EFFECTIVENESS OF MANTA RAY CONSERVATION IN INDONESIA
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands, which are located in South-east Asia, formed the coral-triangle. Those countries are home of nearly 600 different species of reef-building corals and also more than 2000 species of reef fish. They are considered as a place with the most diverse marine habitats globally (WWF, 2014).
Indonesia, being an archipelagic country, consists of 17,508 islands scattered around the equator. It is a maritime continent with 2.7 million km2 of territorial waters and 3.1 million km2 of EEZ. Fisheries accounts for 2.4% of Indonesia’s GDP where in 2004, around $1.6 billion worth of fish was exported. Fisheries sector helps to increase export and foreign exchange earnings provide employment opportunities to roughly 6 million people, be a source of income for fishermen and the government and also improve the nutritional standard of the nation (FAO, 2000).
In 2013, O’Malley, Lee-Brooks and Medd published an article outlining the importance conserving Manta Ray due to the fact that it is considered as unsustainable fisheries resources, meaning that Manta Ray will not be able to recover its population number when the amount is depleted. The paper estimated that by turning Manta fisheries into Manta watching tourism, it will generate $73 million and $140 million annually for dive operators and the government respectively. Influenced by the result of this paper, on February 21st, 2014, Indonesia announced that within the country, Manta Ray will be protected from fishing and export, turning Indonesia as the world’s second largest sanctuary for the species (Mason, 2014).
O’Malley, Lee-Brooks and Medd (2013) stated that a Manta Ray is worth up to $1 million being alive due to its attractiveness to tourists who want to have the chance to swim alongside the gentle beast, however, it is worth only $40 to maximum $500 dead. Total annual income from Manta tourism contributes $15 million to Indonesian economy annually, while the fisheries only resulted $442 thousand (Catalyzing Change, 2014). The problem now is how to enforce the regulation properly as there is a risk of poaching. After the regulation was passed on 27 January, international NGOs and conservational groups are working to spread the word on how valuable a Manta Ray is alive than dead with the assistance of business people, military, water police and local officials. Sudirman Saad claimed that there would be more than 200 special policemen to guard the conservation area, mainly around the key population found in Bali, Flores and Raja Ampat, and enforce the law as well as government encouragement to local fishermen being affected by the ban to take advantage of the tourism (Mason, 2014).
Manta Ray conservation is not the first fishing ban the government announced. In 2007, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia’s current president asked the leaders of other coral-triangle countries to form a join regional conservation initiative which then was agreed two years later to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPA). This was also supported financially by American and Australian governments as well as many multilateral donors, such as Asian Development Bank. The Indonesia’s MPA covers about 16 million hectares and projected to increase to 20 million (about 10% of its total water) by 2020, covering a wide range of coastal and marine ecosystems. If this does come true, it will be a big achievement in reaching towards the goal of protecting 30% of world’s oceans to prevent the collapse in fisheries. As good as it sounds, the Indonesia’s MPAs are not properly enforced. A study done by World Resources Institute found that out of 170 MPAs, only 3 that are rated as effective in Indonesia. This is caused by flawed designs with too few restrictions on fisheries causing holes in the system itself and the fact that most MPAs are far inland and with the widespread of deforestation of watersheds, it increases the run-off of sediments and nutrients inhibiting coral growth or making them overgrown with algae making them more vulnerable to ocean acidification and coral bleaching (Anonym, 2013).
Manta Ray ban will undeniably increase overall welfare if the local fishermen that originally have their life depend on it are able to find other source of income. The problem is, usually, they don’t have any other options besides fishing Manta Ray and that the fish is also their source of protein. Without government support, it will be difficult to persuade the fishermen to deviate from fishing Manta Ray. Moreover, with the existence of the ban, there will be a shortage in supply and thus with a fixed demand, price is expected to increase creating an incentive for fishermen to poach. Although it was mentioned by Mason (2014) that there will be around 200 special policemen to monitor and enforce the regulation, however, anonym (2013) found that in Alor, which is one of the MPAs in Indonesia, the coastal police force only has two speedboats and one of them is broken.
By implementing Manta Ray fishing ban, Indonesia became the second largest Manta Ray conservation that attracts tourists from around the world. It has now become the top three in the list of Manta Ray tourism spot. Establishing a conservation area will bring huge revenue for not only the people working in the tourism industry, but also the government. However, considering the previous experience of MPAs, the enforcement and thus the benefit of the ban is still in question. How well the fishermen are able to find other source of income and protein is also a problem that needs to be addressed. Hopefully, what the government promised will be fulfilled and thus ensure that everyone is better off. For now, let’s wait and see how well the government manages to design and implement the system.
References
Anonym. 2013. “Plenty More Fish in the Sea?,” The Economist Online. Home page Online. Available from http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21591905-government-tries-preserve-fecund-part-coral-triangle-plenty-more-fish-sea Internet; accessed 21 March 2014.
Catalyzing Change. 2014. “Indonesia Announces World’s Largest Sanctuary for Manta Rays,” Catalyzing Change Online. Home page Online. Available from http://www.catalyzingchange.org/indonesia-announces-worlds-largest-sanctuary-manta-rays/ Internet; accessed 21 March 2014.
Food and Agriculture Organization. 2000. “Information of Fisheries Management in the Republic of Indonesia,” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Online. Home page online. Available from http://www.fao.org/fi/oldsite/FCP/en/IDN/body.htm Internet; accessed 21 March 2014.
Mason, Margie. 2014. “Indonesia Becomes World’s Largest Sanctuary for Manta Rays,” CTV News Online. Home page online. Available from http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/indonesia-becomes-world-s-largest-sanctuary-for-manta-rays-1.1697169 Internet; accessed 21 March 2014.
O’Malley, Mary P., Katie Lee-Brooks and Hannah B. Medd. The Global Economic Impact of Manta Ray Watching Tourism. PLoS ONE 8 (2013): e65051.
World Wild Life. 2014. “Coral Triangle,” World Wild Life Online. Home page online. Available from http://worldwildlife.org/places/coral-triangle Internet; accessed 21 March 2014.
