As fish become rare, fishermen tend to use other fishing equipment or modify existing equipment to catch more fish.
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Kompas/Nikson Sinaga
Traditional fishing boats are moored on Monday (19/2) at a fishing boat harbor in Medan Belawan district, Medan, North Sumatra. Traditional fishermen are demanding that the government ban the use of cantrang (seine net), because it damages the environment and reduces their catch.
BANYUWANGI, KOMPAS – Banning cantrang (seine net) for more environmentally friendly fishing equipment is deemed insufficient to protect the marine ecosystem. Fishing communities must also change their fishing practices, from merely hunting to investing in fishery resources.
Maritime anthropologist Kusnadi of Jember University’s School of Humanities said environmentally friendly fishing equipment, when used greedily, would not lead to fishery resource preservation. Therefore, he urged the government to train fishermen to completely transform their fishing ways.
“Cantrang destroys the marine ecosystem. However, on one hand, fishermen are used to using it and it is understandable that it’s hard for them to change the habits,” Kusnadi said on Monday (19/2/2018).
Kusnadi said the government needed to acknowledge that fishermen were hunting communities. Due to their culture of hunting, fishermen were used to continuously depleting fishery resources without any effort to invest in them.
According to Kusnadi, fishermen are not familiar with conservation ideas. As fish become rare, they tend to use other fishing equipment or modify existing equipment to catch more fish.
Efforts are needed to change these practices. One example of investment in fishery resources is ceasing all environmentally destructive fishing techniques and begins implementing marine conservation policies. Destructive fishing ways include using mini-trawls, cantrang, lampara nets, eret nets, bombing and using potassium.
“Destructive fishing is wrong. Fishermen that use these methods are digging their own graves. These methods do not preserve fish population. They can only deplete it,” Kusnadi said.
Government involvement
In Medan, North Sumatra, the public urged the government to be involved in resolving conflicts surrounding the use of cantrang to avoid them from getting worsening.
North Sumatra Fishermen’s Alliance head, Sutrisno, said on Tuesday (20/2/2018) that the burning of eight cantrang boats in Belawan on Monday was caused by a years-long conflict pertaining to fishing equipment.
Sutrisno said the burning was only an early symptom of a wider social conflict that the government must anticipate. “The government cannot let traditional fishermen fight against businesspeople that use cantrang,” he said.
This cantrang conflict has divided traditional fishermen and fishery businesspeople in North Sumatra. One side demanded the government to allow the use of cantrang in two fishing region, like in Central Java. The other side demanded a government ban.
From Manado, it is reported that capture fishery production in North Sulawesi has increased in the past two years. The production is partially sourced from traditional fishery using ketinting (traditional motorized boats), pelang and jukung boats.
North Sulawesi Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency head Ronald Sorongan said capture fishery production reached 357,115 tons in 2017, a 23.5-percent increase from 289,027 tons in 2016.
This exceeded the 295,203 tons in 2014, which was prior to a Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry moratorium of illegal fishing by foreign boats and offshore load transfer. “The increase in capture fish production is seen in fish hubs in Bitung, Manado and Bolaang Mongondow,” Ronald said.
The production increase is mostly sourced from traditional fishery that relies on 5-horsepower ketinting boats and pelang or jukung motorized boats.
Agency data shows that the province has 12,000 motorized boats owned by actively-seafaring traditional fishermen. Each boat can capture and carry up t0 500 kilograms of fish.
