That afternoon in his office, Rahmat, better known as Robot, was preparing to travel to Derawan Island in East Kalimantan. This time he will participate in rock pile construction, an effort to rehabilitate the coral reef ecosystem initiated by the East Kalimantan Provincial Marine and Fisheries Service and WWF Indonesia Foundation on Derawan Island. She also packed her favorite karaoke speaker to bring to Derawan, "It can be used for healing after the activity," she said.

Almost every day he receives reports from the public who find unlicensed andon fishermen, he is also responsible for giving warnings to fishermen who fish in the core zone, as well as taking action against fishermen who do destructive fishing. In addition, he also actively participates in activities carried out by the Berau Regency Government, community groups in the Derawan Islands and surrounding waters, as well as organizations that focus on marine conservation, including the WWF Indonesia Foundation.

Knowing Derawan Sea Since Childhood

Since childhood, this 35-year-old man loved to play or fish with his friends, so this habit made him very familiar with activities in the sea. As the son of a fisherman, his family's income at the time was only enough to fulfill their daily needs.

Robot's father, as the breadwinner of the family, was once tempted by his neighbor's invitation to fish bomb in the hope of getting more fish to sell. When Robot was 11 years old, he asked his father for permission to accompany him to the sea because he was very curious about how his father fished. After following his father all day at sea, he saw how many of the fish he got from bombing were left over because they were small and had no selling value. There were also ornamental fish that could not be consumed that died, so in the end the fish were just left to rot.

A year on, Robot is haunted by fear of his father's work. Robot tried to talk his father into stopping his destructive fishing activities. It was not easy for Robot to convince his father to listen. Robot's father was awakened by the news of his relatives and neighbors who were targeted by officers, and some even died as a result of being hit by fish bombs.

Then, Robot's father returned to being a longline fisherman and occasionally used gillnets. In addition, Robot's father also often used menanju, which is catching fish using a spear gun made of used materials, which is done at night, assisted by a strongkeng lamp as lighting.

"We believe that if we seek sustenance in the sea in a good way, the fish in the sea will also pray for us for the blessing of the sustenance we get that day," said Robot. Robot is proud that even though he doesn't earn much as a fisherman, his father is still able to struggle so that he and his siblings can finish high school.

"Indeed, they (the fish bombers) can earn ten to twenty million compared to my father who is only a fishing rod fisherman, at most only earning hundreds of thousands. But they don't become anything, their lives are just the same as ours. In fact, they get even worse," he added.

Robot The Berau Regency Waters Supervisor

Robot joined WWF Indonesia Foundation in 2008-2009 as a motorist for sea turtle monitoring in Derawan Islands and surrounding waters. At that time, he did not have any idea about what kind of work he would have to do and what kind of situation he would face. He was only interested in the program that WWF Indonesia Foundation was working on in Derawan Island at that time. Through her work, she grew to love the sea and learned a lot about sea turtles, which are the icon of Berau Regency.

After completing his assignment with WWF Indonesia Foundation, Robot has the intention to continue contributing to protecting the ocean and everything in it, by inviting everyone to protect the ocean. For example, when he was a motorist and tour guide to Kakaban Island. He always urges the tourists he accompanies not to litter. He diligently reminds tourists who will swim in Kakaban Lake not to use sunscreen and frog legs, and not to hold the jellyfish. In addition, she also always provides awareness to the community around her residence with a persuasive approach so as not to use potassium poison and fish bombs anymore. For this action, he was often invited to conduct surveillance activities with the Marine Resources and Fisheries Supervisor (PSDKP) of Tarakan Station, until finally he was appointed as the Implementing Technical Staff of the Conservation Section in Berau Regency Waters.

"I once found a minor fishing with potassium to catch lobsters at night. There was also a child about five years old, invited by his parents to the sea to bomb fish," Rahmat recalled when asked about his experience as a water supervisor.

Robot realizes that his job comes with the risk of becoming an enemy of the surrounding community. But he always thinks that what he is currently doing will benefit the people of Tanjung Batu Village at large one day. In addition to keeping the marine ecosystem in check, the activities he and his team carry out also have the potential to encourage the creation of sustainable fisheries and tourism. "During his time as a supervisor, Robot has never been indiscriminate. It's his friend, it's his neighbor, if he violates the law, he will be dealt with," said one of Robot's neighbors.

The efforts that have been and are being made by Robot to date have contributed greatly to the improvement of the results of the Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Conservation Area Management (EVIKA) in the Derawan Islands and Surrounding Waters. Although he has been the enemy of several fishermen who violated the rules and were reported by him, he still continues to pin his hopes on the sustainability of fisheries and marine in Berau Regency.

"For me, I will continue to fight for this conservation action even though I am no longer in the office. I want to continue to be able to share knowledge with my fishermen friends. I don't want to just close my eyes and turn a deaf ear when I find out that there are fishermen who do destructive fishing," said Robot.

As an area included in the Coral Triangle, the waters of Berau Regency have high biological wealth to support the livelihood of the community. In addition, this area is also an important marine biota migration route that can be utilized for tourism development, research, and education.

Some of the things that have been done by the East Kalimantan Provincial Government, District Government, local communities together with WWF Indonesia Foundation and partners are conducting tourism carrying capacity studies, coral reef health condition surveys, community capacity building, whale shark occurrence and population data collection, and coral reef rehabilitation programs on Derawan Island. This activity was carried out in the framework of the Ocean Governance Project supported by the European Union.

This also led the Derawan Islands and Surrounding Waters Conservation Area to the silver category in EVIKA in 2022. Where, this area has been managed optimally, which is 77.14% or an increase of 5.89% from the assessment results in 2021.