An institutional analysis of sasi laut in Maluku, Indonesia

regulations are poorly implemented. There are no government patrol boats in the area, and
where it comes to protection of fishing rights, the villages are left to their own devices. This
may motivate people to work together in defense of local resources. On the other hand, if sasi
as an institution remains disconnected from governmental power centers, people may give
up local operational rules because they are ineffective against externalities.

17.6 The Revival of Sasi in Central Maluku

At this moment, fisheries management is not yet a burning issue in most villages because
reduced catches are compensated by high fish prices. Few village respondents have any clear
idea of what fisheries management would entail, and rather think that the answer to declining
catches is to upgrade their boats and gears. Nevertheless, in sasi villages, all fishers said that
sasi is useful and important, as did 90% of fishers in villages where sasi is being revived and
70% of fishers in non-sasi villages. In 14 villages, respondents expressed their desire to
reintroduce sasi (land, marine or both), or strengthen existing sasi practices. Plans for
revitalization were found in villages of all sizes and on every island (Tables 17.11, 17.12). In
some cases, definite plans with timelines had already been developed; in other cases, the
indication to revitalize sasi was based on wishful thinking. Most of the villages interested in
revitalization were Christian (Table 17.12).

Table 17.11. Occurrence of plans to revive sasi in villages of different sizes. In some cases revival of
both land and marine sasi is planned in the same village; thus numbers add up to more than 14.

Table 17.12. Occurrence of plans to revive sasi in each island.

The tendency to revitalize sasi is fed by the appreciation of sasi by the people, not just as a
management system but also as a cultural phenomenon. In Nolloth and Haruku, where sasi is
still alive, people explained: “Sasi has a spirit, and everybody carries it because it is adat and
part of our culture.” The constitutional rules of sasi are based on, and are part of adat, and
because they cannot be separated from the local culture, it is at this level that sasi as an
institution has its strongest resilience. This explains why sasi is still spiritually and
ideologically significant, even where the practical execution of sasi has vanished.

Two villages that are seriously attempting to revitalize sasi are Hulaliu and Tuhaha. In both
cases, it is not fishers but village elites (government staff with partial involvement of adat
leaders) who are pushing the process forward. The reason for revitalizing sasi has less to do
with its spiritual significance than with the possibility of controlling common property
resources to generate government income. In considering revitalization processes, it is
rewarding to look back to what caused the loss of operational sasi in the first place.

254 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia

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