Brave Fishermen and Small Boats from Natuna

Fishermen in Natuna, Riau Islands, rely on small wooden boats and simple fishing gear to catch fish on the high seas. They bravely face the ferocious waves, but unfortunately they are haunted by unfair regulations.

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

Fishing boats made of wood, also called pompong, line up at Teluk Baruk Harbor, Sepempang Village, East Bunguran District, Natuna Regency, Riau Islands, Wednesday (30/3/2022). The majority of fishermen in Natuna rely on pompongs measuring between 3 gross tons (GT) to 5 GT to catch fish up to border waters.

On the shore under the flourishing coconut trees, a skinny man cursed irritably while punching the hull of a wooden boat he was building. The board on the bottom of the boat was cracked because he had installed the peg erroneously.

He was Zulkifli, 51, a wooden-boat builder on the east coast of Natuna Besar Island, Riau Islands. That afternoon, he was making a wooden boat, a 10-meter pompong, as ordered by a wealthy man or tauke from the neighboring village.

"It takes about five months to finish. It's been more than two months," said Zul, as he is popularly known, wiping sweat from his forehead, on Tuesday (29/3/2022).

Even though he lives on the coast, Zul is not a fisherman. In the past, he mostly worked in the fields as a clove farmer. Only occasionally would he go out to sea in a row boat to catch fish around the coast.

Also read:

> Close the Illegal Fishing Loopholes

> Fishers’ Livelihoods Under Threat

However, Zul really liked and was also skilled at working with wood. Therefore, 15 years ago, he had the courage to accept an order when a fisherman asked him to make a pompong.

"Until now, the first pompong that I made is still used to go to sea," he said smiling proudly.

Fishermen who come to Zul mostly order boats measuring between 7 and 13 meters long. The boats with a weight of between 3 and 7 gross tons (GT) are made from trees that grow in the forest of Mount Ranai near the east coast of Natuna Besar Island.

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

Zulkifli (51) makes a fishing wooden boat, also called pompong, measuring 4 gross tons in Kelanga Village, Northeast Bunguran District, Natuna Regency, Riau Islands, Tuesday (29/3/2022).

Resak and mengkusing wood are used to make the gading or hull. Wood of the same type is also selected for the keel because mengkusing and resak are more water resistant than other woods.

"For the part of the pompong that rarely gets wet, people here usually use meranti wood, which is a little cheaper," he said.

Zul, like other pompong makers in Natuna, uses a combination of iron bolts and wooden stakes to put the wood together. Iron bolts are used to connect the hull. The wooden pegs are used to glue the boards that bound the hull.

The important thing is once in every two years the boat is repainted.

Journalist and author Philip Bowring in the book Nusantaria: Sejarah Asia Tenggara Maritim (Nusantaria: Maritime History of Southeast Asian) notes that the technique of pegs or joining planks by inserting pieces of wood into holes was known by shipbuilders on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula between the third and fifth centuries.

Rustam, one of the local fishermen, said a pompong like his can usually withstand going to sea for up to 15 years. If cared for properly, the pompong can last much longer.

"The important thing is once in every two years the boat is repainted. Then, if necessary, once in every five years it can be restored by replacing weathered parts," he said.

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

A wooden fishing boat moves to avoid the rain while catching tuna in waters about 45 kilometers east of Natuna Besar Island, Riau Islands, Saturday (26/3/2022).

Sailing away

Traditional fishermen in Natuna use pompong to catch fish up to the border waters of the North Natuna Sea. The small wooden boats are able to withstand the fierce waves of the high seas.

With his pompong measuring 4 GT, Rustam sails to catch fish once a week in waters more than 100 miles from the coastline of Natuna Besar Island.

Rustam’s pompong is five years old. He bought the second-hand boat one year ago at a price of Rp 50 million from his in-laws. "I have taken this pompong to the border, until I meet foreign ships that are taking fish from our seas. This boat never breaks," said the father of three children on Saturday (26/3).

Rustam, like other fishermen in Natuna, uses hand lines to catch bottom or demersal fish. As for catching fish on the surface, the fishermen use trolling lines.

Also read:

> The Lives and Deaths of Fishermen in a Brokered Sea

> Don't Ignore Fishermen

With a small pompong and traditional fishing gear, Rustam catches fish every day in the Natuna Sea. The income as a fisherman is quite decent. He can pay the installments on the boat and also sends his three children to school.

However, Rustam is now upset about the government's plan to implement a fishing contract system in these waters. It is part of the policy of measured fishing in the Indonesian fisheries management areas (WPP).

Under the contract system, the government offers fishing business entities a minimum quota of 100,000 tons per year with a contract period of 15 years that can be extended. The government plans to implement the policy in six zones in 11 WPP, including WPP 711, which covers the Natuna Sea and the South China Sea.

Priority

Chairman of the Natuna Fishermen’s Alliance Hendri said the government should prioritize empowering traditional fishermen. This can be started by increasing the size of the fishing boats from the previous 3-5 GT to 15-20 GT.

Equip the fishermen too with more effective tools while remaining environmentally friendly, like mini purse seines, long lines and lift nets.

"Traditional Natuna fishermen dare to sail to the high seas with only small pompong and simple fishing gear. The government must help so that in the future local fishermen can be more empowered to take advantage of the sea," Hendri said on Tuesday (29/3).

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.