Current Issue of DiscoveryIndonesia.com

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First Issue (July 2007)

Maritime Indonesia

Table of Contents
1. Profile of Fishermen at the Northern Coast of Java
2. Profile of Fishermen at the Southern Coast of Java
3. Understanding Rumpon: Beyond Technology
4. Economic Aspects of Indonesian Local Fisheries
5. Tuna Floss: A Typical Industry in Southern Malang Regency
6. Indonesian Traditional Vessels
7. Maritime Anthropology
8. Naval Navigation and Communication

Photo galleries 1:
Kenjeran fishing village at a glance
Makeshift reclamation
A day in a life of a fisherman
Simple seafood preservation

Photo galleries 2:
More photos on bobbins and tuna fishing vessels
Ice for preservation of catch
Traditional Indonesian vessels
Auctioning tuna at Sendang Biru

Photo galleries 3:
Materials and process for building a boat
Building boat in East Java

Photo galleries 4:
Sedang Bedagai in pictures

Indonesia is the world largest archipelago, which means Indonesia's water territory is wider that its land territory. Yet many Indonesian are not really to the sea. Except for some tribes which members are traditional seamen (like the Bugis), many Indonesian man-of-the-sea actually not really master the technology of seamanship. We'll discuss this on profile of fishermen, contrasting those in the northern coast of Java (Surabaya) to the southern counterpart (Malang).

Fishing boats created from the northern coast fishermen are really for coastal use only, can not really go further away to the open seas. No wonder, these fishing boats are not even symmetrical! They are prepared by first creating the body rather than the skeleton. Lack of access to technology is the reason. This fault has become traditional way of doing things which is difficult to change.

Discussion on fishermen's profile in the southern part of Java will be linked to navigation technology (GPS, fish finder), traditional Bugis ship technology (the Phinisi) which can go as far as 180 km to the open ocean, and also problem with supply and quality of ice for the open sea fishermen. Don't forget the man-made hazard in the middle of the ocean, since part Indian Ocean between East Java and Australia is home for huge floating logs. Yes logs! Log smugglers from Kalimantan would use this route to avoid Indonesian custom patrol but once in a while they have to unload their illegal logs in the middle of the ocean to speed up their vessels and avoid being caught.

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