A Waiting Cantrang's Policy

As women fish sellers sit on their stools in the bustling port of Tegalsari in Tegal of Central Java, large steel basins between their legs and elegantly knotted turbans on their heads, some stare into the distance, towards a horizon that was once filled with more opportunity than it is now.

From time to time a fish seller bangs loudly on their steel, impatient for the day's catch to be offloaded from the wooden canoes. It is a noise heard from fish transport workers who used to work at Tegalsari fish port, a chorus that bemoans the shortage of fish in seas that have supported past generations of small-scale, traditional fishermen.

If there was once abundance here, it has gone.

North Sea of Java Island are some of the most overfished in Indonesia, with high levels of illegal and unreported fishing. The socioeconomic and ecological costs for local populations are huge and scientists warn of an imminent collapse in North Sea of Java fish stocks if measures are not taken to curb overfishing.

In Cental Java, as many as hundreds of trawl ships ussualy called as cantrang, are targeting the same fish that artisanal fishermen have been catching for generations. But they're also targeting juvenile fish, meaning populations cannot recover. Since 1980 there has actually been a prohibition, But still they operate trawlers until now, impacting the livelihoods of coastal fishing communities.

Why trawl is prohibited ?

Quoting from the WWF-Indonesia study, it is stated that only about 18-40 percent of trawl and cantrang catches are economically valuable and can be consumed, 60-82 percent are bycatch or discarded. So that most of the catch is dumped into the sea in a dead condition. The use of trawl by dredging the bottom of the water damages the habitat and the use of a small net also causes the capture of various types of biota that are still juvenile or immature gonads. 

This waste of resources has been ongoing since this fishing gear, began to be widely used in the 1960s. Trawl and cantrang catches are not selective with catch composition that catches all sizes of fish, shrimp, crabs, and other biota. The Biota immature  and not yet spawned  that have been caught cannot produce new individuals. This condition causes depletion of stock or reduction in stock of fish resources, the catch will decrease, this is the first damaging impact.

Second, the removed biota will disrupt fishery data because it is not recorded as a result of fisheries production.Analysis of fisheries resource stock also becomes inaccurate, causing incompatible management policies and the reality of fisheries resource conditions. Operation of trawl and cantrang which dredges the bottom of deep and coastal waters without exception of coral reefs and damaging the location of spawning marine life. Although Cantrang avoids coral reefs, small groups of living corals at the bottom of the water will be swept away.

The third impact is disturbing and damaging the productivity and habitat of biota on the bottom of the water where the bottom of the water is an important habitat in the sea because it consists of coral reef ecosystems, seagrass, and sand or mud substrate.

Fourth, fish resources in the Java Sea waters have experienced degradation due to dense fishing activities from various regions including the use of trawl and cantrang fishing gear. Fishing ground (fishing location) fishermen will also move and stay away, and the operational costs of catching will be higher.

Cantrang Policy

The issue of fishing gear  Cantrang in Indonesia has actually emerged since the era of President Soeharto. In 1980, small fishermen demanded that trawlers (trawls) be banned from operating because they were considered to have harmed them. Suharto also issued Presidential Decree No. 39/1980 concerning the elimination of trawling nets which took effect on October 1, 1980 for the waters of the Java Sea. Then followed, taking effect on the island of Sumatra starting January 1, 1981.

Lapse 35 years later, polemic fishing gear reappeared during the administration of President Jokowi. This follows the issuance of the Minister of Maritime Affairs Regulation No. 2/2015 concerning the prohibition of using trawls and trawlers (Seine Nets). The use of cantrang, including those prohibited in accordance with this regulation, began January 8, 2015.

The regulation issued by the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti, was immediately responded to by strong protests from the fishermen. They reject the ban on the use of cantrang. Fishermen judge that cantrang is different from trawling which does endanger the environment.

The government finally delayed the ban on the use of cantrang. The postponement of the cantrang ban has been extended by the government three times. The first extension was set until December 2016, through Circular No. 72 / MEN-KP / II / 2016, concerning Restrictions on the Use of Cantrang Fishing Tools in WPPNRI. The reason for the extension is because the government has not completed the cantrang replacement tool.

However, the ban on cantrang was again relaxed until June 2017, through the Circular of the Director General of Capture Fisheries No. B.664 / DJPT / PI.220 / VI / 2017. After that, the third allowance will last until the end of December 2017 through the Director General of Fisheries No. Circular B.743 / DJPT / PI.220 / VII / 2017 concerning the Assistance of Transition of Trawler and Trawler Fishing Equipment in WPPNRI. Again, the reason for the extension is because of the unfinished replacement fishing gear.

For fishermen, using cantrang is very beneficial because it can get a lot of fish catch. In addition, the price of cantrang nets is also affordable compared to trawl rings whose prices can reach hundreds of millions to billions of rupiah.

Cantrang replacement policy

The government has indeed made various efforts to anticipate the policy. First, the replacement of fishing gear for cantrang vessels weighing less than 10 GT, such as gillnet, folding traps, bottom longlines and so forth.

Secondly, facilitating 10-30 GT cantrang vessels in obtaining financing from financial institutions to replace fishing gear. Third, provide central licensing service facilities through licensing outlets for cantrang vessels with more than 30 GT.

Management of cantrang for mutual interest

Learning from the past, and in order to ensure the effectiveness of fisheries management, the transition of fishing gears must be quickly carried out and must be fully guarded by the transition period, with steps in the form of local government, universities, fishermen organizations, and community leaders to conduct field simulation and monitoring to determine the operation of cantrang of various sizes. The choice of replacement fishing gear must be able to accommodate all problems both socially, economically, environmentally and in the sustainability of fish resources themselves.

In addition, it is necessary to prepare a financing scheme to assist the transition to environmentally friendly fishing gear through fishing organizations or fishing cooperative institutions, completing a complete re-measurement of fishing boat gross certificates and facilitating the process of issuing new licenses, in collaboration with fishing organizations and law enforcement institutions to prepare supervision schemes integrated and community-based.

No less important is the certainty of protection of fishing areas for traditional fishermen from fishing gear conflicts through recognition of traditional fishing management areas in the onation plan in each province and coastal regency / city.

By always hoping for the advancement of the marine and fisheries sector which prioritizes community welfare and environmental sustainability efforts, with the change of leadership the government should be able to make fisheries sector policies better and be able to accommodate the aspirations of all stakeholders and remain focused on community welfare and resource sustainability.