Down to Earth No. 43, November 1999 New fisherfolk network takes action NGOs and community groups launched an action network against trawlers with a protest to government fisheries officials in Jakarta on August 16th. It also contravenes the 1985 Fisheries Law intended to protect coastal ecosystems and fish stocks. The ban was subsequently modified to permit limited trawling in the waters of Eastern Indonesia. Big trawlers began to reappear in the mid-1990s and their numbers have steadily increased. It is estimated that around 1,000 such trawlers, mostly owned by rich businessmen, now operate illegally in Indonesian waters.
Trawlers routinely operate very close to the shore, often at night.
Due to the technique and mesh sizes employed, all sorts of fish and shrimps are swept up, regardless of size or commercial value, stripping the waters of marine life. Moves to replace mid-water trawling by bottom trawling have not improved matters as this practice is just as damaging to the marine environment. The Malacca Strait between Malaysia and Sumatra is a favoured area for trawlers and local communities are feeling the effects of overfishing. Around 5,000 families along the east coast of Jambi depend on small-scale fishing. Since the trawlers arrived, fisherfolk's catches have fallen from 30kg to 5kg per day.