Ocean lovers in Surabaya who are members of a MarineBuddies community held a gathering or Ocean Coffee, where they met, gathered and discussed about the ocean at The Oak Café, Ngagel, Surabaya. With the theme "Let's Go Travel to The Seafood World", the buddies (MarineBuddies -red) were invited to know the condition of fish in the sea presented by Dwi Ariyoga Gautama, Bycatch and Sharks Conservation Coordinator from WWF-Indonesia.

The event, which started at 10 am WIB, was filled with Surabaya buddies from 9 am. There was a very high enthusiasm from the Surabaya buddies, because the attendance reached 120 people, out of 100 capacity places provided. In addition to Dwi Ariyoga, Mr. Aidil and Mr. Kustiawan were also present as representatives of Fisheries and Marine Lecturers from Airlangga University, making the discussion even more interesting.

"In the triangle of the shark and seafood trade chain, the buyer occupies the top position, which means that the buyer is the ruler" said Yoga. "One year, Surabaya restaurants consume 24 kg of shark fins/year, and that's not meat and other body parts," Yoga continued, reinforcing his first statement. By explaining the level of consumption in Surabaya, Yoga also invited all buddies to be wise and smart buyers, by asking where the seafood consumed comes from.

Kopi Laut Surabaya was organized in collaboration with buddies from UNAIR Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences students last Saturday (14/3). This activity is the forerunner of the next Marinebuddies activity in Surabaya.

From Ship to Plate
The following week (21/3), Kopi Laut came to the Jakarta buddies. This time, the CMC Acropora buddies from the State University of Jakarta hosted the Marine Coffee of the MarineBuddies community in Jakarta. Slightly different from Surabaya, Jakarta carried the theme "Sustainable Seafood-From Boat to Plate". The discussion was led by Margareth Meutia as the Seafood Savers Coordinator of WWF-Indonesia, Rima Demensa, the beautiful winner of Miss Scuba 2014 and Karen Setia, a Dive Master who is in love with all the beauty of the sea.

All buddies were very enthusiastic in the discussion that took place, one of the interesting questions was, "Why is the price of eco-friendly seafood still quite expensive and how can we as consumers support the fisheries business in a better direction?". This question was well answered by Margareth Meutia, who stated that the price of fish caught / farmed in an environmentally friendly way is more expensive than fish in general is one form of our appreciation for fishermen who have carried out good fisheries practices.

In addition, cost for distribution is also greater because currently the areas that carry out environmentally friendly fisheries management are still far outside the big cities. Therefore, as consumers, we must continue to support these eco-friendly fisheries efforts so that more and more fishermen improve their fishing methods so that the cost for distribution is not too large.

Fish N Blues, as a eco-friendly fisheries retailer, was also present and fully supported this event. Distributing one of its featured products, Tuna Fish Meatballs to buddies, made buddies even more excited in the discussion to get the Tuna Fish Meatballs.

At the end of the event, all Jakarta buddies made a simultaneous pledge #BeliYangBaik to become smart consumers and no longer carelessly consume seafood, then dare to ask the seller where the seafood they consume comes from.

Established in 2008, the MarineBuddies community of ocean activists and lovers, which was born by WWF-Indonesia's marine and fisheries program, has strengthened its members in five cities. Surabaya and Jakarta became the first destination for MarineBuddies to hold a gathering.

Three other cities, namely Makassar, Bali and Medan will be the next target of strengthening. The purpose of strengthening MarineBuddies in these five cities is not only to spread our love for the ocean, but also as a milestone to reduce shark consumption and trade. We know that these five cities are the highest shark trade and consumption routes in Indonesia. MarineBuddies will be a strong public pressure to approach consumers to stop shark consumption and also choose seafood wisely.

Buddies Makassar, Bali and Medan! Are you ready?

Author: Ninish Fajrina (Marine Campaign and Social Media Assistant)