Field trip Sendang Biru, Muncar, Perancak
by Lida Pet Soede
Sendang Biru Tuna landing site~ 400 boats changed from shark fishing in the 80s
to catch yellow fin tuna with hand line around FADs
Operational costs are high as fishers need to fish farther and keep catch in good quality
We discuss trends in tuna catches with buyer and WWF coordinator of data recording project
Also the women of Sendang Biru make their living off the tuna fishery
More baby tuna has entered the landings
Fishers worry that the tuna stocks will collapse if the demand for baby tuna continues
I discuss with Maskur next steps to address catch of baby tuna
Fasting month has started in Muncar, a big landing site for shark fin and shark products
The waves are too high, fishers are worried they lose their livelihood with reducing catches and competition from big vessels in the high seas
Shark catches decreased tremendously in the past 15 years, the few boats still catching can barely
meet the increasing costs
Shark skin and bones are used in cosmetics, when I tried this it had no taste and felt like
eating plastic
Bananas and oranges are not sufficient to feed coastal communities
Sunday night we watch World Cup NL – Mexico at an older fishers home
The next day I dive with fishers catching aquarium fish who changed from using cyanide to nets and received
awards for their stewardship
It’s a positive story to tell and a Dutch film crew records the trip
The quality of the fish is much better and the reef stays in healthy condition
After the dive I visit Perancak on Bali where the community of Kuma Asih has protected turtle nests
since 17 years
Its great to see the result of this community-based effort, now more than 400 nests hatch in the season
Mostly Olive Ridley turtles, but the occasional leatherback as well!
These are the babies that carry my hope that in 30 years when they return to Perancak beach, the ocean
and coasts are still healthy