Author: Noverica Widjojo (WWF-Indonesia)

The Southwest Maluku Expedition has entered its eighth day. Today (8/11), we sailed through Meatimiarang, a large atoll in Southwest Maluku located between Lakor Island and the Luang Island group. Besides being one of the recommended diving or snorkeling sites, the waters of this area are also rumored to be the largest spawning ground for reef fish - such as grouper - in Southwest Maluku. According to information from local people we met during the expedition, at this location you will not only find Southwest Maluku fishermen catching reef fish, but also fish collection ships coming from abroad, such as Hong Kong and Japan, to buy live grouper directly from local fishermen.

Since today was a holiday, Estra, Nope, and Damora from WWF-Indonesia; as well as Igna and Budi from KKP, decided to snorkel at Meatimiarang while trying to meet the fishermen who were catching reef fish at that location, because from a distance we saw an object floating in the ocean and shaped like a small room. However, because it was 'meti', the Seven Seas ship could not go too far to the point we wanted to go, so we had to use a one-engine rubber boat.

In the middle of the hot sun on the way to the location, we met a man around 40 years old named Jawa. The man, who turned out to be a grouper fisherman, kindly greeted us and immediately directed us to a small booth. When we arrived at the location, it turned out that the place was a floating net cage for various types of reef fish, one of which was grouper, or known as 'geropa' in the local language. The small floating cubicle is a temporary resting place for the cage owner. These floating net cages were allegedly donated by the government for the benefit of science for the Fisheries Vocational High School in East Luang. However, because it was never utilized, the cage was taken over by the West Luang Village Head as a live reef fish shelter for local fishermen.

As our rubber boat approached one side of the cage, Estra; Nope; Damora; and Budi rushed up to the cage. After taking a look at the whole thing, the four of them sat in the part of the cage close to Java's wooden boat named 'Forever'. Driven by curiosity and amazement at the sight of live groupers above 30 cm in size, they scrambled to ask Java all sorts of questions. According to the man from Luang Barat village, all the fishermen who come to Metiamarang to catch reef fish so far come from Southwest Maluku. They only catch during the fishing season from September to December. "Apart from September to December, the waves here are big," he explained.

On the other side of the cage, Igna was seen climbing into another wooden boat and chatting casually with two fishermen, who said that during the fishing season, the fishermen could catch 10-15 groupers in less than an hour per day. In other words, Meatimiarang can be summed up as the 'paradise' of reef fish fishermen in Southwest Maluku.

After being caught, the live groupers are collected in the hull of a wooden boat that has been given a divider and filled with sea water. Regarding fishing gear and bait, the two fishermen explained that they only catch grouper using simple fishing gear - using threads and hooks - with bait in the form of pieces of grouper juveniles, and drift nets that have been installed in the cages. When using drift nets, the fishermen simply use live tuna or skipjack bait that is sliced not too deeply into the body. The two fishermen, who are also from Luang Island, said, "Geropa really likes to eat tuna and skipjack. Like sharks, groupers have a keen sense of smell for the blood of their prey." Regarding prices, Jawa and the two fishermen replied that they sell their reef fish catches for around IDR 90,000-150,000 per fish.

We had spent about an hour in the cages and it was already late afternoon. We said goodbye to Jawa and the other two fishermen, got back on the rubber boat, and rushed to the snorkeling site before the sun set.