Hurricanes Up To High Waves, Fishermen Of The South Coast Of Lebak For A Few Days Without Going To Sea

JAKARTA - southern coastal fishermen in Lebak Regency, Banten Province have stopped fishing for the last few days. Waters in their area are scalding for storms and high waves so that they have the potential for accidents. "All fishermen here do not go to sea due to the storm and high waves," said Head of the Bina Muara Sejahtera Fisherman Cooperative, Binuangeun, Lebak Regency, Wading in Lebak, Banten, quoted from Antara, Friday, September 16. The fishermen of Lebak Regency did not go to sea due to bad weather in the southern waters of Banten which faced the Indian Ocean.

Other factors are also related to the increase in fuel oil (BBM), so that operational costs increase. In addition, the fish season has not yet arrived, which is the mainstay of the local fishermen's economy, namely tuna, tuna baby tuna cane. In which the Lebak fishermen are exported abroad and donate the economy of coastal communities. Usually, he said, the transaction of fish auctions during normal weather was around Rp. 4 billion with 200 tons of catch/month. However, said Wading, the current condition of fishermen is not at sea due to the bad weather. "We have 620 fishermen and are now hit by the condition of the storm as well as adjustments to the increase in fuel," he explained. According to him, southern coastal fishermen in Lebak hopes that the government will review the adjustment of fuel prices, because it is not commensurate between operating costs and fishing income. The cost is that operations at sea after the increase in fuel can reach Rp. 5 million for a week, but income is not commensurate, especially at this time bad weather and not yet fishing season. "We hope that the government can provide special policies for fishermen so that business fishing continues," he said.

According to him, fishermen here appreciate the attention of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) quite a lot for the efforts of fishermen on the southern coast of Lebak. "We hope that the Banten Provincial Government will also pay attention to the assistance of fishing facilities," said Wading. Head of capacity building for Small Fishermen at the Lebak Regency Fisheries Service, Rizal Ardiansyah, reminded fishermen to be aware of high waves in the southern waters of Banten. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that a 4 to 6 meter high wave occurred 15-17 September 2022 which was located in the southern Indian Ocean waters of Banten. The wind pattern in the southern region is dominant to move from East - Southeast with wind speeds ranging from 10-25 knots and the highest wind speed was observed in the southern waters of Banten. "We recently caught the Binuangeun fisherman being hit by waves until his boat was damaged and one fisherman was reported dead," he concluded.