Aid-assisted
fishermen in Aceh could emerge from the catastrophe with a very
bright future. But a danger of over-fishing and control of the
industry by outside businessmen could deprive them of a future
that they greatly deserve.
The waters off Aceh are rich in red tuna, a fish for which foreign
markets – particularly the Japanese – are hungry.
A fish that brings $10 on the local market can fetch $200 or
more elsewhere and with tuna of 150 to 200 kilos caught in deeper
waters, such as the Malacca Strait, fishing being restored with
humanitarian aid could reap huge dividends for local communities.
Fish stocks, though, need to be conserved. If fleets become
larger than they were before the tsunami, over-fishing may occur,
particularly by small boats which already work the reefs and
other easy-to-reach points along the coast that serve as hatcheries.
The numbers of small boats are increasing rapidly and if all
the plans of donors and agencies are carried out there will
be far more than there were in 2004. Investment in fishing should
not be reduced but should be directed to other corners of the
industry once the size of the fleets has been restored.
“With too many small boats, the fish could be gone within
a few years,” says Antoine Munoz, head of a maritime rehabilitation
project led by the Belgian Red Cross. “Some people have
boats who weren’t fishermen before. We need to watch this
carefully or the depletion that occurred in Europe’s North
Sea and other places will be repeated here in Indonesia. The
tuna will go the way of Europe’s cod.”
With the Indonesian Red Cross and the International Federation,
Antoine Munoz is rebuilding a deep-water fishing fleet for Meulaboh
villages on Aceh’s west coast. Nearly all their large
vessels were destroyed or seriously damaged by the tsunami and
the 1,289,000 CHF project will provide 17 replacements, resettle
289 fishermen and around 1,000 family members, as well as help
a local shipyard back on its feet. The entire fleet will take
eight months to build and the first boats will be in the water
in December.
The project will provide more than boats, however. Munoz worked
for years on Belgian fishing boat cooperatives and is encouraging
a similar model for Aceh. “The boats are the tip of the
iceberg,” he says. “We want the fishermen to have
a better life.”
Before the tsunami, many boats had a single absentee owner who
would take half the revenue and pay the fishermen what remained
after expenses. Many worked for little more than a dollar a
day and without any form of security.
Munoz wants to change that. “We are here to help fishermen
provide for themselves,” he says.
The cooperatives will allow fishermen to share a boat and the
proceeds, and Munoz calculates their incomes could increase
fivefold, more if the full potential of foreign markets is harnessed.
“If a steady supply of tuna was assured, the Japanese
would fly it out of here directly,” he predicts. “It’s
wild tuna, too, not farmed like it is in the Mediterranean.
It is heavy meat of real quality, and in three or four days
at sea a boat using lines rather than nets can bring in six
or seven fish, each of them 100 to 200 kilos.”
With a dramatically increased income, and the boats in their
hands, the fishermen will need less fish to improve their lives,
he argues, and be open to conservation measures as a consequence.
Those will need legislation and the support of the authorities,
such as in the setting aside of no-fishing sectors to aid the
replenishment of deep-water stocks. “The fishermen understand
only too well that preserving and enhancing fish stocks will
improve their long-term economic prospects.”
As well as placing the industry in their hands, the cooperatives
will provide social insurance. Some of the revenue will be set
aside for family health care, for a bad weather fund compensating
the fishermen when fishing is impossible, and for support when
they are ill or injured.
The project will also bring indirect benefits for the community.
Port-related activities currently on hold would be able to start
again, and Munoz suggests a canning industry could bring more
jobs to the region.
“But the cooperatives are the key,” he says. “Without
them there is no future for the fisheries.” On Banda Aceh’s
fish market he sees the warning signs. Tiny fish are on sale,
caught by small boats with small-mesh nets that ply coastal
stretches with scant regard for the hatcheries. “They
bring in everything,” he says, “legal or not. It
is time to carefully assess what is happening and how aid can
best be invested in fishing.”
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A
boat left stranded on top of houses in Banda Aceh, Indonesia,
after the tsunami. Nearly all large vessels from the deep-water
fishing fleet of Meulaboh villages on Aceh’s west
coast were destroyed or seriously damaged.
Photo: Olav A. Saltbones/International Federation (p-IDN0795)
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The
Belgian Red Cross along with the Indonesian Red Cross
and the International Federation are building boats as
a part of a livelihood program in Banda Aceh. The 1,289,000
CHF project will provide 17 replacement vessels, resettle
289 fishermen and around 1,000 family members, as well
as help the local shipyard back on its feet. The entire
fleet will take eight months to build and the first boats
will be in the water in December 2005.
Photo: Olav A. Saltbones/International Federation (p-IDN0797)
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Waters
around Aceh Province are rich in red tuna and huge overseas
markets await. But, the Red Cross and Red Crescent warns,
too many boats are planned. Over-fishing would destroy
an industry in need of much more than vessels. Antoine
Munoz, head of the maritime rehabilitation project led
by the Belgian Red Cross says “With too many small
boats, the fish could be gone within a few years. Some
people have boats who weren’t fishermen before.
We need to watch this carefully or the depletion that
occurred in Europe’s North Sea and other places
will be repeated here in Indonesia. The tuna will go the
way of Europe’s cod.”
Photo: Olav A. Saltbones/International Federation (p-IDN0800)
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The
project will provide more than boats, however. Antoine
Munoz worked for years on Belgian fishing boat cooperatives
and is encouraging a similar model for Aceh. “The
boats are the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “We
want the fishermen to have a better life.”
Photo: Olav A. Saltbones/International Federation (p-IDN0799)
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