Sand mining plans spark opposition from fishers in Indonesia’s Riau Islands
NUMBING ISLAND, Indonesia — The waters off Numbing Island, part of the Riau archipelago between Sumatra and Singapore, are among Indonesia’s richest fishing grounds. Local fisher Edy says the abundant fish stocks have enabled him to support his family and pay for his children’s university education. He typically earns between 1 million and 2 million […]
NUMBING ISLAND, Indonesia — The waters around Numbing Island, part of the Riau archipelago between Sumatra and Singapore, are among the richest fishing grounds in Indonesia. Local fisherman Edy relies on the abundant fish stocks to support his family and fund his children's university education, earning between 1 million and 2 million rupiah ($55-$110) per fishing trip and making four trips a month.
However, Edy fears a proposed sand-mining project will jeopardize his and other fishers' livelihoods. Dredging, he explains, would make the water more turbid, causing fish to leave their traditional habitats and forcing fishers to travel farther out to sea to find them. "That is why I am afraid of this mining project. It will damage the sea.
We have experienced this before, when marine sand mining took place near Batam," he said, referencing one of the largest Riau islands, located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Numbing. "Our waters also became cloudy." The wave of opposition to the planned sea-sand mining in Riau Islands province is not limited to Numbing and surrounding areas' fishers, but also extends to Indonesian lawmakers.
Local authorities view the project off Numbing, situated in the Riau Islands' Bintan district, as essential to dredge marine sediment to accommodate large ship traffic. This exemption from Indonesian law prohibiting sand mining in coastal areas could make the project feasible.
Written by urgent.news from Mongabay's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
