Ban on use of destructive net fails to make an impact in Indonesia, experts say

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Fisheries observers say a year-old ban on a seine internet thought-about unsustainable and harmful has been largely ineffective.
Studies present fishers proceed to make use of the square-meshed cantrang internet regardless of the ban, and may even modify the diamond-meshed substitute launched by the fisheries ministry.
Whereas in principle the substitute internet ought to enable juvenile fish to flee, in follow it’s used a lot the identical approach because the cantrang, threatening already depleted fish shares across the nation.
Observers blame the continued violations on authorities’ reluctance to crack down on the vastly in style cantrang for concern of angering the millions-strong and politically vital demographic of fishing communities.

NATUNA/JAKARTA, Indonesia — A 12 months after it was launched as a substitute for a kind of fishing internet lengthy seen as unsustainable, the square-mesh seine internet has prompted considerations from fisheries consultants in Indonesia.

The jaring tarik berkantong internet was meant to be the less-destructive successor to the extensively used cantrang internet, which the Indonesian fisheries ministry successfully banned in July 2021. On paper, there are clear variations between the 2: the jaring tarik berkantong has a square-shaped mesh, with a mesh measurement of 5 centimeters (2 inches), making it much less possible for child fish to be caught than within the diamond-meshed cantrang, with a mesh measurement of two.5 cm (1 in).

“In fact, there’s hope that the substitute has had some affect as a result of the ministry should have performed their analysis” when introducing it, stated Oktavianto Darmono, a marine researcher on the assume tank Fisheries Useful resource Middle of Indonesia (FRCI).

“However if you happen to ask me if the affect has been vital, frankly talking, no.”

An inspection aboard a fishing boat, the KM Sinar Samudra, to verify for the usage of the banned cantrang fishing internet. Picture by Yogi Eka Sahputra/Mongabay Indonesia.

Within the 12 months because the change was imposed, reviews have been printed and submitted to the fisheries ministry about violations associated to the usage of each cantrang and its substitute. In a latest interview with Mongabay, Oktavianto stated the one distinction between cantrang and jaring tarik berkantong is the form of the mesh. In follow, each nets are dragged near the seafloor, just like trawling — a follow that’s prohibited in Indonesia, Oktavainto famous.

The reported violations additionally spotlight poor monitoring by authorities, stated Irfan Yulianto, a fisheries researcher additionally at FRCI. He stated each forms of nets had been just about similar and that it might take fishers lower than an hour to switch a jaring tarik berkantong right into a cantrang.

“That’s the reason there are circumstances the place boats depart ports carrying the square-meshed nets, however at sea, they’re discovered to be utilizing diamond-meshed nets. They will change the mesh fairly simply,” Irfan stated.

Irfan added that whereas jaring tarik berkantong was theoretically a extra sustainable answer to cantrang, the fisheries ministry should consider its enforcement and enhance monitoring at sea.

In response to latest incidents, the fisheries ministry stated it will beef up monitoring and regulation enforcement amongst fishing boat house owners. The ministry additionally referred to as on native authorities in waters as much as 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from shore, which falls beneath their jurisdiction and the place a lot of Indonesia’s small and conventional fishers function.

Officers and native fishers conduct an inspection aboard the KM Sinar Samudra fishing boat. One of many nets on the vessel is a square-meshed internet that’s meant to switch the banned diamond-meshed cantrang. Picture by Yogi Eka Sahputra/Mongabay Indonesia.

One of many nets on board the KM Sinar Samudra. The diamond form of the mesh signifies this can be the banned cantrang internet. Picture by Yogi Eka Sahputra/Mongabay Indonesia.

Oktavianto stated the choice to switch cantrang with jaring tarik berkantong had gone by means of in-depth and in depth debate internally inside the fisheries ministry, given the political reluctance to ban the vastly in style cantrang.

The ban was initially imposed in 2015 by Susi Pudjiastuti, the fisheries minister on the time, who blamed the online for depleting fish populations at unsustainable charges and destroying coral reefs when it snagged on them. However the ban confronted a large pushback from fishing communities on the north coast of Java, a area often called Pantura on Indonesia’s most populous island. These fishers have historically used cantrang within the Java Sea, they usually traditionally signify a large voting bloc, making the cantrang ban a loaded political problem. In response, the fisheries ministry exempted the Pantura fishers from the ban and gave them a three-year grace interval to surrender their cantrang nets.

Nevertheless, the ban was formally lifted in November 2020 by Edhy Prabowo, who changed Susi because the fisheries minister, citing efforts to spice up catches and in flip appeal to higher funding in Indonesia’s marine seize fishery. (Edhy was arrested every week afterward unrelated corruption expenses and was later sentenced to 9 years in jail.)

Oktavianto stated that regardless of cantrang at present being prohibited, regulation enforcement in opposition to its continued use stays very poor. That’s largely as a consequence of resistance from the fishing neighborhood, and likewise the truth that the cantrang fishery contributes considerably to native economies. Touchdown the catch from a single cantrang boat can contain 30 to 40 employees, with one other 20 to 30 engaged in processing the catch, Oktavianto stated.

“On the finish of the day, that is about folks’s incomes and jobs,” he stated.

Whereas it’s cheap to take these political and financial components into consideration when crafting coverage round fishing tools, the fisheries ministry should nonetheless prioritize the sustainability of the nation’s fish shares, stated Abdul Halim, govt director of the Indonesia Maritime Analysis Middle. He stated each the cantrang and its substitute had been harmful in follow to the marine ecosystem and would proceed to deplete the nation’s fish shares.

Information launched by the fisheries ministry in early July put Indonesia’s estimated fish shares at 12 million metric tons, down nearly 4% from the 12.5 million metric tons estimated in 2017. The info additionally present that 53% of the nation’s fisheries zones, often called WPPs, are actually deemed “totally exploited,” up from 44% in 2017, and indicating that extra stringent monitoring is required.

“We should contemplate the potential destruction that this poses, particularly when there’s a chance of depleted fish shares, and that’s why this should be banned,” Abdul instructed Mongabay Indonesia.

Ban on use of destructive net fails to make an impact in Indonesia, experts say — Fishers in East Java repairing their broken nets. Picture by Falahi Mubarok/Mongabay Indonesia.

Basten Gokkon is a senior workers author for Indonesia at Mongabay. Discover him on Twitter @bgokkon.

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