opinion of Fisheries Agency staff interviewed, the competence of the average village head in
terms of education level and experience is very limited. No doubt, the apparent degree of
condescension and lack of appreciation for local knowledge hinder any move towards power
sharing and decentralization of decision-making.
Fisheries Agency personnel interviewed have positive opinions regarding sasi as an institution
and would like to see some move towards formalizing the rights and responsibilities of local
management bodies through the development of a provincial law (Perda). They also attested
that in their dealings with commercial operators, they insist that these fishers respect local
sasi rules and pay whatever access fees are imposed by local governments.
The importance of communities in resource management was acknowledged by the national
government in 1982 and 1984, when environmental awards were presented to the villages of Ihamahu
and Haruku in recognition of their local sasi institutions. However, this was not followed up by
concrete action to formalize a role for community traditional institutions in resource management.
6.9 Conclusions
Indonesian fisheries management is complex, multi-agency, and “top-down” and, at the same
time, is faced with the huge task of controlling a vast marine area and multitudes of islands
and offshore reefs. Ultimate power is retained at the national level and provincial and lower
levels have insufficient power to control regional marine resource exploitation and conserve
resources. At the same time, as fisheries exploitation and marketing systems encourage over-
fishing and use of destructive gears, the enforcement of national fisheries regulations is lax
and there are serious deficiencies in government management agencies in terms of motivation,
coordination, knowledge, infrastructure, and funding support. There is no one provincial
body specifically focused on marine resource management and conservation which has power
to coordinate the many agencies bearing management responsibility. BAPPEDA, which could
play this role, has many other sectoral responsibilities, is focused on development rather than
management and conservation, is weak in areas of evaluation and inter-sectoral coordination,
and has no presence below the district level. Also, the limits of power and jurisdiction among
the other agencies are often unclear.
From evidence of over-fishing of several key stocks and drastically declining artisanal catches
(see Chapters 5 and 8), it is clear that the current management system needs to be overhauled
to avert the collapse of Maluku’s potentially rich fisheries.
Government staff generally agree that the role of the local community is essential to fisheries
management because the local leaders hold a very strategic position close to the resource and
fishers. Even though informally supported in some ways by the police and the Fisheries
Agency, sasi and therewith the kewang are effectively isolated from regional and provincial
management structures because of the general lack of effective communication and
coordination. Also, local village institutions, while generally well respected, have no legal
standing and are in a weak position in the process of planning for fisheries development as
well as in the process of developing fisheries policy and regulations.
Fisheries Management in Central Maluku 65