Lobster conservation with All Indonesian Fishermen Association / Himpunan Nelayan Seluruh Indonesia (HNSI)

 

 

The community/organization and local perspectives on conservation and stewardship

 

Our organization, HNSI, brings together about 17 million fishermen members from all over Indonesia. HNSI was founded in 1983 by President Soeharto at that time. However, we are an independent NGO and not affiliated with the government or any political party.

 

We see preservation as an effort to maintain the naturalness of the environment, while maintenance is an effort to protect and improve the environment. For us, preservation and maintenance of the environment is very important because it secures the survival of fishermen and other communities in the world. Therefore, we highly value the importance of conservation and good environmental management in Indonesia.

 

Stewardship experience: “We are concerned about protecting the environment to keep everyone’s life going”

 

The issue or problem being addressed

Problems of conservation estimates and community involvement in environmental conservation are lacking.

The fishermen have limited knowledge to conserve and cultivate in the country. When there is an offer to export lobster seeds, what happens is people are busy catching the seeds and selling them in large quantities to increase their income. As a result, the conservation of lobsters are threatened.

 

The activities

HNSI provides input on fisheries and marine environmental conservation policies to the parliament and the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. The organization has been working to develop policies or or technical rules and then disseminating them to address the over-harvesting of lobster seeds.

 

The benefits/impacts including sustainability/environmental effects

The conservation of lobsters, for example, can maintain other entities/organisms in the marine ecosystem in Indonesia. Conservation, in this way, maintains a balance in the chain of marine life. Thus, healthy marine life is beneficial for all humans.

 

The success and significance of the activities

The success of these efforts has relied on:

• the nature and structure of the organization
• leadership
• government practices and policy
• financial capability

Preservation is an act of consciousness. This can only be done by a willing community with good leadership and selflessness. Effective government policy support forms the basis of our law to act safely against those who do not follow established environmental protection rules. All conservation movements need financial support, even though we continue to move with all financial limitations.

 

Some lessons learned or words of wisdom 

Keep taking care of nature because nature keeps taking care of us. Whatever the situation, whenever we live, and wherever we are. Conservation is the responsibility of all parties. Therefore, building public awareness is important. 

Women are an important element both in community leadership and in implementation. [Many of] our members are women…

 

 

*************************************************************************************************

Fishery Facts

(Below are the applicable categories of fisheries, environment, species, gear type and livelihood role.)

 

Characteristics of local  fisheries:

• Marine capture fishery (e.g. nearshore/coastal/reef-based/deep sea)
• Inland capture fishery (e.g. river/lake/reservoir)
• Commercial fishery
• Recreational/sport fishery
• Subsistence fishery
• Multi-species 

The environment where fishing takes place: 

• Freshwater – riverine
• Freshwater – small lake 
• Open Ocean
• Coastal – Estuarine
• Coastal – Nearshore

Main species targeted:

• Marine – Demersal finfish – e.g. cod/flatfish/grouper
• Inland finfish – e.g. carp/perch/catfish/salmonids
• Algae or seaweed and other aquatic plants 

Gear types/ methods used:

• Beach harvest/gleaning (e.g. collection of shellfish/algae/mangrove crabs etc.)
• Other: tool to ensure fish fry are not caught

Role of the fishery in local livelihoods:

• Main source of employment
• Full-time