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Cyanide is cheap and easy to obtain. The costs per hibition of the use of destructive fishing techniques
0.5 l solution are about Rp 5000. Small-scale opera- such as explosives and poison. The penalties are up
tions use 2 bottles per diver per day-trip, medium- to 10 years of jail and/or 100 million Rp. fine. The
scale divers use 15 bottles per 3-day trip and the marine police and navy, together with the fisheries
large-scale operations use some 750 bottles per 1- service, are responsible for law enforcement. Profit
month trip. Catches of large-scale cyanide opera- margins in the cyanide fisheries and live reef fish
tions average around 2500 kg per trip. A regular trade are large enough, however, to allow for very
medium-scale dive operation catches around 20 kg large bribes. Corruption therefore makes the eradi-
of live groupers per trip. Small-scale operations cation of this illegal and destructive fishing
average 1 kg per trip. The cyanide fishermen in method extremely difficult. Very few cases of
Indonesia receive prices ranging from US$ 5.00 to cyanide fishing are brought to court, and usually
US$ 35.00 per kg, depending on species, size and the offenders are released after payment of a ÔfineÕ.
quality. The net profits per boat-owner per month
in the cyanide fishery are US$ 100 for the small- Corruption at the lower government levels is
scale operations (owner = crew), US$ 413 for almost inevitable, considering the large bribes paid
medium-scale operations and no less than and the low salaries for government officials. This
US$ 35 000 for large-scale operations. Crew mem- combined with a lack of funds and facilities for
bers on average earn incomes per month of US$ 100 enforcement, lack of knowledge and awareness
in small-scale operations, US$ 252 in medium-scale with the authorities, and lack of political will at all
operations and US$ 400 in large-scale operations. levels, means that the cyanide fishing still contin-
ues largely unhindered.
The profits and incomes are higher than in any
type of conventional fishery. The large financial The biggest problem is finding support at higher
rewards (although short-term) lure many fisher- levels for banning destructive practices. Most
men into the practice, even when they are aware authorities seem disinterested. Political will has to
that the resources will eventually cease to provide be developed through increased awareness of
them and future generations with employment, macro-economical problems caused by destructive
income and food. It is more a matter of greed than fishing such as its impacts on tourism and fishing.
a matter of need (Pet-Soede & Erdmann, 1998).
Even if fishermen have other options to make a liv- Reference
ing at sea, in many cases they deliberately choose
this lucrative practice. Cyanide fishing is also a PET-SOEDE, L. & M.V. ERDMANN. (1998). An
profitable enterprise for investors and boat owners. overview and comparison of destructive fishing
practices in Indonesia. SPC Live Reef Fish
The Fisheries Law No. 9, signed on 19/6/1985 by Information Bulletin 4: 28Ð36.
the President of Indonesia, includes a specific pro-
Primary effect of the crisis: Increasing increased as the Indonesian rupiah devalued pre-
export fisheries cipitously and prices within the country soared.
Our combined observations in the regions of
In recent months, various marine scientists and South and North Sulawesi, Komodo, East
concerned environmentalists have approached us Kalimantan and Maluku suggest that krismon
for information on the effects of the current Asian has indeed had major effects on DFP in
financial crisis (known as Ôkrisis moneter,Õ or Indonesia, though different fisheries have been
ÔkrismonÕ in Indonesia) on destructive fishing affected differently. In particular, fisheries target-
practices (DFP) here. Specifically, we have often ing species for export (such as the live reef fish
been asked to confirm if blast fishing has trade and lobster, shark fin, and tuna fisheries)