BANGKA -- A number of fishermen in Air Antu Hamlet, Deniang Village, Riau Silip District, Bangka Regency worked together to lift fish FADs made of concrete to be submerged in the Sea Waters of Air Antu Hamlet, Thursday (25/4/2024).
PT Timah together with the Bina Sejahtera Bersama Fishermen group, Air Antu Hamlet, Deniang Village, Riau Silip District drowned 60 FADs of fish in the waters of Air Antu Hamlet.
Using three fishing boats, this FAD will be sunk at four points in the sea waters of Air Antu Hamlet. This FAD drowning activity was also attended by the Bangka Regency Fisheries Service, Riau Silip Work Area Fisheries Extension Officer, Bangka Regency HNSI, and members of the Bina Sejahtera Bersama group.
This is the second time that PT Timah has collaborated with this fishing group, previously PT Timah sank coral gardens in this area.
The sinking of FADs is PT Timah's effort to increase the catch of local fishermen.
Apart from that, with this fish house, it is hoped that fishermen will not have to go too far to go to sea so they can reduce fuel use.
This activity was enthusiastically welcomed by the Bina Sejahtera Bersama fishermen group, they were involved by PT Timah starting from making FADs, sinking them to later monitoring these FADs.
Chairman of Fishermen Bina Sejahtera Bersama Juliadi, often called Ali, said that the sinking of FADs was a form of PT Timah's attention to fishermen groups so they could increase their catch.
"We are making 60 units of FADs which will be sunk at four points in the Air Antu sea. We are optimistic that with these FADs they can become fish houses, especially since they were sunk in the path of snapper and grouper fish," said Ali.
He said that they had previously drowned FADs but only used wood and the results obtained were quite large.
"I imagined that when I drowned a wooden FAD, the result was quite a lot of red snapper, around 20kg, and this wood only lasted one year. Moreover, this permanent concrete FAD can be a fish house that can be visited by lots of fish," he said.
According to him, the community empowerment program carried out by PT Timah is very beneficial for their group.
"This is for the long term, not only for fishermen but also to support underwater tourism. We hope that PT Timah can continue to carry out this activity sustainably so that there will be more fish houses," he said.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Capture Fisheries Division of the Bangka Regency Fisheries Service, Ismed, appreciated PT Timah for helping fishermen groups to increase catches through the FAD sinking program.
"We welcome it and hope this is sustainable because these FADs have a long-term impact. Fish houses are created naturally with the help of FADs. Our fishermen have a focal point for catching fish. So it is easier for them," he said.
With FADs, it is not only used for fishermen but also to support underwater tourism, it can become a conservation area.
"Currently, many fishermen have to look for fish dozens of miles away, but with the presence of fish FADs, they can catch fish much closer. I think PT Timah with this program touches directly to the community, providing learning to fishermen because they are involved from the creation until later monitoring and they later people will enjoy it," he said.
He hopes that what PT Timah is doing can be an example for other companies so that they can implement sustainable marine environmental management patterns and provide economic value for the community.
"Our hope is that fishermen will maintain what is there and that PT Timah will be sustainable in the future because PT Timah is qualified to carry out a program like this," he said.
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Likewise, the Fisheries Extension Officer for the Riau Working Area, Silip Yusuf, said that the FAD drowning program was very beneficial for fishermen.
"This FAD has many benefits for restoring the marine ecological system, apart from that it can help the formation of natural coral and also make it easier for fishermen to catch fish because there is already a point. Hopefully, this program can be sustainable," he said.
Chairman of HNSI Bangka Regency Lukman said PT Timah has various programs for fishermen such as drowning FADs, planting mangroves, BPJS Employment assistance, assistance for fishermen with accidents, and assistance with fishing gear.
"We hope that PT Timah will continue to exist and be successful because several of PT Timah's programs are directly beneficial to fishermen. Like the sinking of FADs, this has a direct impact on fishermen," he said.
The Head of Deniang Village, Akbar, also appreciated PT Timah's concern for supporting tourism management and paying attention to fishermen in their village.
"We really appreciate what PT Timah has done because it is very useful and later we will also develop it for tourism," he said. (*)
