Ombudsman Finds JRP's Reason for Building Sea Fence in Tangerang Illogical

January 15, 2025 | 09:54 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Fishermen who are members of the Pantura People's Network (JRP) of Tangerang Regency, Banten, claim that the 30.16-kilometer bamboo sea fence that stretches along the north coast of the area was built as a tsunami and abrasion disaster mitigation.

"The sea fence that stretches along the north coast of Tangerang Regency was deliberately built independently by the community. This was done to prevent abrasion," said JRP Coordinator Sandi Martapraja in Tangerang on Saturday, January 11, 2025, as quoted by Antara.

He said that if the condition of the sea wall is good, the area around the bamboo fence and its surroundings can be used as a fish pond. This provides new economic opportunities and welfare for the local community.

One of the JRP fishermen, Holid, said that the construction of the bamboo sea wall was intended to make it easier to catch fish and cultivate green mussels and break the waves.

Ombudsman Considers JRP's Reason Illogical

Head of the Banten Province Ombudsman Representative Fadli Afriadi said the fishermen's group's claim was baseless.

"Based on information from fisheries and marine experts, it is also illogical for the reasons given, we can see for ourselves, is it true that the catch has increased, the catch has increased, there are shellfish. It seems impossible," said Fadli in Tangerang, Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

He considered that the presence of the sea fence would reduce the added value of fishermen. This was based on the results of discussions with fisheries and marine experts.

Previously, Member of the Indonesian Ombudsman Yeka Hendra Fatika estimated that the losses arising from the construction of illegal sea fences in Tangerang Regency reached IDR 16 billion. This amount is an initial calculation of the losses experienced by fishermen and fish farmers on the coast where the sea fence was erected.

"The total loss is around IDR 16 billion, as long as there is that case," said Yeka via telephone on Sunday, January 12, 2025.

He conveyed the initial calculation after previously visiting a number of sub-districts affected by the sea fence in December 2024. Yeka said that the losses arose from various difficulties experienced by fishermen, including because they had difficulty going to sea.

According to him, coastal residents in Tangerang Regency have to travel further to go to sea because of the fence. Fishermen have to take a road around the fence which takes up to 1.5 hours to go to sea.

"People don't go to sea, and it also wastes fuel because if they want to go to sea they have to spend an hour and a half on the road, in the end it's not productive," he said.

He said that until now, it is not known for sure who built or owns the fence. However, he received reports that a number of residents whose villages or sub-districts are not yet known helped build the fence.

They were paid by parties whose identities are not yet known to build the fence from bamboo slats. "There is a story from the reporter who said that they were paid. But who and from which residents, they don't know either," he said.

Ombudsman Surprised that the Sea Fence in Tangerang Has Been Left There for So Long

Yeka was also surprised that the construction of the sea fence was not acted on more quickly by the authorities. He considered the sealing that only occurred on January 9, 2025, to be too late.

"It's clearly disrupting the fishermen's work, how can it be ignored?" said Yeka.

He said that there should be parties at the location who have the authority to stop the illegal fencing. He had visited a number of villages affected by the sea fencing in Tangerang Regency in December 2024.

Yeka did not want to speculate too early about why it was allowed to happen. "But what is clear is, how can the sea be fenced and the village officials are silent, the sub-district heads are silent, the provincial government is silent, the service is silent, and the law enforcement officers are also silent," he said.

He said he had received a number of reports about intimidation received by residents because they reported the construction of the sea fence. However, he could not confirm the incident or the identities of the parties who intimidated the community.

Sultan Abdurrahman and Antara contributed to the writing of this article.

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