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Gorontalo fishermen go out to sea despite bad weather
Out of work
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Out of work.: In this file photo, a local fisherman from Tanjung Kramat, Hulonthalangi district, Gorontalo, stands in front of a fishing boat that split into two after it hit a coral reef during bad weather at the end of July. (JP/Syamsul Huda M. Suhari) (JP/Syamsul Huda M. Suhari)
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span class="inline inline-center">Out of work.: In this file photo, a local fisherman from Tanjung Kramat, Hulonthalangi district, Gorontalo, stands in front of a fishing boat that split into two after it hit a coral reef during bad weather at the end of July. (JP/Syamsul Huda M. Suhari)
Strong winds and high waves in Tomini Bay waters in Gorontalo have not stopped traditional fishermen from going out to sea to fish. The fishermen have said they are willing to take on the high waves to meet their basic needs.
Arjon Harmain, 36, a resident of Tanjung Kramat subdistrict, Hulonthalangi district, Gorontalo, said that the extreme weather, known as the 'east wind season', would not keep fishermen away from the sea.
He said that every day, local fishermen went out to sea around 5 p.m. and returned around 5 a.m. Some fishermen start fishing at 10 p.m. and return home the following morning.
Arjon said that during the east wind season, waves in coastal areas could reach heights of between 3 meters and 5 meters, while on the open sea, waves could reach even higher.
'We have no other choice. If we just stay at home, where we will get money to meet our daily needs?' he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Piton Mahmud, 25, a local fisherman, added that although the fishermen were taking serious risks by going out to sea in such bad weather, most of them did not go out too far.
Under normal conditions, he said, the local fishermen would go as far as Central Sulawesi and Maluku Island waters, but currently they only go as far as 15-20 miles away from their villages.
Most fishermen were focusing on catching squid.
In the last several months, at least three fishing boats were damaged by large waves. At the end of July, a fiber-made mackerel fishing boat split after it hit coral reef. There were no deaths or injuries during the incident.
Yunus Bagou, 33, head of the Berlian fishing group, which operates the Mina mackerel fishing boat provided by the Gorontalo administration, said the incident inflicted Rp 1.4 billion in losses.
'Ten fishermen in our group are temporarily out of work because of the incident,' said Yunus. (ebf)(++++)
