The Bajo community of Sampela carry out most of the fishing activity on the reefs along the east coast of Kaledupa in the Wakatobi Marine National Park.  The fishermen participating in this fishery, the techniques used, and the catch rates and selectivity of each of the techniques is being monitored over a year long period by survey teams from Operation Wallacea.  Reliable data on current fishing activity and techniques is therefore available.

However, the fishing techniques used by the Bajo are likely to have changed in recent times with the availability of new materials such as monofilament nets and boat engines.  This in turn may be having an impact on the sustainability of the fishery.  This study has been designed to assess from interviews, the changes that have occurred in recent years in the fishing practices of the villagers and whether the Bajo perceive the fish stocks to be stable, increasing or decreasing. 

Data on the fishing practices used by every household in the village of Sampela is being gathered as part of a census carried out by Operation Wallacea teams.  The data from this survey will be compared with the interview data on current fishing practices.

• To assess the changes in fishing practices in Sampela over the last few decades

• To obtain perceptions amongst the community on whether or not the fish stocks are in decline

• To compare the interview data with that from the artisanal fishery survey and the census data

The first set of interviews conducted was with the elders in the community, fisherman who were in their 80’s, and so had seen a lot of change within the village. I carried out 10 of these interviews, using a questionnaire constructed as a basic guideline to prompt the fishermen, but generally just letting them talk about their experiences, etc.

The second set of interviews conducted was among the present fishermen. These were shorter interviews, asking more specific questions about their own fishing skills and techniques. 25 of these interviews were completed targeting specific techniques: 5 spear gun fishers, 5 line fishers on the reef wall, 5 net fishers, 5 pelagic line fishers with motorboats, and 5 female line fishers on the reef flats.

The artisanal fisheries survey and the Sampela census have been described elswhere.

The interview results will provide the qualitative data for my project. From them, I will be able to map the changes in fishing techniques, highlighting the key changes which have had an impact. The fisheries surveys and the census will provide the quantitative data, backing up my interviews with regards to where people fish and the techniques they use; which techniques are more popular than others, etc. This can be compared to the elder’s interviews, where I have established the fishing techniques used in the past.

The two major changes noted in the fishing techniques, is the introduction of the gill nets in the 1960’s, and the change to motorboats in the past 3-4 years. The Bajo have noticed a large decline in fish stocks and the majority blame the decline on the gill nets. The change to motorboats is having a more positive effect asiIt is encouraging fishermen off the reef and out into the pelagic waters, where fish stocks are currently under less fishing pressure.

A report entitled ‘How fishing practices have changed in the Bajo community, and their implications for conservation.’ will be produced by Shouna Mitchell, University of Portsmouth by May 2002.