Fish Disappear From the "Tin Beach"

The operation of suction vessels at the Matras coast could not be stopped, because the operation of the ships was also needed by 6,500 employees of PT Timah.

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

A fisherman monitors the suction boat activity in the waters of Matras Beach, Sungailiat District, Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Province, Wednesday (7/4/2021). Local fishermen protested the tin mining activities in these waters because it reduced fish catches.

Tin mining has been going on for more than three centuries on the islands of Bangka Belitung; thousands of holes bear witness to that. As tin reserves on land are depleting, mining has shifted to the sea, spelling trouble for fishermen.

"Bopi, Bopi, Bopi," Cecep Agung Priyatna, 37, was shouting on Wednesday (7/4/2021), calling a village dog away from the wreck of a suction boat belonging to state-owned tin mining company PT Timah that has run aground off Matras Beach in Bangka regency, Bangka Belitung Islands.

Bopi barked instead, frightened, with his tail between his hind legs.

The suction boats have turned the sea on the coast of Matras from blue to brown. The Mega Fajar ran aground on Jan. 2, 2021. At present, in waters less than 4 miles from Matras Beach, 11 production suction vessels (KIP) are sucking tin from the seabed.

However, as for the Matras-Pesaren coast, please don\'t mine here. That is the source of our life.

The activities of dozens of suction vessels have stained the seabed, leaving it full of holes and mounds. This can be seen from the emergence of whirlpools, locally called busung. Any fishing boat getting caught up in a busung may capsize or be destroyed. In addition, the waste disposed from suction boats in the form of tailings or production leftovers have turned the sea murky. Tailings have covered coral reefs under mud and are keeping fish away. Not to mention the problem of fuel waste and metal flakes from suction vessels, which are sometimes washed up on the coast.

Opposition has been forming since 2015 against the tin mining business plan on the coast from Matras to Pesaren, which is about 70 kilometers long. However, the government has not responded to this, and dozens of suction vessels have kept coming to Matras Beach since Nov. 9, 2020.

"The fishermen do not intend to stop all mining businesses in Babel (Bangka Belitung Islands). If PT Timah wants to mine in an area where residents allow it, go ahead. However, as for the Matras-Pesaren coast, please don\'t mine here. That is the source of our life,” said Cecep.

KESATUAN NELAYAN TRADISIONAL MATRAS-PESAREN UNTUK KOMPAS

Tin production suction vessel activity in waters between 0-4 miles from the Matras coastline, Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Province, Wednesday (7/4/2021).

About 2,000 fishermen on the Matras-Pesaren coast depend on the sea for their livelihood, fishing in an area up to 12 miles from the shore.

In the 2002-2010 period, Cecep worked illegally as an onshore tin miner. He eventually changed his profession to that of a fisherman, using Rp 5 million in savings to buy a boat, outboard engine and nets. Three years later, he bought a new 40-horse-power outboard engine for Rp 39 million. He also bought another boat. "It\'s more enjoyable to be a fisherman. Getting money without destroying nature. When we worked at an unlicensed mine, we felt guilty about seeing the mine pits we left behind,” said Cecep.

Also read: Independent on Unproductive Land

However, the same guilty feeling appeared again. Time and again he and other fishermen protested, but the arrival of dozens of suction vessels at Matras was unstoppable.

It\'s more enjoyable to be a fisherman. Getting money without destroying nature.

The operation of 11 suction vessels is disrupting the fisherfolk\'s life. According to the fishermen\'s books, their catches only amount to 15-20 kilograms per day. Despite the small catches, the fishermen have been forced to sail farther out so as not to be thought to hinder the suction vessels\' activities.

On Dec. 28, 2020, 13 fishermen were summoned by the police for allegedly violating Article 162 of Law No. 3/2020 on the Amendments to Law No. 4/2009 on mineral and coal mining. This was in response to a move by fishermen to go to one of the suction vessels on the coast of Matras to explain a point made at a hearing with House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IV, which contained a recommendation to temporarily stop tin mining at that location.

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

A diorama of a tin dredger at the Tin Museum, Pangkal Pinang City, Bangka Belitung Province, Tuesday (6/4/2021).

Recording losses twice

The deputy chairman of Commission IV, Dedi Mulyadi, said he had repeatedly urged the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry to revoke the mining business permit (IUP) of PT Timah for the Matras-Pesaren coast. He deemed the tin mining business in waters 0-4 miles from the coastline a breach of the sustainable development concept.

"From the business perspective, PT Timah loses. If a BUMN (state-owned company) loses and the marine ecosystem is damaged, losses are registered twice,” he said.

At the general shareholders meeting for the 2020 financial year, PT Timah (IDX: TINS) announced an operating income of Rp 15.22 trillion, down 21.33 percent from the previous year. The company also announced a net loss of Rp 341 billion this year. In 2019, it had a net loss of Rp 611 billion.

Also read: Turning Point of a Miner

In 2020, TINS produced 39,757 tons of tin ore as of December, with 28.65 percent of that coming from mining in the sea. Meanwhile, TINS sales amounted to 55,782 tons, accounting for 16.28 percent of the world\'s total tin consumption.

The coordinator of the Tambang Merah (Red Mine) Advocacy Network, Johansyah, considered PT Timah\'s operating income not commensurate with the environmental damage caused.

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

The former tin mining hole or commonly called kolong on Bangka Island, Bangka Belitung Province, Monday (5/4/2021).

Bangka Belitung Islands Governor Erzaldi Rosman said he had tried to protect the fishing area by proposing that waters up to 4 miles from the shore remain free from mining activities, in Bangka Belitung Islands Regulation No. 3/2020 on zonal planning for coastal areas and small islands. However, the proposal was rejected by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and PT Timah.

"Tin mining at that location is, of course, carried out legally, yes, that\'s right. However, PT Timah should also pay attention to the impact of the mining activities, especially on fishermen," said Erzaldi.

If PT Timah was unable to find a sustainable technique for mining at sea, he said, it would be better if this activity was stopped temporarily. "Why should not be in a hurry to dig, it will end up in losses. That\'s just talking about the company’s losses, the environmental damage has not been calculated,” he continued.

Also read: Regional Governments Pledge Tighter Monitoring

PT Timah director of operations and production Agung Pratama said the operation of suction vessels at the Matras coast could not be stopped. "They could not be forced to stop, because the operation of the ships was also needed by 6,500 employees of PT Timah. The vessels had to continue to operate because the ships were the source of life for many people," he said in a meeting with fishermen and the Bangka Belitung Islands Leadership Coordinator Forum on Thursday (15/4).

When PT Timah\'s mining business license at that location expires in 2024 and the government does not extend it, PT Timah will comply. "Looking at PT Timah, don\'t just look at me, 6,500 employees, 90 percent of the people of Babel, we live from tin ore," he said.

If so, no one knows the end of any possible social conflict that is in sight. However, that afternoon, Cecep only wanted to approach Bopi, a wild dog with a crooked back and covered in wounds.

"He is like us, never running away from Matras Beach," said Cecep, rubbing Bopi\'s head.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo