Tall ships head for Holland

RNW, 11 August 2010 - 2:22pm

Tall ships head for Holland (Photo: ANP)

More than 30 tall ships are setting off for Holland this afternoon as they take part in the North Sea Tall Ships Regatta. The race is from Hartlepool in England to the Dutch coastal town of IJmuiden.

The race is not to see which is the fastest boat but who can sail the furthest in 120 hours. It is up to the crew which course they take.

The tall ships are due to arrive in the Netherlands next Tuesday. On Thursday next week, they will sail together to the Dutch capital Amsterdam via the North Sea Canal for the nautical event Sail.

Sail is held every five years. Many of the tall ships can be visited while they are moored in Amsterdam's harbour for five days.

Sail 2006 (Telegraaf)

Related Article:

Sail Amsterdam 2010

Freighters take sail in Friesland

RNW, 24 July 2010 - 7:49pm

skûtsjes in competition (Photo: LC)

The annual skûtsje competition has started on the lakes of Friesland, a province in the northern Netherlands.

A skûtsje is a flat-bottomed sailing boat built for transporting freight in the shallow inland waters of the Netherlands. In use throughout the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, they were rendered obsolete by the arrival of road transport. Despite this, such sailing competitions have never gone out of fashion and, in the last few years, have become increasingly popular among the public.

Weather permitting, the Friesland competition will last 14 days. During this time, 14 skûtsjes will take part in 11 stages. More than 150,000 spectators are expected to watch from the lakes’ shores.

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Torres Strait islanders win marine rights battle

BBC News, By Phil Mercer, 5 July 2010

Indigenous islanders in the Torres Strait are celebrating Australia's largest ever marine rights victory.

Community elders say it will help to
maintain their unique maritime culture

Communities there have secured ownership of more than 40,000 sq km of sea between the tip of northern Queensland and Papua New Guinea.

Ships, fishermen and other businesses will still be able to operate in the waters, but indigenous groups must be consulted about future development.

Australia's Federal Court made the ruling after a nine-year legal battle.

There has been jubilation across the Torres Strait as indigenous islanders celebrate a historic decision.

Community elders say it will help to maintain their unique maritime culture and provide economic opportunity.

At the heart of their claim was a call for their spiritual ties to the sea to be formally recognised.

The court's ruling does not grant islanders exclusive rights over the vast area of ocean, nor were they claimed.

More than 200 islands are peppered throughout the Torres Strait.

Its people speak two distinct languages. Their traditional beliefs are based on the sea, the land and the sky, which have been portrayed over thousands of years in a rich array of stories, songs and dances.

The last whale hunters of Indonesia

msnbc.com,

Meredith Birkett says: Photographer Luke Duggleby captured stunning and startling images of the centuries-old tradition of whaling in Indonesia.

At a May 2009 World Oceans Conference, the Indonesian government officially declared 3.5 million hectares of critical marine habitat in the Savu Sea for conservation. Though government representatives have assured that traditional whaling -- which has been supporting the surrounding communities means of living -- will not be banned in the area immediately outside the zone, concerns still remain. Lamalera is one of the last remaining Indonesian whaling communities and is categorized by the International Whaling Commission as aboriginal whaling.

The Indonesian village of Lamalera has hunted whales, sharks and dolphins for the last 500 years. Their method is to leap from a small wooden boat with a long harpoon made of bamboo and spear the animal. In this picture, the harpooner called Gregorious dives from the front of the boat to harpoon a large whale shark which he hits in the head. (Photo: Luke Duggleby / Redux)

Because of the size of the whale shark. which can grow as long as 40 feet, it must be cut up in to small pieces. Here they attempt to get the head in to the boat which takes all the crew members. (Photo: Luke Duggleby / Redux)

Two pilot whales are brought to the beach having been harpooned at sea. Once brought to shore the animal is divided in to parts and distributed to the community, partly for consumption and partly for exchanging with other inland communities for corn and rice. (Photo: Luke Duggleby / Redux)

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Blast fishing threatens Bangka Belitung`s coral reefs

Antara News, Saturday, June 5, 2010 21:08 WIB

Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA News) - A senator has called on fishermen in Bangka Belitung Province to stop the practice of blast fishing so as to protect human life and marine resources.

"I deplore the fact that certain fishermen still practice blast fishing because it can endanger themselves and other people," Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member Noerhadi Astuti said.

Besides harming human life, using explosives to catch fish could also threaten coral reefs, he said.

On Friday, a home-made bomb that was to be used for poaching exploded inadvertently injuring two people at Kurau village, Bangka Tengah district.

Due to the harmful consequences of the fishing method, Astuti urged local fishermen to stop blast fishing for their own sake and preservation of marine resources.

The province`s coral reefs were currently in danger as a result of blast fishing and floating tin mining activities, he said.

Instead of using home-made bombs, the fishermen were advised to use fishing nets , he said.

Blast fishing activity in the waters of Bangka Belitung Province was believed to be just like the tip of an iceberg.

The same method was also, among others, used by fishermen in West Tapalang village, Central Sulawesi.

As a result, lots of traditional fishermen in the province could no longer get fish easily.

Rusdi, a local fisherman, recently said blast fishing operations in Central Sulawesi waters might have destroyed coral reefs that affected the fish population in the area.

Blast fishing activity in various parts of Indonesia, including Central Sulawesi Province, have attracted world attention.

Endowed by nature with more than 50,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, Indonesia has been listed by the United Nations as a nation with the largest coral reef resources in the world, along with Australia and the Philippines.

According to the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC)`s World Atlas of Coral Reefs (2001), Indonesia had 51,020 square kilometers of coral reefs or 17.95 percent of the world`s coral reefs.

This archipelagic nation topped the list , followed by Australia with 48,460 square kilometers, the Philippines (25,060), France (14,280), Papua New Guinea (13,840), Fiji (10,020), Maldives (8,920), Saudi Arabia (6,660), Marshall Islands (6,110) and India (5,790).

The benefits that Indonesia can get from its coral reefs are obvious because coral reefs are evidently the sources of food and income for a lot of people from fisheries and tourism and also sources of raw materials for medicines.

But the UNEC-WCMC has warned that activities, such as fishing using explosives, are seriously degrading coral reefs in various parts of the world, including in Indonesia.

The UN body`s warning is based on factual information collected over the years. Blast fishing itself has been practiced in Indonesia since World War II.

Blast fishing troubles C Sulawesi`s fishermen

Antara News, Sunday, May 30, 2010 18:10 WIB

Mamuju, W Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - The blast fishing activities in the waters of West Tapalang village, Central Sulawesi, had caused shortages of fish, a fisherman said.

As a result, lots of traditional fishermen, including himself, could no longer get fish easily, Rusdi, the fisherman, said here Saturday.

Rusdi said blast fishing operations in Central Sulawesi waters might have destroyed coral reefs that affected the fish population in the area.

Fishing net fishermen need to go further into the sea to catch fish, he said.

Sharing Rusdi`s deep concern, Isram said fishing net fishermen like himself had actually already warned fishermen using explosives in catching fish.

But they ignored the warnings athough they realized the bad impacts of fishing with explosives on the sustainability of coral reefs and fish resources, which finally caused other fishermen to suffer, he said.

Due to the danger of blast fishing, he called on the police to take stern action the perpetrators.

"If the blast fishing practitioners are left free, I am afraid the impacts will become worse," he said.

The blast fishing activities in various parts of Indonesia, including Central Sulawesi Province, have attracted world attention.

Endowed by nature with more than 50,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, Indonesia has been listed by the United Nations as a nation with the largest coral reef resources in the world, along with Australia and the Philippines.

According to the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC)`s World Atlas of Coral Reefs (2001), Indonesia had 51,020 square kilometers of coral reefs or 17.95 percent of the world`s coral reefs.

This archipelagic nation topped the list , followed by Australia with 48,460 square kilometers, the Philippines (25,060), France (14,280), Papua New Guinea (13,840), Fiji (10,020), Maldives (8,920), Saudi Arabia (6,660), Marshall Islands (6,110) and India (5,790).

The benefits that Indonesia can get from its coral reefs are obvious because coral reefs are evidently the sources of food and income for a lot of people from fisheries and tourism and also sources of raw materials for medicines.

But the UNEC-WCMC has warned that activities, such as fishing using explosives, are seriously degrading coral reefs in various parts of the world, including in Indonesia.

The UN body`s warning is based on factual information collected over the years. Blast fishing itself has been practiced in Indonesia since World War II.

Pollution deprives them, eviction plan makes it worse

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 04/15/2010 11:04 AM

Hundreds of fishermen in Marunda, Cilincing, North Jakarta, are facing doubtful job prospects.

They can no longer rely on their skills as heavy pollution at Jakarta Bay has been said to make it hard to catch fish for a living.

Along with possibly losing a reliable source of income, they are facing the threat of losing their homes since the city administration has said it plans to clear the coastal area where the squatters have been living for years to make way for other industries.

“Several months ago, we could not fish due to heavy pollution of the water,” fisherman Ngkim told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The 50-year-old Ngkim said he did not know where the pollution came from. He only knew that the pollution prevented him from catching fish.

Jakarta Bay, where 13 rivers dissect, has long been known as a dump site for the city as people throw out household trash into rivers.

Many industrial plants have also been reportedly dumping their unprocessed and toxic waste into rivers.

Ismail, another squatter, said many of his neighbors gave up their fisherman jobs and turned to informal jobs.

“Heavy pollution has significantly reduced our income. Many of us are now plant workers or have opened small cigarette stalls,” said the 49-year-old former fisherman, who worked for one year at a shipping company nearby and is now an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver.

Pollution is not the only behemoth that impacts one fishermen as the administration plans to transform the area into a logistics hub under the US$2 billion Special Economic Zone project.

Deputy Governor Prijanto said earlier his administration would employ local residents as workers in the project.

Ngkim said he had no idea on how he would earn money for his family if he was evicted from the area because the only skill he possessed was fishing.

“Even though the administration said it would employ locals, what can I do? I am illiterate and I am getting older,” said the father of six.

“I don’t think there will be positions for [unskilled] people like me.”

Water carrier

The Jakarta Post, Antara, Tue, 04/06/2010 1:55 PM

A woman paddles a small boat filled with buckets from the small island of Kampung Tobati in Jayapura, Papua on her way to look for clean water on the mainland Tuesday. The local residents have been having difficulty accessing clean water after a distribution pipe to the island belonging to the local state water company broke last year and has yet to be repaired. Antara/Anang Budiono

Fishy deal

The Jakarta Post, Sun, 04/04/2010 3:50 PM

Fishy deal: Fishermen unload their catches, cakalang [tuna] fish, in Larantuka, East Flores of East Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday. East Flores area produces around 12 million tons of fishes per year. Antara/Ismar Patrizki