Rapid Ecological Assessment - Indo-Pacific Images

Chapter 2 - Socio-Economic Conditions in the Raja Ampat Islands
“We caught MV Regina two years ago. It’s crew, from Salayar Island in Sulawesi, stole the fish near our
islands. We confiscated one of their speedboats with a 15hp outboard motor. We also confiscated their
compressors. But later, when only our women and children were left in the village, the ship’s crew came
back and threatened our families with knives. They took back the motor and compressors.”
2.11.3 Ikan Teri Fishermen and the Tuna Fishing Companies
The Raja Ampat Islands is a primary source for tiny fish (known locally as ikan teri), used by tuna fishing
companies as bait to catch different types of tuna. These companies usually employ or contract specific
fishermen, called nelayan bagan. A bagan is a fishing platform with a cantilevered fish trap. The bagan
fishermen operate at night and attract large schools of ikan teri using lights. These fishermen were mostly of
Buton origins from South East Sulawesi. There were many bagan camps encountered throughout the
archipelago. More often than not, the ikan teri was dried for human consumption.
Three or four fishermen usually man each bagan. If a tuna company employs the fishermen, every second
day a company ship would collect the live ikan teri. Each bagan earns from Rp1,200,000 to Rp1,500,000 per
month from the company, which would then shared by the fishermen according to their own agreement.
Regardless of whether the bagan fishermen dry the ikan teri or keep them alive for bait, they generally have
to pay local resource owners for access. However, at one such camp, elders from a migrant village near
Tomolol granted access for a fee of Rp100,000 causing a strain in relations with the indigenous owners of
the area.
2.11.4 Philippine Fishermen
Philippine fishermen are quite active in the northern parts of the archipelago, particularly in Waigeo. Local
people in these remote communities are happy to deal with these people from outside the archipelago
because they provide villagers with sought after commodities that are otherwise unavailable to them. The
activities of the fishermen, however, are neither legal nor of a sustainable nature, including shark fishing for
fins and the trade in exotic birds. The Philippine fishermen reputedly do not employ blast or poison fishing
methods. The fishermen have nurtured a relationship with local villagers based on an exchange of gifts,
which range from liquor to electricity generators and outboard motors.
One or two Sanger fishermen from South Sulawesi were usually employed by each group of Philippine
fishermen to help them in translation when they communicated with the local people. In Saleo village, for
instance, we learned that the local people were given a quantity of Tandawai and Klavo liquors. The
fishermen donated two electrical generators to the people of Kapadiri village. They were also given two
outboard motors. An elder in Kapadiri told us: “If we obtained information that patrolling activities were
conducted by the Navy, I would tell those Philippinos. We would hide them if necessary.”
2.11.5 Balinese Fishermen
The threat to populations of sea turtles in Raja Ampat was not only due to the traditional use by indigenous
people, such as to be used as for making kawes – a local delicacy, but is also caused by the capture of these
endangered species by Balinese fishermen on a much larger scale.
Solomon, a native of Saliyo, whom the senior author met at a fishing camp at Wayag Island, described the
exploitation of tuturuga (the local name for sea turtles) in his customary area:
“The people from Gebe [of the North Maluku Province, but culturally related to Raja Ampat] took the eggs
and brought home about five or six big tuturuga. People from Ayau also came here to kill tuturuga and took
the eggs. They asked permission first from us. But the Balinese just came, anchored their boats near Sayang
Island, and collected the live tuturuga, as much as they want. I have seen on one occasion approximately 20
live-big-size tuturuga on the deck of a Balinese ship. Those were in one ship only. And those were only what
I could see. I did not know how many more [tuturuga] were inside the ship. They took everything: big, small,
eggs …”
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