rights in a particular part of Tuhaha Bay. The system has been known to exist for at least 50
years. The boundaries were originally defined by the community through a referendum in
the community house (Baileo), but no women voted. The auction takes place in January and is
attended by hundreds of people but few are wealthy enough to join the bidding. The revenues
from the auction go to the village government. The catches from the auctioned area are
exclusively for the lessees.
The auctioned area is a 500 m stretch of shallow water along the bay. The area is divided into
five separate pieces each worth Rp100,000 to Rp300,000 (± USD35-100, 1997 rate). The pieces
can be rented out separately, and used for fish traps (sero). However, in order to allow fishing
with long nets, it is preferred to have more than one piece.
When Sahusilawani was installed as the village leader, his family won the rights over
substantial parts of the auctioned area. In 1997, four-fifths of the auctioned area were in the
hands of Fredric Sahusilawani, a cousin of the former village headman. For the four pieces, a
total sum of Rp650,000 was paid (± USD230, 1997 rate). Sahusilawani uses long nets (100-200
m) in the area (7 m high, mesh size 5 cm). The area is perfectly suited for trap fishing too, but
he could not proceed due to a lack of hands to place the fish traps in the water.
The other part was in hands of Pieter Lohenapessij who paid only Rp80,000 for it. Lohenapessij
uses mainly nets to catch palala fish (Abudefduf sordidus) and bulana bulana (Mugil cephalus).
Another species that attracts fishers to the auctioned area is komu (Auxis tharsard). At the time
of the interview (December 1997), the fish had not yet appeared and his efforts had not been
profitable, but he hoped for the best.
Whereas sasi has largely vanished, the regulations in the auctioned area are still in practice.
The strength of lelang (the auctioning of fishing rights) lies in the fact that it has always worked
independently from the village government and the kewang. It largely depends on the owner
who is responsible for the enforcement of access rights. Jacob Sahusilawani (the brother of
the current (co-)owner of the auctioned area) explained: “I have all the rights over the area.
All the people have to pay to me if they want to fish, otherwise they have to go to court.” If
necessary, he can count on friends, the police and the village head, to enforce his rights, but
generally, compliance has been high. Lohenapessij also explained that intrusion into his area
was limited. He had made it very clear to the fishers that he would allow night fishing, but if
he saw fishers pulling their nets during daytime, he would inform the village head who would
fine the offender or send him to the police.
There are no conflicts over the access restrictions or the boundaries of the area. People are not
happy with the restrictions, but are afraid of the sanctions and accept them because it is
tradition. Or more pragmatically put by Jacob Sahusilawani: “If you are poor, you are poor;
what can you say, what can you do?”
12.2 Attributes of the Community and Fishers
Traditionally, like Nolloth, Tuhaha was situated in the hills. The village was governed by the tuan
negeri (traditional village leader). The current tuan negeri, Max Aipassa, explained: “The Aipassa
family is the family that has the greatest power in the village. They are the leader of all traditional
authority. It is the biggest clan and also the clan of the kapitan (war leader). Long ago, it was the
kapitan who managed the village; there was no raja in Tuhaha. It is also the clan that fought the
Desa Tuhaha, Saparua Island 143