SE Sulawesi fishermen help protect coral reefs

Antara 30 Jul 10;

Kendari, S E Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Fishermen of Buton district, Southeast Sulawesi Province, have helped protect coral reefs in their waters by stopping the use of the blast fishing method.

"A lot of fishermen have realized the danger of blast fishing method for coral reefs as the natural homes of fishes," Spokesman of Buton district government, La Ode Asraruddin, said here Thursday.

The Buton ditrict`s fishermen had got their own way of controlling for protecting their sea waters from the blast fishing method users.

"If they find fishermen using home-made bombs for poaching, they will bring the law violators to the police," he said.

As a result of this active participation, Asraruddin said the coral reefs being rehabilitated by "Coremap" could be protected.

Besides stopping the blast fishing method, the fishermen also supported Coremap`s efforts to rehabilitate the damaged coral reefs by using the man-made ones, he said.

To help protect the coral reefs, the Basilika sea waters had also been decided to be part of marine tourism destinations, he said.

The blast fishing activities remain serious problems in various parts of Indonesia.

In Bangka Belitung Province, for instance, some local fishermen were still found practicing blast fishing despite the fact that it could endanger themselves, other people and marine resources.

Blast fishing activity in the waters of Bangka Belitung Province was believed to be just like the tip of an iceberg.

The same method was also, among others, used by fishermen in West Tapalang village, Central Sulawesi.

As a result, lots of traditional fishermen in the province could no longer get fish easily.
Rusdi, a local fisherman, recently said blast fishing operations in Central Sulawesi waters might have destroyed coral reefs that affected the fish population in the area.
These blast fishing activities had attracted world attention.

Endowed by nature with more than 50,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, Indonesia has been listed by the United Nations as a nation with the largest coral reef resources in the world, along with Australia and the Philippines.

According to the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC)`s World Atlas of Coral Reefs (2001), Indonesia had 51,020 square kilometers of coral reefs or 17.95 percent of the world`s coral reefs.

This archipelagic nation topped the list , followed by Australia with 48,460 square kilometers, the Philippines (25,060), France (14,280), Papua New Guinea (13,840), Fiji (10,020), Maldives (8,920), Saudi Arabia (6,660), Marshall Islands (6,110) and India (5,790).

The benefits that Indonesia can get from its coral reefs are obvious because coral reefs are evidently the sources of food and income for a lot of people from fisheries and tourism and also sources of raw materials for medicines.

But the UNEC-WCMC has warned that activities, such as fishing using explosives, are seriously degrading coral reefs in various parts of the world, including in Indonesia.
The UN body`s warning is based on factual information collected over the years. Blast fishing itself has been practiced in Indonesia since World War II.