By: Irwan Hermawan (#XPDCSULTRA Photographer)

The sun shines on Cempedak Village in North Cempedak Island, Laonti District, South Konawe Regency. Several fishermen were seen carrying out their routines when we arrived that morning.
Most of the villagers work as fishermen.

There are not many other fields that can be done here. Some people were seen smoothing wood to be made into oars. Another is smoothing the body of the boat he is building.

That day, the fisherman of this village told us about a sad news. Yesterday, a fisherman, also a resident of Cempedak Village, passed away. The fisherman from Tabungkaka Hamlet suffered from sudden paralysis in his lower body. Previously, he had only carried out his usual routine, nothing else outside of his daily habits.

The accident that befell the deceased could not be separated from the compressor diving method. The term is familiar to the fishermen of Cempedak Village. The compressor fishing method is still often practiced. They usually dive to install and retrieve bubu fishing gear, a trap to catch target fish.

Based on the stories of fellow fishermen, the dive can be up to 50 meters deep for more than an hour. This resulted in the deceased being exposed to the risk of decompression sickness. This risk is higher when fishermen dive deeper, longer, and rise to the surface too quickly.

Compressor diving does promise abundant results. However, there should be other ways that do not require them to lose their hearing, paralysis - even their lives.