Fishermen blast premier dive sites off Indonesia

Newswire

April 20, 2012 22:56

KOMODO ISLAND: Coral gardens that were among Asia's most spectacular, teeming with colorful sea life just a few months ago, have been transformed into desolate gray moonscapes by illegal fishermen who use explosives or cyanide to kill or stun their prey.

The site is among several to have been hit inside Komodo National Park, a 500,000-acre reserve in eastern Indonesia that spans several dusty, tan-colored volcanic islands.

The area is most famous for its Komodo dragons, the world's largest lizards, and its remote and hard-to-reach waters also burst with staggering levels of diversity, from corals in fluorescent reds and yellows to octopuses with lime-green banded eyes to black-and-blue sea snakes.

Dive operators and conservationists say Indonesia's government is not doing enough to keep illegal fishermen out of the boundaries of the national park, a U.N. World Heritage site.

They say enforcement declined greatly following the exit two years ago of a U.S.-based environmental group that helped fight destructive fishing practices.

Local officials disagree, pointing to dozens of arrests and several deadly gunbattles with suspects.

Sustyo Iriyono, the head of the park, said problems are being exaggerated and denied claims of lax enforcement.

He said rangers have arrested more than 60 fishermen over the past two years, including a group of young men captured last month after they were seen bombing fish in waters in the western part of the park.

"You see?" said Iriyono. "No one can say I'm not acting firmly against those who are destroying the dive spots!"

He added that the park is one of the few places where fish bombing is monitored with any regularity in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian nation of more than 17,000 islands. (AP/T06)

>> BACA JUGA ARTIKEL LAINNYA:

+ Berita BISNIS INDONESIA hari ini: S&P ogah buat INVESTMENT GRADE?

+ INDONESIAN IDOL 2012: BELINDA pulang!

+ PESAWAT JATUH, 127 penumpang TEWAS

+ ACEH kembali diguncang GEMPA 5,9 SR

+ INDONESIAN BONDS sets for Weekly GAIN

+ MANCHESTER UNITED Value rises to $2.2 Billion

+ DAHLAN ISKAN mengintili TIGA PEREMPUAN

+ WISHNUTAMA mau buka RESTO dan bikin EO?

+ DIVE SITES: Indonesian big problem, FISHERMAN BLAST

Follow @bisniscom

Discuss: Fishermen blast premier dive sites off Indonesia

Showing 1 - 1 of 1 comments

Peter Mous

April 21, 2012 09:12

Dear editor, Thank your for bringing the plight of Komodo National Park once again to the public eye. I worked for the TNC conservation program in Komodo a decade ago, and I have been back for short holidays and assignments since that time. It still is a spectacular area, a real asset to Indonesia. From my personal observations, I can confirm that the situation in Komodo has deteriorated over the past years---Fishing appears to be completely unregulated, and as far as I can see the Park authority hardly uses their speedboats and patrol vessels for regular surveillance. Finding out what the Park rules are is a real challenge---It takes time and expert knowledge on Park management systems. The text of official regulations is often unclear and ambiguous. Any fisher would find it very difficult to get an answer to the question: “Am I allowed to fish in Komodo, and, if so, where?”. The title of your article, and the response of the Head of the Park suggests that the problem of Komodo is “destruction of dive sites”. I disagree. The real problem is much larger, and the stakes are much higher. This is not about a couple of dive sites. It is about sustainable fishing to the benefit of local communities, and about sustainable, long-term income from responsible tourism. It is a scientifically proven fact that fisheries benefit from areas that are protected from fishing---Such “no-take” areas help to keep surrounding fishing grounds healthy. Many fishers and fish traders I talked with actually agree with this idea. What is unacceptable to them, however, is to see how other fishers may get away with breaking the rules. This is exactly the situation one gets if rules are unclear and if there is hardly any visible surveillance. The Head of the Park proudly states that they have arrested blast fishers over the past years, and I applaud the efforts of the Park rangers who have been involved in this dangerous work---I know some of them, and in my opinion they are among he most professional and dedicated law enforcers I have ever worked with. Arresting a group of fishers who are armed with fish bombs is not for the faint-hearted. Still, these dangerous encounters could have been avoided if the Park authority would have kept their field presence high through regular patrols. Also, the Park authority should work with local fishing communities to keep out fishers who are not from the Komodo area, and the Park authority should make an effort to explain zoning regulations in clear terms. This will create support for zoning regulations among local communities, even if it means that some areas within this National Park will be closed to fishing, and, yes, this will also result in the preservation of some of the world’s finest dive sites. Dr Peter J. Mous, Fisheries and Protected Area Specialist

DISCLAIMER:

Komentar yang tampil menjadi tanggungjawab sepenuhnya pengirim, bukan merupakan pendapat atau kebijakan redaksi BISNIS.com. Redaksi berhak menghapuskan dan atau menutup akses bagi pengirim komentar yang dianggap tidak etis, berisi fitnah, atau diskriminasi suku, agama, ras dan antargolongan.

* Redaksi

Bisnis Indonesia - Bisnis.com