Last week we had the privilege of joining the Raja Ampat Marine Park Authority’s (UPTD BLUD Raja Ampat) ranger patrol team in the Kofiau Boo Marine Protected Area, in order to provide further field training on the use of SEA TRACKER.
As always, spending time in the field with the rangers and local community, particular in the more remote areas of Raja Ampat, is both eye opening and enriching in that:
- The more we learn the more we realise how much there is to learn;
- Local socio-environmental knowledge is a critical component in environmental management;
3. We further appreciate that rather than attempting to replace this local knowledge with science/academic/conventional knowledge, it is more advantageous to use both ‘schools’ of learning to compliment one another.
3. We further appreciate that rather than attempting to replace this local knowledge with science/academic/conventional knowledge, it is more advantageous to use both ‘schools’ of learning to compliment one another.
Located approximately 160kms from Sorong and 140kms from Waisai, the Kofiau-Boo Islands Marine Protected Area (MPA) covers 148,979 hectares, including 44 small islands divided into two island groups, the Kofiau Islands in the east and Boo in the west. Characterised by its high diversity of coral species, this MPA is also an important migration corridor for various species of whales and dolphins, including sperm whales, orca, bryde whales, bottlenose dolphins, Indo-Pacific bottle noses and dugongs.
Interestly, the entire MPA is a ‘Sasi’ Zone, with sasi being the traditional natural resource management approach, which permits or forbids specific activities at a particular location, and at a particular time(s), in order to sustainably manage resources. Sasi Zones are exclusively managed by the local community the implements it.
In the Kofiau-Boo MPA, the sasi decrees that fishing (all kinds) is only permitted by local community members for the 5 villages in the area; any other fishing activity can only be conducted with the approval of the traditional Adat (council) leader of the area, and under supervision of the local community.
However, sadly and worryingly, poachers from outside (Sorong and Halmahera) frequently encroach upon the Sasi zone, at times armed with bombs for dynamite fishing or equipped for shark finning in order to plunder the rich seas of Kofiau and return to their home location with a catch from with they will profit.
All that stands between these illegal fisherman and Kofiau’s seas, are a team of rangers who must travel hundreds of kilometres each week, relying heavily upon good timing and good weather in order to protect the rich marine resources that rightfully belong to the people of Kofiau.
To Otis, Rixon, Russel, Yance and the entire patrol team in Kofiau, we admire your commitment and bravery, we hope that the application of SEA TRACKER to your patrols enables you to better protect and sustain the marine resources in your area.
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