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Traditional management practices and the conservation of the gastropod (Trochus nilitocus) and fish stocks in the Maluku Province (eastern Indonesia)
ELSEVIER
Fisheries Research 31 (1997) 83-91
Traditional management practices and the conservation of the gastropod ( Trochus nilitocus) and fish stocks in the Maluku Province ( eastern Indonesia) S.M. Evans a,*, M.E. Gill a, A.S.W. Retraubun b, J. Abrahamz b, J. Dangeubun b a Dove Marine Laboratory, Cullercoats. North Shields, NE30 4PZ, UK b Fakultas Per&man, Universitas Pattimura, Poka, Ambon, Indonesia Accepted 6 December
1996
Abstract Some coastal villages in Maluku manage marine resources by the system of sasi, whereby stocks are harvested during limited open seasons only. These are determined by the leaders of the community. Sasi is strictly observed in exploiting stocks of the gastropod Z’rochus nilitocus in the Kei islands and other parts of Southeast Maluku. Harvests have not declined during the past 8 or so years (as long as detailed records have been kept). There were nevertheless especially large harvests at some villages on Kei Besar in 1994, and these may be the fiit indication of overexploitation of stocks. In Central Maluku sasi was observed in managing trochus stocks at Nolloth village on Saparua. It was operated by two villages only on Ambon (n = 15) in relation to fin fish. Stocks of trochus and fish have declined in coastal waters of Saparua and Ambon during the past decade. These declines are probably related to anthropogenic impacts. These may include increased pressure on fish stocks due to: increases in human populations in coastal villages, fall in the value of terrestrial crops, changes in fishing practices, the need for fishermen to increase their incomes in order to pay-off loans, degradation of coastal habitats and non-observance of sasi. 0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. Keywords: Traditional
management;
Conservation;
Sasi; Maluku; Trochus
1. Introduction Coastal fisheries in many parts of the world have been managed traditionally by community-based systems involving property rights. The local community had either real or perceived ‘ownership’ of the area
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 0191 252 4850; fax: 0191 252 1054; e-mail: [email protected]. 0165-7836/97/$17.00 0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII SO165-7836(97)00011-S
which was fished, and controlled access to it. Exploitation of fish stocks was regulated by measures such as the enforcement of closkd seasons during which fishing was prohibited, declaration of (refuge) areas as taboo, restrictions on the minimum or maximum size of fish landed or exclusion of specific fishing practices. It is difficult to assess the effectiveness of these management techniques because the communities operating them were small, and fishing effort has consequently been low. Nevertheless, they
84
S.M. Evans et al. /Fisheries Research31 (1997) 83-91
appear to have served communities well. Fish harvests have been maintained at constant levels by many of them (Johannes, 1978, 1982, Ruddle, 1988, 1994). Many, probably most, of the traditional systems have either collapsed in recent years or are in danger of doing so (Ruddle, 1994). Western influence is almost certainly the main cause. Johannes (1978) suggested that this may be due to: (i) the introduction of money-based economies which have replaced subsistence economies (in which resources were shared); (ii) the breakdown of traditional authority and (iii) the introduction of new laws and regulations by colonial powers. Additional causes may be: (iv) urbanisation of coastal areas and degradation of coastal waters; (v) population growth and (vi) mechanisation of fisheries. Traditional systems are, in general, poorly documented, which is unfortunate because several authors believe that there is much of value in them. It has, for instance, been suggested that it would be of great benefit if the best of modem management practices could be blended with the best of their traditional counterparts in the development of cost-effective management strategies for tropical coastal fisheries (Ruddle, 1988). One traditional management system, which is known as sasi, is still practised by many village communities in the Malt&u Province of eastern Indonesia (Arifin, 1993, Patra, 1995). The system is a form of closure which is employed for terrestrial (e.g. cloves, coconut and nutmeg) and marine resources. It is used to manage stocks of both fin fish and the gastropod Trochus nilitocus. The soft parts of trochus are eaten but a buoyant market has existed since the 1950s and 1960s for their shells which are used to manufacture high quality buttons (Ruddle, 1994). The present study investigates relationships between the health of trochus and fish stocks, and changes that have occurred at villages on the islands of Ambon and Saparua in Central Maluku and the Kei islands in Southeast Mahtku. Central Maluku has been subject to greater western influence than southeast parts of the Province. Two measures, which reflect this influence were made: population change and (in the case of Ambon only) the ownership of motorised fishing boats. Information was obtained about these and various aspects of the fisheries by holding structured interviews with heads of villages
and fishermen and, where they were available, from fisheries statistics.
2. Methods 2.1. The status and exploitation of jin fish stocks on Ambon
The island of Ambon measures approximately 20 x 10 km and has a population of over 1 million people. Coastal areas are densely populated, especially in Ambon Bay and the south coast. The study was restricted to 15 villages (Fig. 1). Structured interviews were carried out with the heads of villages, and between one and five fishermen (total 57) from each of them. Interviews were carried out by the three of us (ASWR, JA and JD) in July 1995 in the Indonesian language and/or local dialects. Notes were made of responses and interviews were tape recorded. The following key questions were put to them, in as far as possible, the same way and in the same order: Heads of villages: What is the dominant religion of the village? What is the size of the village population now and what was it 10 years ago? How many canoes and motor boats are owned by members of the village now and how many were owned 10 years ago? Describe the boundaries of the area which is ‘owned’ by the village. To what extent are outsiders permitted to exploit resources in the ‘owned’ area? Is sasi operated? If so, when and for how long? What are the punishments for breaking it? What is the purpose of sasi? Fishermen: Which fishing methods do you use? Do you spend longer fishing now than you did 10 years ago? Has the abundance of fish stocks decreased in recent years? Has the abundance of fish stocks increased in recent years? Name species of fish which have decreased in abundance.
S.M. Evans et al. / Fisheries Research 31 (1997) 83-91
Name species of fish which have increased in abundance. Name species of fish which were once caught but which are no longer caught. Name species of fish which were not caught in the past but are now caught. To what do you attribute the decreased or increased abundance in fish stocks? 2.2. The status and exploitation of trochus stocks on Saparua island and the Kei islands The Lease Islands, including Saparua, are to the east of Ambon island (Fig. 1). Nolloth village was the only study site there. The Kei islands are in the Southeast Regency of Maluku. There are two main
a1
85
islands; Kei Besar, which measures approximately 80 X 15 km, and Kei Kecil, which measures 40 X 20 km (Fig. 1). A series of eight villages on the east coast of Kei Besar was sampled in September 1995 and two villages on islands off the west coast of Kei Kecil in July 1995. It had been intended originally to interview heads of villages and fishermen separately. In practice, they assembled as a group and the answers provided were by consensus. Most village heads provided catch statistics for 1994. In addition, one of us (JAI obtained catch data from them for the period from 1988 to 1991 (inclusive) during an earlier visit in 1992. The Southeast Malt&u Regency Fisheries Service provided statistics for total trochus harvests for Kei Kecil, Kei Besar and other island groups in the Regency for the period from 1988 to 1994 (inclusive).
b
Fig. 1. Locations of study sites. (a) Malti: 1, Hamalhera; 2, Baru; 3, Seram; 4, Ambon; 5, Lease Islands; 6, Kei Islands; 7, Am Islands; 8, Tanimbar; 9, Barbar Islands; 10, Far Southern Islands. (b) Kei Islands: KK, Kei Kecil; KB, Kei Besar; see Table 2 for names of individual S, Saparua; 11, villages (l-10). (c) Ambon island see Table 1 for names of individual villages (l-15). Cd) Le ase Islands: H, Ha&u; Nolloth Village.
S.M. Evans et al. / Fisheries Research 31 (1997) 83-91
86
The interviews were structured differently from those carried out at Ambon because different stocks were involved. There was nevertheless substantial overlap in the questions asked (those common to both surveys are indicated by an asterisk below): What is the dominant religion of the village?* What is the size of the village now and what was it 10 years ago?* What was the total weight of the trochus harvest in 1994? How do you deal with the shell and soft parts of trochus? Who collects trochus? Describe the boundaries of the area which is ‘owned’ by the village. * To what extent are outsiders permitted to exploit resources in the ‘owned’ area?* Is sasi operated?* If so, when and for how long? * Does sasi apply to other marine resources? What was the punishment for breaking sasi?* Has the abundance of trochus increased in recent years? * Has the abundance of trochus decreased in recent years? *
Table 1 Information
Do you spend longer fishing now than you did 10 years ago?* 3. Results 3.1. Changes practices
in village communities and fishing
It was evident from interviews with heads of villages that most coastal villages of Ambon have increased in size during the past decade. Comparative data of population sizes were obtained from 12 villages (three did not provide information) and, with the exception of Seith, each had a larger population in 1995 than in 1985 (T+= 76; P < 0.001; Wilcoxon signed-ranks matched-pairs test) (Table 1). The population of Nolloth village on Saparua had decreased slightly since 1985. Villages surveyed on the Kei islands were mostly smaller than those on Ambon (Table 2). Unlike Ambon, there was no evidence of overall changes in population size during the past 10 years (T+ = 21; P > 0.05; Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test). Fishing practices at villages on Ambon have changed during the past decade. In seven out of the
about coastal villages on Ambon island Population
size
Village number and name
Religion
1 Asiluhu 2 Seith 3 Hila 4Hitu
I I I I
2130 2500 3813 3150
3625 2269 4217 4358
5 6 7 8
I C I I
2036
9 Suli 10 Batu-Gong 11 Toisapu 12 Eri 13 Poka 14 Rumah Tiga
C I C I/C C C
1679 1000 500 1676 5720 _
15 Hatiwe Besar
C
Mamala Waai Tulehu Tengah-Tengah
1985
9450 2000
I, Islam; C, Christian; N, no; Y, yes; F, formerly. The operation of sasi refers to marine resources only.
Number of canoes
Number of motor boats
1985
1995
1985
1995
N N F N
500 500 -
600 300 1 -
2 3 -
6 5 15 _
2406 8266 14965 3000
N N Y Y
24 _ 1000 200
55 700 100
0 4 -
0 80 10 _
2926 1773 1000 2352 5737
N N N F N N
150 20
0 0 4 0
4 2 5 1 2
-
75 50 20 _ -
4645
N
-
-
1995
Operation of sasi
5
S.M. Evans et al./Fisheries Table 2 Population
Research 31 (1997) 83-91
sizes of villages on Kei Kecil, Kei Besar and Saparua (Nolloth),
87
and harvests of trochus in recent years. No data for 1992 and
1993 Village number and name
Population
size
Size of trochus harvest (kg)
1985
1995
1988
1989
1990
1991
1994
1 Warbul 2 Ur Pulau 3 Yamtel 4 Waurtahit 5 Ngitfuttahit 6 Ohoiel 7 Ohoiwait 8 Ohoirenan 9 Weduar 10 Tutrean
320 410 449 480 520 1180 1800 806 550 290
585 454 593 448 490 960 1500 937 649 340
3150 3010 _ 1075 1150 2850 3100 4250 _ -
5060 2720 1150 970 2260 3750 4100
2900 2240
_
1200 1980 No 3400 4350 _ _
2180 2170 _ 1050 1230 3560 3550 4100 _ -
2000 1200 2000 1750 1500 5000 1000 16000 -
11 Nolloth
2860
2678
1200
400
200
160
50
eight villages, for which heads provided information, there were more motor boats in 1995 than in 1985 (there was no change at Mamala) (Table 1). This difference is significant (T+ = 28; P < 0.01; Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test). There was also evidence of increased fishing effort. The large majority of those responding to the question about time spent fishing claimed to fish for longer in 1995 than in 1985 (Table 3). Only two of them claimed to spend relatively less time fishing in 1995. The difference is significant (x2 = 27.9; P < 0.001). Fishing practices had not evidently changed on the Kei islands in relation to trochus stocks. None of those interviewed claimed to spend longer fishing in 1995 than 10 years ago.
Table 3 Responses of heads of Ambonese villages and fishermen (n = 57) to questions about time spent fishing in 1995 and 10 years ago
No response Do you spend longer fishing now than in 1985? Do you spend less time fishing now than in 1985? The time spent fishing now is similar to that in 1985
Numbers responses
Percent responses
19 29
33 51
2
4
7
12
3.2. Management offish and trochus stocks
A variety of fishing techniques was used by fishermen on Ambon. Hand-lining and gill-netting were probably practised at all of them. Some techniques, such as fishing with bagans (lift nets), which occurred at villages at the mouths of Baguala and Ambon bays, and beach seine netting, which was common from shores in inner Ambon Bay, were more localised. Other techniques included: purse seine netting, use of pole and line, bottom lining, trolling, use of fish traps, hand netting, scoop netting and spear fishing. Each head of village regarded the adjacent coastal area as belonging to the village. Two villages (Batu Gong and Toisapu) allowed outsiders to enter the ‘owned’ area and fish there. The remainder either permitted no access at all (n = 5) or allowed some exploitation of resources, including sand and gravel or invertebrates, such as holothurians (teripang), subject to payment of fees (n = 8). Two villages only (Tulehu and Tengah-Tengah) applied the sasi system to fish stocks, although two others (Hila and Eri) had discontinued the practice in recent years. The view was often volunteered that it was pointless operating sasi if neighbouring villages continued to exploit stocks during closed seasons. The closed season at Tulehu was between March and May; that at Tengah-Tengah varied from year to year. Trochus is
88
SM. Evans et al./ Fisheries Research 31(1997)
exploited by relatively few villages in Central Maluku compared with some other regencies in the Province (Arifin, 1993). Nolloth on Saparua was the only village visited there which harvested it in significant quantities. The head of this village claimed that sasi operated and that small trochus were not harvested. However, it was widely believed by outsiders that sasi was regularly broken and that large and small trochus were collected during the closed season (R. Wenno, personal communication, 1995).
83-91
Each of the Kei islands villages harvested trochus from an ‘owned’ area of reef and lagoon, within boundaries defined by landmarks and the edge of the reef slope seaward. All able-bodied men over the age of 15 took part in collecting the harvest. The catch was boiled and the soft parts eaten. Shells were sold to businessmen in Tual. Individual trochus which had base diameters of less than three fingers’ width (about 6 cm) were not harvested. Sasi was strictly observed. The open season was indicated by display-
Table 4 Fish species which according to heads of Ambon villages and fishermen have decreased or increased in abundance, are no longer caught or have been caught in recent years only. The numbers of interviewees (n = 57) who mentioned particular species are shown. Biological names are from Schuster (1952). In some cases, the same local name is used for more than one species. In others, specific identification was not achieved Local name
Akan Ambulombo Bai Balabo BallI Bubara cakalang Garopa Gaya Jkan kakeryoo Jkan susu Juhmg Kalauna Kawalinya Ketupat Komu Kulit pasar LaJosi Lema Losi Make
Momar Momar merah FWi Saku Samander Silapa Tatati Tatari Tatihu Tola Tuing Unel
Biological
name
Decreased in abundance
Increased in abundance
No longer caught
Caught in recent years
1 1 Hemiramphus unifasciatus Ostracion turritus or Psilonotus valentyni Caranx melampygas Katsuwonus pelamis Epinephalus merra
1 1 1 1 2 3
1 1 1
Lactarius lactarius Hemiramphus sp. Antherina duodecimalii Selar cryonenopthalmus
1 1 2
Auxis thazard Acanthuncs tubersous Caesio pisang Rastrelliger kanagutta
7 1 1 4
Clupeafimbricta or Stereo lepis or Lutjanus sanguinens Decapterus macrosoma
1
Stolephorus indicus Tylosurus annaulatus Siganus oramin Megalaspis cordyla Rastreltiger kanagurta Thunnus obesus Caranx leptolepis Cypsilurus sp.
1
1 1
3 3 1 1 3 2 4 2 1 1
1
89
S.M. Evans et al./ Fisheries Research 31 (1997) 83-91
Open
season
Duration weeks
War
4-8
UP
4-8
Yam
I
Waur
I
Ngi
05
O’el
I
O’wai t
2
O’renan
2
Wed
I
Tut
I
No11
Table 5 Reasons given by the 32 fishermen, who believed that fish stocks have decreased in coastal waters of Ambon, for the decline
Anthropogenic impacts Overfishing Pollution Increased shipping Increased artificial light from villages in coastal areas Destruction of mangroves Other impacts Fish had moved away from the area Changing patterns of currents or storms
Number responses
Percent responses
10 8 1 4
31 25 3 13
1
3
6 2
19 6
2-4
JASONDJFMAMJ Fig. 2. The timing and duration of the open season for collecting trochus at villages on the Kei Islands. The full names of villages are given in Table 2.
ing coconut fronds at the entrance to the village. The duration varied from a few days to 2 months in the period between October and March (Fig. 2). Other marine organisms, such as sea cucumber (teripang), seaweed (agar-agar) and the green snail (batu laga; Turbo mmmoratus) were also harvested only at this time. Village members discovered breaking sasi were fined but, since villagers believed that failure to observe it brought on them a curse from God, this rarely happened. Heads of villages and/or the Village Council decided on the timing and duration of sasi. They did so on the basis of their own assessment of the health of existing stocks. They regarded sasi as a means of conserving stocks for the future. In years in which stocks were considered to be poor, there was no open season. This happened at Ohoiel in 1990 (Table 2). Conversely, sasi was opened twice at Warbul in 1989.
believed that there had been no change (x2 = 34.85; P < 0.001). According to them, 11 species which were once caught were no longer present in 1995, compared with five species which were caught in 1994 but were formerly not present (Table 4). They also named 22 species which had declined in abundance but none which had increased in abundance. The trochus harvest at Nolloth village had also declined dramatically since the late 1960s. It was over 10 t in 1969 (Arifm, 1993) but had decreased to 1200 kg in 1988 and to 50 kg in 1994 (Table 2). Fishermen from Ambon believed that anthropogenic impacts were the main causes of declining fish stocks. The main reasons cited were overfishing and pollution (Table 5). 6 (14.3%)
Table 6 Total trochus harvests (in t) for island groups in Southeast Maluku Regency. Data were provided by the Chief of the Southeast Maluku Regency Fisheries Service Island group
Year 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
3.3. The current status ofjish
and trochus stocks
Fish stocks have evidently declined in coastal areas adjacent to villages on the island of Ambon. Of 42 fishermen responding to the questions about abundance of stocks, 32 (76.2%) claimed that they had decreased, 4 (9.5%) that they had increased and
Kei Kecil Kei Besar Far Southern Islands Barbar Islands South Tanimbar North Tanimbar Aru Islands
12.5 46.7 20.5 23.7 21.6 23.8 15.9
14.0 50.2 23.0 26.2 24.1 26.3 18.4
14.2 51.7 23.2 26.5 24.3 26.5 18.6
10.6 22.5 23.1 20.8 20.0 21.3 11.5
36.3 40.6 20.3 22.6 29.4 27.0 31.6
1994
1.2 10.2 115.0 199.6 21.9 24.9 24.4 21.5 28.3 31.2 26.9 28.0 14.6 17.8
90
S.M. Evans et al./Fisheries
Harvests of trochus from individual Kei islands’ villages have fluctuated substantially from year to year (Table 2). However, there is no evidence that they have declined on the Kei islands or other groups of islands in the Southeast Maluku between 1988 and 1994 (Table 6). In fact, harvests from the Kei Besar were exceptionally high in the 2 most recent years, 1993 and 1994. There were particularly large harvests at two individual villages on Kei Besar, Ohoiel and Ohoirenan, in 1994. Three of the ten heads of villages who were interviewed believed that trochus stocks had increased in recent years, four claimed that they had decreased, and three that there had been no change in them.
4. Discussion Sasi is applied strictly to trochus stocks at villages in the Kei islands (present study), and other parts of the Southeast Mahrku (Arifin, 1993, Patra, 1995). It appears to be effective in conserving them because harvests have not declined in the Regency since at least 1988 (when records were first kept). The combined measures of limiting the season when trochus can be harvested and prohibiting the collection of small individuals, presumably ensure that sufficiently large numbers of trochus survive each season to reproduce and replenish the population. However, although sasi appears to ‘work’ under conditions of low, controlled fishing effort, it may breakdown or be ineffective when effort increases or other factors lead to increased exploitation of stocks. For instance, the decline of trochus stocks at Nolloth is believed to be related to the collapse in the world price in cloves, on which the village was heavily dependent. The value of trochus to the community has increased, and villagers are said to have reacted by taking trochus during the closed sasi season. Other factors may also be involved. For instance, the demise of trochus stocks on the Banda islands has been attributed to siltation of lagoons caused by changes in agricultural practice (Stubenvoll, 1994). The exceptionally large harvests of trochus at Kei Besar in general, and at Ohoiel and Ohoirenan in particular, in 1994 are also noteworthy. They may be the first indications of the overexploitation of these stocks. This may be due to increased value caused by poor
Research 31 (1997) 83-91
harvests in other parts of Maluku (see above) (A&n, 1993). At the time of the surveys, sasi was operated on stocks of fin fish at only two of the 15 Ambonese villages visited. It appears to be a system which is becoming disused. It has been abandoned at two villages in recent years. Furthermore, the view was often expressed that, because of the migratory nature of fish, it is of no value to one particular village unless it is practised by adjacent villages. In the absence of effective management policies, fish stocks are evidently declining in coastal waters of Ambon. There was a consensus among fishermen that stocks have been depleted and several species of fish which were once caught in these waters are no longer harvested. The causes are probably complex but are almost certainly due to anthropogenic impacts. One likely reason is that human populations have increased there during the past decade, increasing the need for food and therefore the exploitation of fish stocks. Similarly, individual fishermen claim to have increased effort (time spent fishing). This may reflect diminishing stocks but also the need for bigger catches, and therefore income, to repay loans (often from the Government) which have been taken out to buy engines for their boats. Pollution and degradation of the coastal waters may also be important (Evans et al., 1995).
5. Conclusions Villages in the Kei islands and other parts of Southeast Malti operate sasi in exploiting trochus and some other coastal resources. Harvests have not declined since at least 1988 when records were first kept. However, stocks of trochus, on the Banda islands and Saparua, and of fin fish on Ambon, have declined. These declines are probably due to anthropogenic impacts, including overexploitation of stocks, coastal degradation and non-observance of sasi.
References Arifin, Z., 1993. Sebaran geogratis, habitat dan per&arm lola (Trochus niloticus) di Maluku. In: Perairan Maluku dan Seki-
SM. Evans et al. /Fisheries tarnya, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetshuan Indonesia. Ambon, Indonesia, pp. 93-101. Evans, SM., Dawson, M., Day, J., Frid, C.L.J., Gill, M.E., Pattisina, L.A., Porter, J., 1995. Domestic waste and TBT pollution in coastal areas of Ambon Island (eastern Indonesia). Mar. Pollut. Bull. 30, 109-l 15. Johannes, J.E., 1978. Reef and lagoon tenure systems in Pacific islands. South Pac. Bull. 4, 31-34. Johannes, R.E., 1982. Traditional conservation methods and protected marine areas in Oceania. Ambio 11, 258-261. Patra, KS., 1995. Traditional wisdom in marine resource use in southeast Am, Maluku. Conserv. Indones. 11, 25-26. Ruddle, K., 1988. A framework for research on the traditional and
Research 31 (1997) 83-91
91
management of coastal systems with particular reference to coral reef fisheries. Galaxea 7, 179-184. Ruddle, K., 1994. A Guide to the Literature on Community-based Fishery Management in the Asia-Pacific Tropics. FAO Fisheries Circular, FAO, Rome, 114 pp. Schuster, W.H., 1952. Local Common Names of Indonesian Fishes. Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia. Stubenvoll, S., 1994. Der MuskatnuBbaum (Myristica fragans Houtt) in Agroforst-wirtschaftssystemen kleinbauerlich Famihen. Unpublished thesis, Institut fir Geographie, Freien Universitit, Berlin.
Fisheries Research 31 (1997) 83-91
Traditional management practices and the conservation of the gastropod ( Trochus nilitocus) and fish stocks in the Maluku Province ( eastern Indonesia) S.M. Evans a,*, M.E. Gill a, A.S.W. Retraubun b, J. Abrahamz b, J. Dangeubun b a Dove Marine Laboratory, Cullercoats. North Shields, NE30 4PZ, UK b Fakultas Per&man, Universitas Pattimura, Poka, Ambon, Indonesia Accepted 6 December
1996
Abstract Some coastal villages in Maluku manage marine resources by the system of sasi, whereby stocks are harvested during limited open seasons only. These are determined by the leaders of the community. Sasi is strictly observed in exploiting stocks of the gastropod Z’rochus nilitocus in the Kei islands and other parts of Southeast Maluku. Harvests have not declined during the past 8 or so years (as long as detailed records have been kept). There were nevertheless especially large harvests at some villages on Kei Besar in 1994, and these may be the fiit indication of overexploitation of stocks. In Central Maluku sasi was observed in managing trochus stocks at Nolloth village on Saparua. It was operated by two villages only on Ambon (n = 15) in relation to fin fish. Stocks of trochus and fish have declined in coastal waters of Saparua and Ambon during the past decade. These declines are probably related to anthropogenic impacts. These may include increased pressure on fish stocks due to: increases in human populations in coastal villages, fall in the value of terrestrial crops, changes in fishing practices, the need for fishermen to increase their incomes in order to pay-off loans, degradation of coastal habitats and non-observance of sasi. 0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. Keywords: Traditional
management;
Conservation;
Sasi; Maluku; Trochus
1. Introduction Coastal fisheries in many parts of the world have been managed traditionally by community-based systems involving property rights. The local community had either real or perceived ‘ownership’ of the area
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 0191 252 4850; fax: 0191 252 1054; e-mail: [email protected]. 0165-7836/97/$17.00 0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII SO165-7836(97)00011-S
which was fished, and controlled access to it. Exploitation of fish stocks was regulated by measures such as the enforcement of closkd seasons during which fishing was prohibited, declaration of (refuge) areas as taboo, restrictions on the minimum or maximum size of fish landed or exclusion of specific fishing practices. It is difficult to assess the effectiveness of these management techniques because the communities operating them were small, and fishing effort has consequently been low. Nevertheless, they
84
S.M. Evans et al. /Fisheries Research31 (1997) 83-91
appear to have served communities well. Fish harvests have been maintained at constant levels by many of them (Johannes, 1978, 1982, Ruddle, 1988, 1994). Many, probably most, of the traditional systems have either collapsed in recent years or are in danger of doing so (Ruddle, 1994). Western influence is almost certainly the main cause. Johannes (1978) suggested that this may be due to: (i) the introduction of money-based economies which have replaced subsistence economies (in which resources were shared); (ii) the breakdown of traditional authority and (iii) the introduction of new laws and regulations by colonial powers. Additional causes may be: (iv) urbanisation of coastal areas and degradation of coastal waters; (v) population growth and (vi) mechanisation of fisheries. Traditional systems are, in general, poorly documented, which is unfortunate because several authors believe that there is much of value in them. It has, for instance, been suggested that it would be of great benefit if the best of modem management practices could be blended with the best of their traditional counterparts in the development of cost-effective management strategies for tropical coastal fisheries (Ruddle, 1988). One traditional management system, which is known as sasi, is still practised by many village communities in the Malt&u Province of eastern Indonesia (Arifin, 1993, Patra, 1995). The system is a form of closure which is employed for terrestrial (e.g. cloves, coconut and nutmeg) and marine resources. It is used to manage stocks of both fin fish and the gastropod Trochus nilitocus. The soft parts of trochus are eaten but a buoyant market has existed since the 1950s and 1960s for their shells which are used to manufacture high quality buttons (Ruddle, 1994). The present study investigates relationships between the health of trochus and fish stocks, and changes that have occurred at villages on the islands of Ambon and Saparua in Central Maluku and the Kei islands in Southeast Mahtku. Central Maluku has been subject to greater western influence than southeast parts of the Province. Two measures, which reflect this influence were made: population change and (in the case of Ambon only) the ownership of motorised fishing boats. Information was obtained about these and various aspects of the fisheries by holding structured interviews with heads of villages
and fishermen and, where they were available, from fisheries statistics.
2. Methods 2.1. The status and exploitation of jin fish stocks on Ambon
The island of Ambon measures approximately 20 x 10 km and has a population of over 1 million people. Coastal areas are densely populated, especially in Ambon Bay and the south coast. The study was restricted to 15 villages (Fig. 1). Structured interviews were carried out with the heads of villages, and between one and five fishermen (total 57) from each of them. Interviews were carried out by the three of us (ASWR, JA and JD) in July 1995 in the Indonesian language and/or local dialects. Notes were made of responses and interviews were tape recorded. The following key questions were put to them, in as far as possible, the same way and in the same order: Heads of villages: What is the dominant religion of the village? What is the size of the village population now and what was it 10 years ago? How many canoes and motor boats are owned by members of the village now and how many were owned 10 years ago? Describe the boundaries of the area which is ‘owned’ by the village. To what extent are outsiders permitted to exploit resources in the ‘owned’ area? Is sasi operated? If so, when and for how long? What are the punishments for breaking it? What is the purpose of sasi? Fishermen: Which fishing methods do you use? Do you spend longer fishing now than you did 10 years ago? Has the abundance of fish stocks decreased in recent years? Has the abundance of fish stocks increased in recent years? Name species of fish which have decreased in abundance.
S.M. Evans et al. / Fisheries Research 31 (1997) 83-91
Name species of fish which have increased in abundance. Name species of fish which were once caught but which are no longer caught. Name species of fish which were not caught in the past but are now caught. To what do you attribute the decreased or increased abundance in fish stocks? 2.2. The status and exploitation of trochus stocks on Saparua island and the Kei islands The Lease Islands, including Saparua, are to the east of Ambon island (Fig. 1). Nolloth village was the only study site there. The Kei islands are in the Southeast Regency of Maluku. There are two main
a1
85
islands; Kei Besar, which measures approximately 80 X 15 km, and Kei Kecil, which measures 40 X 20 km (Fig. 1). A series of eight villages on the east coast of Kei Besar was sampled in September 1995 and two villages on islands off the west coast of Kei Kecil in July 1995. It had been intended originally to interview heads of villages and fishermen separately. In practice, they assembled as a group and the answers provided were by consensus. Most village heads provided catch statistics for 1994. In addition, one of us (JAI obtained catch data from them for the period from 1988 to 1991 (inclusive) during an earlier visit in 1992. The Southeast Malt&u Regency Fisheries Service provided statistics for total trochus harvests for Kei Kecil, Kei Besar and other island groups in the Regency for the period from 1988 to 1994 (inclusive).
b
Fig. 1. Locations of study sites. (a) Malti: 1, Hamalhera; 2, Baru; 3, Seram; 4, Ambon; 5, Lease Islands; 6, Kei Islands; 7, Am Islands; 8, Tanimbar; 9, Barbar Islands; 10, Far Southern Islands. (b) Kei Islands: KK, Kei Kecil; KB, Kei Besar; see Table 2 for names of individual S, Saparua; 11, villages (l-10). (c) Ambon island see Table 1 for names of individual villages (l-15). Cd) Le ase Islands: H, Ha&u; Nolloth Village.
S.M. Evans et al. / Fisheries Research 31 (1997) 83-91
86
The interviews were structured differently from those carried out at Ambon because different stocks were involved. There was nevertheless substantial overlap in the questions asked (those common to both surveys are indicated by an asterisk below): What is the dominant religion of the village?* What is the size of the village now and what was it 10 years ago?* What was the total weight of the trochus harvest in 1994? How do you deal with the shell and soft parts of trochus? Who collects trochus? Describe the boundaries of the area which is ‘owned’ by the village. * To what extent are outsiders permitted to exploit resources in the ‘owned’ area?* Is sasi operated?* If so, when and for how long? * Does sasi apply to other marine resources? What was the punishment for breaking sasi?* Has the abundance of trochus increased in recent years? * Has the abundance of trochus decreased in recent years? *
Table 1 Information
Do you spend longer fishing now than you did 10 years ago?* 3. Results 3.1. Changes practices
in village communities and fishing
It was evident from interviews with heads of villages that most coastal villages of Ambon have increased in size during the past decade. Comparative data of population sizes were obtained from 12 villages (three did not provide information) and, with the exception of Seith, each had a larger population in 1995 than in 1985 (T+= 76; P < 0.001; Wilcoxon signed-ranks matched-pairs test) (Table 1). The population of Nolloth village on Saparua had decreased slightly since 1985. Villages surveyed on the Kei islands were mostly smaller than those on Ambon (Table 2). Unlike Ambon, there was no evidence of overall changes in population size during the past 10 years (T+ = 21; P > 0.05; Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test). Fishing practices at villages on Ambon have changed during the past decade. In seven out of the
about coastal villages on Ambon island Population
size
Village number and name
Religion
1 Asiluhu 2 Seith 3 Hila 4Hitu
I I I I
2130 2500 3813 3150
3625 2269 4217 4358
5 6 7 8
I C I I
2036
9 Suli 10 Batu-Gong 11 Toisapu 12 Eri 13 Poka 14 Rumah Tiga
C I C I/C C C
1679 1000 500 1676 5720 _
15 Hatiwe Besar
C
Mamala Waai Tulehu Tengah-Tengah
1985
9450 2000
I, Islam; C, Christian; N, no; Y, yes; F, formerly. The operation of sasi refers to marine resources only.
Number of canoes
Number of motor boats
1985
1995
1985
1995
N N F N
500 500 -
600 300 1 -
2 3 -
6 5 15 _
2406 8266 14965 3000
N N Y Y
24 _ 1000 200
55 700 100
0 4 -
0 80 10 _
2926 1773 1000 2352 5737
N N N F N N
150 20
0 0 4 0
4 2 5 1 2
-
75 50 20 _ -
4645
N
-
-
1995
Operation of sasi
5
S.M. Evans et al./Fisheries Table 2 Population
Research 31 (1997) 83-91
sizes of villages on Kei Kecil, Kei Besar and Saparua (Nolloth),
87
and harvests of trochus in recent years. No data for 1992 and
1993 Village number and name
Population
size
Size of trochus harvest (kg)
1985
1995
1988
1989
1990
1991
1994
1 Warbul 2 Ur Pulau 3 Yamtel 4 Waurtahit 5 Ngitfuttahit 6 Ohoiel 7 Ohoiwait 8 Ohoirenan 9 Weduar 10 Tutrean
320 410 449 480 520 1180 1800 806 550 290
585 454 593 448 490 960 1500 937 649 340
3150 3010 _ 1075 1150 2850 3100 4250 _ -
5060 2720 1150 970 2260 3750 4100
2900 2240
_
1200 1980 No 3400 4350 _ _
2180 2170 _ 1050 1230 3560 3550 4100 _ -
2000 1200 2000 1750 1500 5000 1000 16000 -
11 Nolloth
2860
2678
1200
400
200
160
50
eight villages, for which heads provided information, there were more motor boats in 1995 than in 1985 (there was no change at Mamala) (Table 1). This difference is significant (T+ = 28; P < 0.01; Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test). There was also evidence of increased fishing effort. The large majority of those responding to the question about time spent fishing claimed to fish for longer in 1995 than in 1985 (Table 3). Only two of them claimed to spend relatively less time fishing in 1995. The difference is significant (x2 = 27.9; P < 0.001). Fishing practices had not evidently changed on the Kei islands in relation to trochus stocks. None of those interviewed claimed to spend longer fishing in 1995 than 10 years ago.
Table 3 Responses of heads of Ambonese villages and fishermen (n = 57) to questions about time spent fishing in 1995 and 10 years ago
No response Do you spend longer fishing now than in 1985? Do you spend less time fishing now than in 1985? The time spent fishing now is similar to that in 1985
Numbers responses
Percent responses
19 29
33 51
2
4
7
12
3.2. Management offish and trochus stocks
A variety of fishing techniques was used by fishermen on Ambon. Hand-lining and gill-netting were probably practised at all of them. Some techniques, such as fishing with bagans (lift nets), which occurred at villages at the mouths of Baguala and Ambon bays, and beach seine netting, which was common from shores in inner Ambon Bay, were more localised. Other techniques included: purse seine netting, use of pole and line, bottom lining, trolling, use of fish traps, hand netting, scoop netting and spear fishing. Each head of village regarded the adjacent coastal area as belonging to the village. Two villages (Batu Gong and Toisapu) allowed outsiders to enter the ‘owned’ area and fish there. The remainder either permitted no access at all (n = 5) or allowed some exploitation of resources, including sand and gravel or invertebrates, such as holothurians (teripang), subject to payment of fees (n = 8). Two villages only (Tulehu and Tengah-Tengah) applied the sasi system to fish stocks, although two others (Hila and Eri) had discontinued the practice in recent years. The view was often volunteered that it was pointless operating sasi if neighbouring villages continued to exploit stocks during closed seasons. The closed season at Tulehu was between March and May; that at Tengah-Tengah varied from year to year. Trochus is
88
SM. Evans et al./ Fisheries Research 31(1997)
exploited by relatively few villages in Central Maluku compared with some other regencies in the Province (Arifin, 1993). Nolloth on Saparua was the only village visited there which harvested it in significant quantities. The head of this village claimed that sasi operated and that small trochus were not harvested. However, it was widely believed by outsiders that sasi was regularly broken and that large and small trochus were collected during the closed season (R. Wenno, personal communication, 1995).
83-91
Each of the Kei islands villages harvested trochus from an ‘owned’ area of reef and lagoon, within boundaries defined by landmarks and the edge of the reef slope seaward. All able-bodied men over the age of 15 took part in collecting the harvest. The catch was boiled and the soft parts eaten. Shells were sold to businessmen in Tual. Individual trochus which had base diameters of less than three fingers’ width (about 6 cm) were not harvested. Sasi was strictly observed. The open season was indicated by display-
Table 4 Fish species which according to heads of Ambon villages and fishermen have decreased or increased in abundance, are no longer caught or have been caught in recent years only. The numbers of interviewees (n = 57) who mentioned particular species are shown. Biological names are from Schuster (1952). In some cases, the same local name is used for more than one species. In others, specific identification was not achieved Local name
Akan Ambulombo Bai Balabo BallI Bubara cakalang Garopa Gaya Jkan kakeryoo Jkan susu Juhmg Kalauna Kawalinya Ketupat Komu Kulit pasar LaJosi Lema Losi Make
Momar Momar merah FWi Saku Samander Silapa Tatati Tatari Tatihu Tola Tuing Unel
Biological
name
Decreased in abundance
Increased in abundance
No longer caught
Caught in recent years
1 1 Hemiramphus unifasciatus Ostracion turritus or Psilonotus valentyni Caranx melampygas Katsuwonus pelamis Epinephalus merra
1 1 1 1 2 3
1 1 1
Lactarius lactarius Hemiramphus sp. Antherina duodecimalii Selar cryonenopthalmus
1 1 2
Auxis thazard Acanthuncs tubersous Caesio pisang Rastrelliger kanagutta
7 1 1 4
Clupeafimbricta or Stereo lepis or Lutjanus sanguinens Decapterus macrosoma
1
Stolephorus indicus Tylosurus annaulatus Siganus oramin Megalaspis cordyla Rastreltiger kanagurta Thunnus obesus Caranx leptolepis Cypsilurus sp.
1
1 1
3 3 1 1 3 2 4 2 1 1
1
89
S.M. Evans et al./ Fisheries Research 31 (1997) 83-91
Open
season
Duration weeks
War
4-8
UP
4-8
Yam
I
Waur
I
Ngi
05
O’el
I
O’wai t
2
O’renan
2
Wed
I
Tut
I
No11
Table 5 Reasons given by the 32 fishermen, who believed that fish stocks have decreased in coastal waters of Ambon, for the decline
Anthropogenic impacts Overfishing Pollution Increased shipping Increased artificial light from villages in coastal areas Destruction of mangroves Other impacts Fish had moved away from the area Changing patterns of currents or storms
Number responses
Percent responses
10 8 1 4
31 25 3 13
1
3
6 2
19 6
2-4
JASONDJFMAMJ Fig. 2. The timing and duration of the open season for collecting trochus at villages on the Kei Islands. The full names of villages are given in Table 2.
ing coconut fronds at the entrance to the village. The duration varied from a few days to 2 months in the period between October and March (Fig. 2). Other marine organisms, such as sea cucumber (teripang), seaweed (agar-agar) and the green snail (batu laga; Turbo mmmoratus) were also harvested only at this time. Village members discovered breaking sasi were fined but, since villagers believed that failure to observe it brought on them a curse from God, this rarely happened. Heads of villages and/or the Village Council decided on the timing and duration of sasi. They did so on the basis of their own assessment of the health of existing stocks. They regarded sasi as a means of conserving stocks for the future. In years in which stocks were considered to be poor, there was no open season. This happened at Ohoiel in 1990 (Table 2). Conversely, sasi was opened twice at Warbul in 1989.
believed that there had been no change (x2 = 34.85; P < 0.001). According to them, 11 species which were once caught were no longer present in 1995, compared with five species which were caught in 1994 but were formerly not present (Table 4). They also named 22 species which had declined in abundance but none which had increased in abundance. The trochus harvest at Nolloth village had also declined dramatically since the late 1960s. It was over 10 t in 1969 (Arifm, 1993) but had decreased to 1200 kg in 1988 and to 50 kg in 1994 (Table 2). Fishermen from Ambon believed that anthropogenic impacts were the main causes of declining fish stocks. The main reasons cited were overfishing and pollution (Table 5). 6 (14.3%)
Table 6 Total trochus harvests (in t) for island groups in Southeast Maluku Regency. Data were provided by the Chief of the Southeast Maluku Regency Fisheries Service Island group
Year 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
3.3. The current status ofjish
and trochus stocks
Fish stocks have evidently declined in coastal areas adjacent to villages on the island of Ambon. Of 42 fishermen responding to the questions about abundance of stocks, 32 (76.2%) claimed that they had decreased, 4 (9.5%) that they had increased and
Kei Kecil Kei Besar Far Southern Islands Barbar Islands South Tanimbar North Tanimbar Aru Islands
12.5 46.7 20.5 23.7 21.6 23.8 15.9
14.0 50.2 23.0 26.2 24.1 26.3 18.4
14.2 51.7 23.2 26.5 24.3 26.5 18.6
10.6 22.5 23.1 20.8 20.0 21.3 11.5
36.3 40.6 20.3 22.6 29.4 27.0 31.6
1994
1.2 10.2 115.0 199.6 21.9 24.9 24.4 21.5 28.3 31.2 26.9 28.0 14.6 17.8
90
S.M. Evans et al./Fisheries
Harvests of trochus from individual Kei islands’ villages have fluctuated substantially from year to year (Table 2). However, there is no evidence that they have declined on the Kei islands or other groups of islands in the Southeast Maluku between 1988 and 1994 (Table 6). In fact, harvests from the Kei Besar were exceptionally high in the 2 most recent years, 1993 and 1994. There were particularly large harvests at two individual villages on Kei Besar, Ohoiel and Ohoirenan, in 1994. Three of the ten heads of villages who were interviewed believed that trochus stocks had increased in recent years, four claimed that they had decreased, and three that there had been no change in them.
4. Discussion Sasi is applied strictly to trochus stocks at villages in the Kei islands (present study), and other parts of the Southeast Mahrku (Arifin, 1993, Patra, 1995). It appears to be effective in conserving them because harvests have not declined in the Regency since at least 1988 (when records were first kept). The combined measures of limiting the season when trochus can be harvested and prohibiting the collection of small individuals, presumably ensure that sufficiently large numbers of trochus survive each season to reproduce and replenish the population. However, although sasi appears to ‘work’ under conditions of low, controlled fishing effort, it may breakdown or be ineffective when effort increases or other factors lead to increased exploitation of stocks. For instance, the decline of trochus stocks at Nolloth is believed to be related to the collapse in the world price in cloves, on which the village was heavily dependent. The value of trochus to the community has increased, and villagers are said to have reacted by taking trochus during the closed sasi season. Other factors may also be involved. For instance, the demise of trochus stocks on the Banda islands has been attributed to siltation of lagoons caused by changes in agricultural practice (Stubenvoll, 1994). The exceptionally large harvests of trochus at Kei Besar in general, and at Ohoiel and Ohoirenan in particular, in 1994 are also noteworthy. They may be the first indications of the overexploitation of these stocks. This may be due to increased value caused by poor
Research 31 (1997) 83-91
harvests in other parts of Maluku (see above) (A&n, 1993). At the time of the surveys, sasi was operated on stocks of fin fish at only two of the 15 Ambonese villages visited. It appears to be a system which is becoming disused. It has been abandoned at two villages in recent years. Furthermore, the view was often expressed that, because of the migratory nature of fish, it is of no value to one particular village unless it is practised by adjacent villages. In the absence of effective management policies, fish stocks are evidently declining in coastal waters of Ambon. There was a consensus among fishermen that stocks have been depleted and several species of fish which were once caught in these waters are no longer harvested. The causes are probably complex but are almost certainly due to anthropogenic impacts. One likely reason is that human populations have increased there during the past decade, increasing the need for food and therefore the exploitation of fish stocks. Similarly, individual fishermen claim to have increased effort (time spent fishing). This may reflect diminishing stocks but also the need for bigger catches, and therefore income, to repay loans (often from the Government) which have been taken out to buy engines for their boats. Pollution and degradation of the coastal waters may also be important (Evans et al., 1995).
5. Conclusions Villages in the Kei islands and other parts of Southeast Malti operate sasi in exploiting trochus and some other coastal resources. Harvests have not declined since at least 1988 when records were first kept. However, stocks of trochus, on the Banda islands and Saparua, and of fin fish on Ambon, have declined. These declines are probably due to anthropogenic impacts, including overexploitation of stocks, coastal degradation and non-observance of sasi.
References Arifin, Z., 1993. Sebaran geogratis, habitat dan per&arm lola (Trochus niloticus) di Maluku. In: Perairan Maluku dan Seki-
SM. Evans et al. /Fisheries tarnya, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetshuan Indonesia. Ambon, Indonesia, pp. 93-101. Evans, SM., Dawson, M., Day, J., Frid, C.L.J., Gill, M.E., Pattisina, L.A., Porter, J., 1995. Domestic waste and TBT pollution in coastal areas of Ambon Island (eastern Indonesia). Mar. Pollut. Bull. 30, 109-l 15. Johannes, J.E., 1978. Reef and lagoon tenure systems in Pacific islands. South Pac. Bull. 4, 31-34. Johannes, R.E., 1982. Traditional conservation methods and protected marine areas in Oceania. Ambio 11, 258-261. Patra, KS., 1995. Traditional wisdom in marine resource use in southeast Am, Maluku. Conserv. Indones. 11, 25-26. Ruddle, K., 1988. A framework for research on the traditional and
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management of coastal systems with particular reference to coral reef fisheries. Galaxea 7, 179-184. Ruddle, K., 1994. A Guide to the Literature on Community-based Fishery Management in the Asia-Pacific Tropics. FAO Fisheries Circular, FAO, Rome, 114 pp. Schuster, W.H., 1952. Local Common Names of Indonesian Fishes. Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia. Stubenvoll, S., 1994. Der MuskatnuBbaum (Myristica fragans Houtt) in Agroforst-wirtschaftssystemen kleinbauerlich Famihen. Unpublished thesis, Institut fir Geographie, Freien Universitit, Berlin.