INDONESIA, Sampela Village, Kaledupa Island - November 2003
Village-based fisheries management program in Wakatobi National Park, Southeast Sulawesi
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Wakatobi Marine National Park covers a vast, remote area of 3.5 million acres and is one of Indonesia¹s most important and largest marine protected areas. The Bajo people, an ethnic group popularly known as "Sea Gypsies," live within this archipelago, and though relatively small in numbers, have had a significant impact on coral reefs due to their intense dependency on reef resources. Working closely with a local village-based NGO, Yayasan Bajo Mattila, Seacology is providing shallow-water Fish Aggregating Devices, ice making facilities and other equipment to the Bajo fishing village of Sampela on Kaledupa Island in support of a pelagic fisheries cooperative to reduce dependency on coral reef resources.*
UPDATE July 2004 - Holding wells for caught fish have been built and a transport boat has been rebuilt to carry an adequate engine and insulated fish boxes. Construction of a fish chilling house has started and will be completed this summer. The FADs will not be installed until September in order to avoid potential damage during the summer months when easterly trade winds are the strongest.
UPDATE July 2005 - Rompongs (FADs) have been installed by members of the Sampela fishing community. A small fish-holding warehouse was constructed and containers for transporting the fish from Sampela to export companies located on Buton were purchased. A boat was refitted with a larger engine to facilitate the transportation of fish. An experienced fisheries management leader is scheduled to spend the next several months in the Sampela community training the villagers on how to carefully and effectively implement the fisheries program.
*Support for asterisked projects is provided fully or in part by the
Nu
Skin Enterprises Force for Good Foundation
