In March 1996 a fishing company in a joint venture with a Taiwanese company erected a large, small mesh trap with a guide net to harvest fish and marine mammals just off the Tangkoko-Batu Angus-Dua Saudara Reserve near the northern entrance to Lembeh Strait. This trap was set up in such a way that migrating species passing through Bangka Strait and into Lembeh Strait were easily diverted into the trap. The mouth of the trap was 300 meters wide and 400 meters long. The guide net was 100 meters long and the net and trap ran down to 15 meters deep. Information obtained from inside sources says that during its thirteen months of operation the company captured and butchered 1424 manta rays, 789 marlin, 577 pilot whales, 257 dolphins, 84 green turtles, 18 whale sharks and 9 dugongs among other species. Whales, dolphins, turtles and dugongs are protected species under the CITES Agreement which Indonesia ratified in the 1980s. It is further believed that this type of trap, situated in what appears to be a migratory route for marine animals, may be illegally harvesting migratory fish stocks. A number of concerned individuals began to investigate and voice their opinions regarding the activities carried out by this fishing company. They joined efforts and established the Lembeh Strait Preservation Society (LSPS) on 8 March 1997. Their first goal was to stop the use of the trap and particularly the destruction of the rich and diverse marine life in the Strait. LSPS, headed by Capt. Billy Matindas, was able to expose this case to the media. LSPS pleaded with the government to put an end to this illegal and unsustainable method of fishing which was depleting the Strait's resources and especially the endangered species mentioned above. On 26 May 1997 the Environmental Impact Management Agency enforced the regulation and stopped the fishing company's destructive activities. The trap has been dismantled, the Taiwanese crew deported, the ships are sitting idle in Bitung harbor and the case is before the Indonesian court system.
The Lembeh Strait Preservation Society is lobbying the government to declare northern Lembeh Strait and the adjacent area a national marine park, and to encourage marine research in the Strait in order to document its uniqueness.
You can contact LSPS via email at this address(ldtackett@compuserve.com), or via temporary fax (62)(438) 31400 or mailing address at PO Box 16, Bitung, SULUT, INDONESIA.
Denise Nielsen Tackett
Larry P. Tackett
for Lembeh Strait Preservation Society
Bitung, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.