8 June, Jakarta/Menarbu/Rome - Yustus Menarbu, 37, is a member of the Roon Indigenous community and a traditional fisherman from the coastal village of Menarbu in Indonesia.

Like the rest of the 238 people who live in his village, Yustus and his wife and their nine children depend on artisanal fishing for their food and livelihoods.

Yustus and his wife fish for red snapper using hand lines, a method which has minimal environmental impact.

“I am proud to be a fisherman,” says Yustus, who also serves as chairman of the Village-Owned Enterprise (BUMKA, in its Indonesian acronym).

“I have participated in protecting the natural resources in this village since 2017, and as BUMKA chair, I also care for the community from the business and marketing point of view.”

Pioneering Sasi co-management for sustainable fisheries

Yustus and his community are pioneering a fishery co-management practice, which they hope can be replicated in other areas.  

 Since 2017, they have been implementing Sasi, a set of natural resource management rules that are mutually agreed upon by Indigenous peoples, religious leaders, and the government.

The rules include biological rest periods to give the fish a chance to reproduce and the use of environmentally friendly gear that only catches the target species, and only when they have reached maturity.

As well, the fisherfolk conduct participatory monitoring and surveillance in their area in collaboration with local and regional authorities.

 Biodiversity flourishes thanks to Sasi

 Yustus says that since implementing Sasi, the inhabitants have noticed more and more different species of marine life appearing on the outskirts of the village and even in the waters under their houses, which are on stilts.

 These include not only fish but also dugongs, turtles and sharks, he says.

 “When we dive in front of our village pier, we can see lots of ornamental fish and coral fish around the reefs,” Yustus remarks.

 This increase in biodiversity has been beneficial for the red snapper: villagers have noticed that the average catch on the outskirts of the Sasi area has also increased, he says.

Enhancing livelihoods from sustainable fishing

As BUMKA chair, Yustus is responsible for selling the villagers’ catch in the fish markets of Wasior, which is the Teluk Wondama Regency capital, and Manokwari, the capital of West Papua province.

He is also trying to broaden his community’s consumer base by promoting Menarbu’s sustainably caught fish and seafood products through social media.

He and his community have acquired new business skills thanks to the Coastal Fisheries Initiative (CFI), a project which is implemented in Indonesia by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) and the WWF.

A change in mindsets

The CFI provides mentoring and capacity building workshops for fishers and fish workers, women and men. This has led to “a change in people’s mindsets” about the need to preserve natural resources, Yustus says.

“The presence of the project has been very important,” Yustus comments. “The information and knowledge it delivered have increased our understanding, so that we can continue to manage our natural resources in a sustainable way. Thanks to this technical assistance, we can become a learning model for Sasi marine management in other regions.”

“Almost all the people of this village now understand that the benefits of Sasi are very important for them, for the natural ecosystem and for future generations,” he explains.

Like the rest of his community, Yustus and his wife are educating their nine children to uphold conservation values in their lives.

“They were born and grew up in an environment that taught them a lot about kindness, patience and sincerity in protecting nature,” says Yustus.

Engaging in Sasi is “proof of the love that the people of Menarbu have for their children and grandchildren,” he says.

“Our hope for the future, which we are proud of, is that they will inherit a healthy natural world and not tears,” he adds.

A message from Menarbu for World Oceans Day

"Be environmentally friendly. If we do so, fish and nature will be friendly to us, the sea will be abundant and the people will be prosperous,” says Yustus.

“The most important thing that fishers must do to preserve marine ecosystems is to use environmentally friendly gear and maintain the availability of fish in the sea,” he adds.

“The things we do may seem very small to us, but they have a huge impact on nature and other people,” he concludes.