Author: Alexandra M. Waskita (DSCP Site Manager Alor, WWF-Indonesia)
Translated by Evert E Fanggidae

Friday (2/23/2018) at 14:00 WITA, people of Mali Beach, Kabola Village, Alor Regency, are alarmed by the presence of two unidentified boats in the waters of Sika Island, which is a habitat for dugongs. Dugong is one among the protected marine mammals that inhabit Mali seagrass and its surroundings: an area belongs to Selat Pantar Aquatic Reserve (SAP).

Tertius, a member of Pokmaswas (Community Watch Group) Sinar Kabola and Mail'Maha Fishermen Group, finds a fisherman on one of the boats shooting his spear to the dugongs. Fortunately, he misses.

Tertius immediately rebukes the fisherman from the distance and asks him to wait while he calls Onesimus Laa - Pak One, the Chairman of Kabola Fisherman Communication Forum (FKNK) who is known as “the dugong protector"". However, when Tertius and Pak One return, the two ships have moved away from the waters of Kabola Bay to the west of Sika Island, heading to Pantar Island.

Upon learning about the incident in the following morning, WWF-Indonesia coordinates with the Office of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (DKP) of East Nusa Tenggara Province and Alor Regency, Alor Water Police and Alor Navy. The water police and the navy immediately go to the scene to gather more information from the witness.

""The ships were green, measuring approximately 5 GT. They were jolor (long ships), without any covering tent. They anchored in the dugong area,"" reports Tertius.

It is the first time for Tertius to see the ships in the waters, and he assumes that they come from Buton and targeting at tunas. The kind of ship is commonly seen in Ampera Village, where fishermen bring various types of large fish. Tertius recounts that the incident happens in the pouring rain thus the ships hide behind Sika Island. At the particular time, none of Tertius’s fellows goes to the sea.

After the incident, the behavior of the dugongs changes that Onesimus has to circle around for an hour trying to draw attention until a dugong finally comes. ""It took a very long time for the fish (dugong) to come yesterday. I circled looking for them, and it turned out that Mawar (the name of a dugong) was hiding behind the rocks in the inner sea,"" says Onesimus.

Responding to the incident, the Response Team immediately sets out strategy for patrol and further investigation. The strategy is to be applied in the local waters as a way to prevent other incidents that might threaten the safety of the dugongs.

The round is carried out in the afternoon (24/2/2018). The patrol unit finds 18 fishermen from outside of Kabola Village those are docking around Sika Island. The fishermen are instructed to pull over on Mali Beach and they are questioned regarding what happened the day before.

Rasyid Blegur (Unit Head of Alor Water Police) and Lieutenant Two Supriatman (Maritaing Alor Navy’s Head of Post) explain that Alor waters is part of the conservation area of Selat Pantar Aquatic Reserve, which is home to various protected marine biota. Therefore, in patrols they always encourage fishermen to help protecting the dugongs.

""We accept fishermen from other areas to take shelter or to stay overnight, as long as they do not dock in the area of the dugongs’ habitat,"" says Irianti Bainkabel, the Headman of Kabola, representing the people of Mali Beach and Kabola Village who live side by side with the dugongs and commit to protect the mammals.

We are happy to see how all parties (Office of Marine and Fisheries of East Nusa Tenggara Province, the Office of Marine and Fisheries of Alor Regency, the Marine and Fisheries Resource Control Station (PSDKP) Kupang, Kupang Water Police, Alor Navy Post, Community Watch Group, the fishermen and the officials of Kabola Sub-district, to the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia) respond immediately to the incident, which is something that really deserves an appreciation. Let’s keep the incident in mind as a reminder to all of us to remain watchful at all times.