In a dramatic turn-around the fishermen of Les, a small village of about three thousand people in the district of Tejakula on the northern shore of Bali, have become among the most ardent conservationists in the world. About twenty per cent of the men of Les depend on collecting ornamental aquarium fish for their livelihood and they are the biggest suppliers of ornamental fish in Bali. They harvest Butterfly Fish, Basslets, Clown Fish, Anthias and Angel Fish. Unfortunately the technique long practiced by the fishermen of Les was almost their downfall.
A few years ago a fisherman would skin-dive as deep as ten metres looking for the small, bright, fish so prized by collectors. Spotting an appealing specimen, the fisherman would shoot a small spray of potassium cyanide into the water. The stunned fish hit by the milky cloud of cyanide, would flop unto its side, or back, waiting to be scooped up a hand-held collecting net. Eventually this fashion of fishing began to take its toll on the environment. The fish stock became seriously depleted; but worse, the cyanide killed the coral reefs near Les.
An Indonesian NGO arrived in Les to propose a new form of fishing using weighted drop nets rather than cyanide. Skin divers could plunge to ten meters or more, spread the nets carefully and drive the tiny fish into them where they would be trapped and recovered by the divers at their leisure. They were taught to cull only the fish which were the most abundant. When fish stocks appeared low, they learned to move to new areas. They began to understand sustainable harvesting of the fish stock. The quality of the fish they caught was better and the degradation of the coral reef began to stop.
But the fishermen went one better. With the help of a local dive business, Air Diving Academy, and some seed money obtained by a government NGO from the United Nations Development Project, concrete platforms were laid on the sea-bed just off the shores of Les and an innovative program called “Adopt the Coral” was begun. The program is run entirely by the fishermen’s co-operative with the continuing help of Air Diving Academy. For a donation of less than $ 20 US, one can contribute to the rebuilding of the blighted coral reefs of the area. A small piece of living hard coral is attached to a round disk of concrete until it bonds with this base. When it is ready for the sea, a plaque bearing the donor’s name and a number is attached to the base. The coral is taken to the undersea racks and placed carefully in position. The concrete base keeps the coral from being swept over by the sometimes strong currents in the area. Each contributor receives an underwater photograph showing the progress of his, or her, coral, and a brief regular report on its health.
The program has been remarkably successful. All of the eighty-seven fishermen in the village now fish the new way with nets. Anyone caught using cyanide is expelled from the village immediately. They have taken on the job of caring for the underwater coral garden which they have sewn with great enthusiasm, and the results are stupendous. The fish are back dancing over the corals in abundance. But the garden and a nearby fertile reef are “off-limits” to the village’s fishermen and to those from other villages. Floating markers in the sea clearly signal the border of this “no-fish” zone. The fishermen of Les walk with a new pride these days. They are men with a mission and ardent conservationists, every last one of them.
To learn more about the “Adopt the Coral Program”, go to www.adoptthecoral.org
For information on diving in Bali, check out www.balidiving.com
To contact Air Diving Academy, write to air@balidiving.com
David Lavoie: dbeattylavoie@yahoo.com
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