, not a bottom trawl net. We keep the net away from the coral to prevent breaking it up,” W said.
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Tourists enjoy the sunset on Aug. 29 from atop a hill in Gili Lawa Darat at Komodo National Park, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara. Besides its marine beauty, the charming local landscape is a major tourist attraction.
Zoning limit
The area where the fishermen can fish is growing smaller because of dedicated tourism zones. They gillnet brings in a minimal catch that must be shared among the 30 net fishermen and the boat owner. That is why they play cat and mouse with the officials.
“Because of living needs, sometimes we catch fish in the restricted zone just to get 2-3 kilograms of fish,” he said.
The movement of the fishermen has been limited since the Komodo National Park zoning was imposed in 2012. The fishing zone was limited to 79,876 ha of the total 132,572-hectare marine area within Komodo park. Moreover, in the majority of the area, or 62,568 ha, fishermen could only catch pelagic fish that move within 200 meters below the ocean’s surface, such as cakalang (skipjack tuna) and lajang.
The remaining area, which includes the main park and marine conservation area, can only be accessed for research and monitoring.
They can barely move in the sea and on the ground, they find it difficult to obtain clean water. During the dry season, the land is arid and water is rare. Saltwater wells provide water for the 1,729 villagers. They rely on rainwater to meet their clean water needs. They frequently buy fresh water from traders.
Hamsyah said he needs two drums of fresh water each week, which costs Rp 35,000 each. He didn’t feel the cost during the scad and squid fishing season.
As a boat owner and fish and squid fisherman, he can earn Rp 2 million to Rp 3 million per month, or Rp 10 million during the fishing season, which could last 3-4 months.
For electricity, the residents rely on the village’s diesel generator. A contractor once came by offering solar-powered electricity. “But, a few years later, and there has been no follow-up,” said Suharto, a Papagarang village official.
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
A Napoleon fish avoids divers during the Kompas Coral Reef Expedition team’s Aug. 30 visit to the Batu Bolong diving site in Komodo National Park, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara. The Napoleon fish is included on the Appendix II list of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). In 2013, the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry issued Decree No. 37 on the limited protection status for the Napoleon fish
The local health and education facilities are also in a sad state. For example, Papagarang, Komodo and Rinca villages have no senior high school. The students must therefore travel to Labuan Bajo if they want to continue their studies. Consequently, more costs are incurred.
Speaking in Jakarta on the sidelines of an official event on Sept. 4, Komodo National Park head Sudiyono said the park office continued to socialize the zoning regulations to the local residents. He understood the residents’ wish to expand the fishing zone.
“The zoning aims to prevent the overexploitation of fish that will disadvantage the fishermen,” Sudiyono said.
On the other hand, the Komodo park management intended to reduce overharvesting by encouraging residents to switch to the tourism sector. Sudiyono said some segments of the Komodo Island population had switched to guiding tourists or providing accommodation.
This is an anticipatory move to respond to the growing Komodo tourism. In 2016, 83,712 tourists visited Labuan Bajo, a threefold increase since Sail Komodo 2013. Indeed, the central government targets 500,000 tourists to Komodo by 2019.
Papagarang village, which has jurisdiction over favorite dive spots such as Batu Bolong and Tatawa, do not need to see dozens or hundreds of divers arriving to enjoy their natural beauty. The people of Komodo, who are said to be the “family” of the Komodo dragon, deserve to lead a life of prosperity.
