Kupastuntas.co, Bandar Lampung - The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Service of Bandar Lampung said that it is now increasingly difficult for fishermen to catch fish in the coastal waters of Bandar Lampung. This is due to the fact that in coastal areas there are many factories and residential areas. Plus the condition of coral reefs that have been damaged.

Head of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Service of Bandar Lampung, Erwin said, currently in the coastal waters of Bandar Lampung there are no longer any large fish that can be caught by fishermen.

Now the fishermen can no longer find big fish in the marine waters of Bandar Lampung. So fishermen have to look for fish all the way to the waters of the Pesawaran sea and other areas.

"Fish in the coastal waters of Bandar Lampung has decreased a lot. As you can see for yourself in our coastal areas there have been many factories and residential areas and coral reefs have been damaged. The large number of fish are in inland waters which are sparsely populated. Meanwhile, most of the fish ecosystems are in coastal waters. Bandar Lampung is now damaged," said Erwin, Sunday (12/3/23).

Erwin revealed that currently fishermen in Bandar Lampung have to go farther out to sea in order to get the position of the fish ecosystem. "It's called we are looking for fish in the wild, of course we are looking for places where fish gather. And on the coast of Bandar Lampung it is rare or even non-existent," he explained.

According to him, the City Government of Bandar Lampung does not have the authority to manage sea waters. Thus, efforts to repair coral reefs in the sea cannot be done.

"According to the regulations, the maritime boundary 0-12 miles from the coast is the authority of the province, then 12 miles until after that the authority is the central government," he explained.

He revealed, currently in Bandar Lampung there are around 700 registered fishermen. "The ebb point of the highest wave is our territory. We have fishermen who must be fostered. Meanwhile, we do not have the authority to touch sea waters," he emphasized.

He said that currently only small fish remain in the coastal waters of Bandar Lampung which can only be caught by fishermen. As a result, fishermen's income is very small and cannot cover their daily needs.

Even though they do not have the authority to manage seawater, the Bandar Lampung Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Service continues to make efforts to repair damaged coral reefs. One of them is by planting mangroves on the coast, and together with law enforcement officials to arrest fishermen who carry out fishing bombings that damage coral reefs.

"We also provide outreach to fishermen to use environmentally friendly fishing gear, and prohibit fishermen from destroying coral reefs," said Erwin.

Monitoring in the field, plastic waste from households and factories has accumulated in the coastal waters of Sukaraja Village, Bandar Lampung. The volume of garbage increases after it rains.

Erwan, a fisherman from Sukaraja, Bandar Lampung, said residents here are used to living with piles of garbage on the coast of Bandar Lampung.

"Fish catches have decreased drastically because more and more plastic waste has accumulated on the beach. Now fishermen have to go further out to sea in order to get decent fish," said Erwan.

He revealed that Sukaraja residents are known for generations as payang fishermen (casting nets in the middle of the sea, then being pulled ashore). Since the trash has piled up on the beach and floating in the sea, the catch of Payang fishermen has decreased drastically.

"Sometimes we only get dirty plastic from the sea, there are only a few fish," said Erwan. In fact, fishermen have spread their nets almost to the middle of the sea.

Previously it was reported, the Lampung Province Environmental Service noted that during 2022 waste piles in a day reached 4,515 tons. In a year, heaps of waste are generated as much as 1.64 million tons.

The Head of the Environment Agency for Lampung Province, Emilia Kusumawati, explained that of this amount, 554,578 tons or 33.65 percent could be taken to the Final Disposal Site and 111,279 tons or 6.75 percent were reused by recycling.

"The amount of waste that can be reused or recycled is still small. So a garbage bank was formed and all regencies/cities in Lampung already have garbage banks," said Emilia, Tuesday (10/1/2023).

He explained that waste piles in West Lampung amounted to 47,219 tons per year, Tanggamus 92,850 tons per year, South Lampung 228,229 tons per year, and East Lampung 195,770 tons per year.

Furthermore, Central Lampung 287,993 tons per year, North Lampung 114,180 tons per year, Way Kanan 67,771 tons per year, Tulangbawang 68,342 tons per year, and Pesawaran 66,969 tons per year.

Then, Pringsewu 59,978 tons per year, Mesuji 29,740 tons per year, West Tulangbawang 40,853 tons per year, West Coast 23,179 tons per year, Bandar Lampung 283,602 tons per year, Metro 41,439 tons per year.

Mesuji 29,740 tons per year, West Tulangbawang 40,853 tons per year, West Coast 23,179 tons per year, Bandar Lampung 283,602 tons per year, Metro 41,439 tons per year. So that in 2022 the total for 15 regencies/cities will be 1,648,059 tonnes of waste. (*)

This news has been published in the Kupas Tuntas Newspaper Monday 13 March 2023 edition with the title "Coral Reefs on the Coast of Bandar Lampung Damaged"