Coastal Zones

Along the coasts of the province of West Sumatra, a large number of new fishing groups of newcomers have had tremendous impacts on local marine resource conservation. At the village of South Tiku in Tanjung Mutiara District, Agam Regency, traditional fishing areas have been properly benefited by local fishermen. Together with the local government, they have conserved the area, where sea turtles, some species of finfish or coral reefs are protected. In former days the available marine resources were abundant but nowadays the villagers, all of whom belong to the ethnic group of matrilineal Minangkabau are not so happy with the contemporary maritime situations. Many non-local fishing boats from other parts of Sumatra, Java or Sulawesi are exploiting the marine resources illegally on the onshore and offshore waters. They are using modern fishing gears which are far better than local ones. The conflict between local fishers and non-local ones is becoming more and more serious. Since 20 years ago, on the other hand, many newcomers have flowed into the fishing village of South Tiku. Being mobilized from other districts in the province of West Sumatra uxorilocally, they have succeeded in establishing their own identity, in forming new groups and then in having economic powers inside the fishing community. Along with increasing the number of their households and with the growth in income, they are becoming leading actors there to be involved with the local resource conservation; the newcomers play a central role within some fishing activities such as using no harmful gears or controlling illegal catchings. When they came to the village of South Tiku, they had almost nothing. At present, however, they are sort of heroes, who seize the initiative of local fishery management.