An institutional analysis of sasi laut in Maluku, Indonesia

Table 7.12. Fisheries rules and marine management scores (see Table 2.5) in central Maluku: differences
between villages according to the presence, absence or history of having sasi. Where an attribute is
marked with asterisks, this indicates that the difference between sasi and non-sasi groups is statistically
significant (p<0.001); ns=not significant.

In sasi villages, the distinction between sasi rules and other formal and non-formal fisheries
rules is often blurred. In Haruku, for instance, the kewang actively enforces the national
ban on blast fishing and this is accepted as part of sasi. Bans on the use of poisons, which
also reinforce a national ban, may actually have a history that predates the national
prohibition, as this ban occurs among written sasi rules (see Appendix 6). Formal village
rules may also be called sasi rules even if, in the strict sense, they are not. In Paperu, for
instance, new formal village rules set in place by the LKMD are referred to as sasi but there
is no enforcement by a traditional kewang. The term marine sasi is increasingly used in
common parlance to include any marine management effort, regardless of the level of
involvement of adat authorities.

It is interesting to note that although the auction of marine resource harvest rights occurs outside
of marine sasi, it only occurs in three villages that used to have marine sasi in the past and still
maintain some sort of sasi institution (Appendix 7). Situations where fees are collected in
exchange for access rights also occur in non-sasi villages. Harvest and access rights that are
sold, rented out or auctioned cover the same species that are typically under sasi, i.e., inshore
pelagic fish (e.g., Tengah-Tengah, Abubu, Tuhaha, Tial, Wakal, Akoon), sea cucumbers (e.g.,
Tial), top shells (e.g., Nolloth outside of sasi area), and ornamental fish (e.g., Hulaliu, Tial).

7.5 Discussion

7.5.1 Defining sasi

Comparing our inventory results with information collected by Evans et al. (1997) one notes
differences. This illustrates the difficulty of making an inventory of an institution that is in
continuous change and may be defined differently according to one’s perspective (village
history, social class etc.), and details which are often only partly known by any given informant.
People may claim to still have sasi even though it has not been physically practiced in years.
Information gained from villagers is often fragmentary or even contradictory, and must be
cross-checked. Evans et al. (1997) recorded the village of Seith in Ambon as having no land

Result of The Inventory of Sasi 77

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