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