Bad Weather, Pandeglang and Lebak Fishermen Do Not Sail Due to Strong Winds

Fishing boat/ Photo: IST

JAKARTA - Fishermen from Pandeglang Regency and Lebak Regency, Banten, have not been out to sea for the past month due to strong winds accompanied by high waves and heavy rainfall.

"We spent time repairing the nets that were damaged," said Amat (55), a fisherman at the Labuan Fish Auction (TPI), Pandeglang Regency, Sunday.

Fishermen on the western and southern Sunda Strait coastlines on the coasts of Pandeglang and Lebak, especially in Banten waters, do not go to sea to avoid maritime accidents.

Because, since the last month, the weather in the waters has deteriorated, in addition to strong winds and high waves of up to 4.0 meters.

Therefore, this extreme weather is very dangerous for the safety of thousands of Pandeglang fishermen and prefer not to go to sea.

"If we go to sea, we will definitely lose money and catch nothing due to high waves accompanied by strong winds," he said.

The chairman of the Binuangeun Sejahtera Binuangeun Fishing Cooperative, Lebak Regency, Wading said that traditional fishermen who did not go to sea, because of strong winds and high sea waves of up to 4.0 meters, so they chose to stay at home rather than going to sea.

They are traditional fishermen who use small boats with outboard motors who do not dare to go to sea to avoid accidents at sea.

"All fishermen who do not go to sea are members of cooperatives and now they are doing other businesses to meet the economic needs of their families," said Wading.

Head of Capture Fisheries Management of the Lebak Regency Fisheries Office, Rizal Ardiansyah, reminded fishermen to use safety equipment when at sea, including life jackets.

Currently, the number of fishermen of 3,600 people on the southern coast of Lebak Regency has started from Binuangeun Beach, Karangmalang, Bagedur, Cihara, Suka Hujan, Pasput, Cibobos, Panggarangan, Bayah, Karangtaraje, Pulomanuk, and Sawarna, which are relatively small, because the high waves are up to 4.0 meters.

"We have delivered a letter of early warning of high wave vigilance to all TPI and Fish Port Base (PPI) so as not to cause marine accidents," he said.