The potency of marine and fishery resources is still promising for the sustainability of the Indonesian nation. The confidence comes from the fishery resource as one of the most widely used and renewable biological components. For this reason, expansion in the fisheries sector continues to be developed in Indonesia, through the development of new fishing ports and also Fish Auction Facility or called TPI.
Sadeng Beach Fishing Port is one of the port construction projects by the Indonesian government. It is an influential port in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta-DIY) because most of the fish products of DIY are distributed from there. Administratively, Sadeng Beach is located in Songbanyu village, Girisubo District, Gunung Kidul, DIY. The distance is about 70 kms from Yogyakarta city and takes approximately 3 hours of travel by car. On the way to Sadeng Beach, we will see lots of natural views, and limestone hills that extend to form a river. The ancient river banks have been transformed into land for cultivating crops and plants by the people. The residents around Sadeng Beach have two professions at the same time, as farmers and fishermen, but commonly the farmers are local residents. In contrast, the fishermen are almost all immigrants from the Cilacap, Pekalongan, and Sulawesi to Semarang areas. Ninety percent of the fishermen we met were migrants. Some fishermen have other jobs as farmers when they are not at sea or during bad weather.
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Types of boats used by fishermen can be grouped into three types, such as Perahu Motor Tempel - PMT (Onboard Motor Boats) (<5 Gross Ton-GT), Sekoci (5-30 GT), and Slerek (>30 GT). Fishermen who use PMT have a fishing area of 0 – 4 Nautical miles (Nm) from the coastline, Sekoci boats have a fishing area of 4 Nm from the coastline and Slerek has a fishing area of 12 Nm from the coastline. Let’s learn more about the pattern of fishermen in Sadeng. The PMT fishermen usually need one day of fishing, Sekoci fishermen can spend around 5-7 days longer and Slerek can spend more than two weeks at sea. The fish varies depending on the season, but Sadeng is known for its tuna and skipjack tuna for all seasons. A fisherman, called Mujito whom we met said that he got 100 kgs – 1 ton for one fishing trip, and in a good season, he can get more than 1 ton of fish. But sometimes they returned from fishing get less than 1 ton and even only ½ ton.
The revenue-sharing system from fishing is quite interesting because the boat owner will get 25% of the fish catch. Large ship owners will get a 50% share of the fish catch. Fishermen's income is uncertain, so, naturally, fishermen cannot make sure how much their income for one month is, but it is estimated to reach 1-3 millions rupiah per month even more. The Indonesian government has regulated the profit-sharing system through Law No. 16 of 1964 Chapter II Article 3 B, about Fisheries Profit-Sharing, but in practice, the fishermen still use customary rules in the profit-sharing system.
The prices of necessities of life and the number of family members burden fishermen's lives. The price of basic commodities in the area near of coast is not as cheap as in the city. Moreover, the fuel price as the basic need for running the boat engines can cost up to 10.000 rupiahs per liter, excluding the current change in fuel prices. The weather and sea waves become other threats to the safety of fishermen during the fishing.
Some
important points should get attentions in Sadeng, such as the unavailability
of fish processing to increase the selling price, considering that 55% of the
fishermen we met had an elementary school education. Education and health access
for fishermen's families
is still needed, as children go to school a little bit farther and fishermen's
illness cannot be quickly handled. The fishermen hope that their
children will not have
low education as what they have experienced before. The presence of the government is
needed to improve the welfare of the fishermen and education for the children.
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