The majority of cantrang-using fishermen are ready to switch to the more environmentally friendly fishing net.
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Kompas/Aditya Putra Perdana
A fisherman holds up his cantrang (seine net) on Thursday (15/2) at the Bajomulyo Beach fishing boat harbor in Juwana, Pati regency, Central Java.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — According to identification by a cantrang task force from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the majority of cantrang-using fishermen are ready to switch to the more environmentally friendly fishing net. However, they need coaching and access to funding to realize it.
Identification and verification by the task force in Tegal regency, Central Java, in early February 2018, found 340 cantrang-equipped ships belonging to 193 people. From that number, 191people or 99 percent were ready to switch to the more environmentally friendly fishing net. Two people refused to replace their fishing net.
In Rembang, Central Java, 125 of 143 shipowners are ready to replace their cantrang.
The identification and verification by the task force was carried out following an agreement between President Joko Widodo and the cantrang-using fishermen living on Java’s north coastal area on Jan. 17, 2018. Under the agreement, the President allows the cantrang-ships to continue operation until the replacement takes place.
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the task force would supervise the cantrang replacement personally as each individual fisherman faced a different problem. Aside from identifying and verifying data, the task force also interviewed the ship owners and checked the ships physically.
Cantrang was banned for use in Indonesian waters under Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministerial Regulations No. 02/2015 and KP No. 71/2016. Cantrang was banned because it posed a danger to fish and ecology, and triggered conflict among fishermen. Cantrang is categorized as a pulled fishing net. Every time the fishing net is pulled, its end-part damages the seabed and the ecosystem.
Originally, according to ministry data, the use of cantrang was allowed. Later, however, the fishing net was modified. One of the modifications was to lower the mesh size of the fishing net from 2 inches or more, as stipulated in ministerial regulation No. 02/2011, to 0.75-1 inch.
Still unknown
On Friday (16/2) cantrang ships in Pati and Rembang went into the sea. Some others stayed, awaiting the weather to improve.
Sunari, 54, a ship owner in Rembang, said he was ready to replace his fishing net during verification. “But, I don’t know when. It is not easy. Everything must be prepared,” he added.
Sunari said aside from limited money, he also needed to modify the vessel and to think about human resource. In addition, the catch would have lower economic value than those from using cantrang.
Another ship owner Karyadi, 40, from Rembang said the cost to replace the fishing net and ship modification would reach Rp 1 billion.
“I still have Rp 500 million of debt at the bank. Although there are some facilities, I am not prepared to apply for more debt,” he said.
Sunari and Karyadi are among fishermen who have vowed to never use cantrang again. Both of them have signed a statement on their readiness to replace the fishing nets. Karyadi said, for now, the most important thing was the fact that he was allowed to go into the sea. He had remained at home for a month due to the ban and high tides.
The majority of cantrang fishermen in Tegal shared the same view, saying replacing the cantrang would require a large amount of funds. Money would also be needed to buy freezers for their ships. The money needed to replace the fishing net and to buy freezers reached Rp 3.8 billion.
In Cirebon, West Java, efforts to replace cantrang have not been optimal. The fishing nets donated by the government do not meet the needs of the fishermen. This has triggered the fishermen to go back to using cantrang. The fishing nets donated by the government were bubu rajungan, a device used to catch crabs. In Ambulu village, Losari district, Cirebon regency, local fishermen spent money to modify the device donated by the fisheries ministry.
In other regencies, such as Pandeglang, Banten and Lamongan, East Java, as well as other regencies/cities in North Sumatra, the government was identifying the fishermen and their fishing nets.
Completed this year
Cantrang task force chairman Rear Adm. (ret) Widodo said the identification, verification, licensing and replacement of the fishing nets was expected to be finished this year.
Data validation and verification was ongoing in Java’s north coast areas on fishermen who have not switched to more environmentally friendly fishing nets. The government setup outlets in some locations to process their permit.
Widodo said those outlets facilitate the transition to replace the fishing nets. The permit issuance would take 2-4 days, starting from physical check on the ship to the issuance of the permit. Then, the taskforce would identify the fishermen to get funding facility.
Until this week, data verification and licensing are still ongoing in Tegal and Rembang. Similar process will take place in Batang and Pati in Central Java and Lamongan in East Java.
Along with the replacement of cantrang, several fishermen are allowed to go into the sea after obtaining the permit. “The permit was issued for fishermen who have stated their readiness to switch fishing nets,” Widodo said.
Susi Pudjiastuti said the government would try to facilitate the fishermen with the funding. “We will help them access banking facilities,” she said.
The policy to improve the management of national fisheries, Susi said, was aimed to improve the welfare of the fishermen.
“If the fishermen disagree, that means they reject the government’s policy to manage the national fisheries. So, foreign ships would be allowed to operate again? Who would be disadvantaged? Surely, it’s the fishermen. Not me,” she said.
