Indonesian Fisheries........

So all of the photos below are from today's day trip around Macassar, Sulawesi. I went with Martin, one of the English scientists that I'll be working with for the next few days. We saw some fish farms, the remains of some mangrove forests (most are being cleared for housing as the city grows), and lots of fishing boats.

One of my roles here will be to analyze data collected over the last few years and attempt to figure out which management measures (increasing mesh size, outlawing fish fences, implementing size limits.....) would be most effective in reducing fishing pressure over the long term and also which measures (bylaws) would be least harmful economically and nutritionally over the short term.

Okay so from here, we catch a flight tomorrow to Bau Bau, and then an overnight boat (the word is to get a spot on the deck as the cabins all have rats) and then another boat (watch out for pirates) and touch down on our site, so we should arrive on Wednesday afternoon, to a sandy beach which was uninhabited before the scientist guys set up shop. The word on the street is that the beer is expensive, and the food is great, as long as you like fresh tuna and rice every day.

Dried Fish for sale in Macassar

Fishing net, note the small size of the mesh, almost nothing escapes

Pretty boat.

Traditional Fishing method where you wait for fish to swim into the net(whilst lowered) and then lift the net trapping them, and then paddle out and get the fish.