Warm seas push Indonesian fishers into poverty

Daunting weather and decreased catches have forced fishermen to search for other livelihood options

Dec 04, 2024

By Ryan Dagur
At 48, Saing Basri often gets nostalgic about how easily he and his friends used to fish in the sea, just in front of their settlements on the west coast of Flores Island in Indonesia.

“Until some two decades ago, we only had to go out a few meters from the shore to fill our boats," he said. The catch included a variety of fish, squid, and shrimp.

Fishermen like Basri, who live near the tourist city of Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park, also have a spiritual link with the sea.

Basri said the lives of the fishing community, mostly Catholics in Flores, are linked to the sea. They have a traditional ritual every May, at the onset of the peak fishing season, of offering chicken eggs and betel leaves on the shoreline.

"It is a way of thanksgiving to the universe, which gives us life," he said.

"Farmers from the mountainous areas visit the market in Labuan Bajo every Wednesday to sell their produce and buy seafood from fishermen," he said.

The fishermen would hang their catch in front of their houses for people from the hills who would pass by to buy them, he recalled.

“They are just memories now, as extreme weather has changed everything,” he said.

In the past, the seasons were regular. The west season of October-March was rainy, and April to September was considered the dry east season.

The east season was considered best for fishing when varieties of mackerel and skipjack tuna appeared in the sea.

“But the seasons have become erratic now. Heavy rain, strong winds, and high waves occur now during the east season when the sea used to be calm and quiet,” he said.

“We now have to go far out to the sea to get some fish," he said.

His friend Abdul Salang, 40, said years ago he could easily catch one ton of mackerel on average in three days. Then, buyers from restaurants and other eateries around Labuan Bajo used to wait on the beach for his boat to return.

"Those were the days. Now, I get less than ten mackerel on some days."

More fishermen from other areas has made it worse. "They come from Sulawesi and other areas, bringing more sophisticated fishing equipment," he said.

Fishermen are decreasing
The stories of Basri and Salang reflect the situation of some 2.4 million fishermen in Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago with 17,504 islands and 108,000 kilometers of coastline.

Estimates say 90 percent of fishermen are like Basri and Salang, engaged in traditional fishing, and cater to domestic consumption.

According to experts, traditional fishing and the fishing industry were the backbone of many communities until some three decades ago when the climate crisis began to cause them problems.

Parid Ridwanuddin, who works with the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, says friendly weather aids fishing at sea. “But the worsening weather and high waves are part of the climate crisis.”

Ridwanuddin said the daunting weather and decreased catch had forced fishermen to leave fishing and search for other employment.

Government data shows that the number of fishermen has fallen by 15 percent in ten years. In 2010, Indonesia had 2.16 million fishers, but according to a 2021 report from Marine and Coastal Resources Statistics, this number ha decreased to 1.83 million in 2019.

Vanishing resources
Research published by the Oceanographic Research Center of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in 2021 shows that climate change damages marine habitats, such as coral reefs and mangrove forests.

According to the study, around 35 percent of coral reefs in Indonesia have experienced significant bleaching because of increased sea temperatures, which directly impacts fish populations.

As fish resources dwindled in shallow shore waters, traditional fishermen, who use small boats and simple nets, were pushed into poverty.

The poverty rate in coastal communities remains at around 25 percent, above the national average of 9.78 percent, according to 2020 data from the Central Statistics Agency.

This threatens the Indonesian economy, according to a World Bank report.

The report released in 2023 said the fisheries sector contributes US$26.9 billion annually to the national economy (around 2.6 percent of GDP), 50 percent of the country's protein intake, and 7 million jobs.

Therefore, the impact of climate change on the fisheries sector will “have important implications for livelihoods, food security, and economic growth," said the report titled Hot Water Rising: The Impact of Climate Change on Indonesia's Fisheries and Coastal Communities.

"While this is true around the world, few countries have fishery resources as vast as Indonesia's or depend as much as Indonesia does on fisheries for jobs and protein," it said.

Tarape, 39, a fisheries instructor in Labuan Bajo, said climate change is also causing high waves, now reaching 3-5 meters, making it impossible for fishermen to catch fish using small boats.

"They have to switch to motorized boats, which has implications regarding increasing fuel costs," Tarape, who uses only one name, said.

Previously, fishermen used to use 20 liters of diesel when going out to sea all day, now they need twice that because they have to go further out to sea.

The World Bank wants Indonesia to take steps toward a climate-resilient marine and coastal economy through investment in infrastructure, technology, capacity-building, and governance.

Changing jobs
The government and its agencies are indeed taking some steps to help the fisher people face the impact of climate change says Fatinci Reynilda, head of the West Manggarai Food Security and Fisheries Service.

One such step is training sessions to strengthen fishermen's resilience. "Part of the training is helping them read weather forecasts via a cell phone application," she said.

Another step helps fishermen work with businessmen at fish markets who resell the fish either to culinary centers or for export.

"These entrepreneurs always provide capital assistance for fishermen as long as their catch is given to them,” she said.

Umar Ilias Husen, a fisherman and former head of the Tanjung Harapan Fishermen Group in Labuan Bajo said he had participated in the scheme and sold his catch to resellers at a warehouse.

But Husen said that even with the scheme, he found it hard to survive in the fishing profession, so he left it to become a tour guide.

He also converted his boat to rent out to tourists visiting Komodo National Park.

Tourists pay him 500,000 rupiah (US$31.5) to rent it for a day. "But we don't get people every day. Sometimes, my boat is used only three times a month," he said.

He said the tourism sector is competitive, and it makes “it difficult for us, as we have been forced to change jobs without adequate training.”

Husen said several friends also left fishing to work as tour guides. “But life has not improved,” he added.

Salang chose to remain a fisherman. “It is indeed difficult” to fish, challenging the high waves and storms. “But I must continue to struggle for my family,” he said.--ucanews.com