Thousands of Fishermen in Tegal and Brebes Cannot Sail Again

Thousands of Fishermen in Tegal and Brebes Cannot Sail Again

Slawi, Kompas – Bad weather strikes Java Sea in the last several days. Consequently, thousands of small fishermen using under 10-GT vessels in Tegal and Brebes Regencies, Central Java, cannot sail for the last three days. Whereas, they can sail for a week.

From around 120 vessels in small fishermen area of Munjung Agung Village, Tegal Regency, almost all vessels are not operated for the last three days. According to Parno (50), a fisherman, on Sunday (2/1), wave height in coastal area reaches 1.2 meters and in the middle of sea, it can reach more than 2 meters.

“Today (Sunday) two vessels try to go sailing,” said Ranito (38), another fisherman. However, the fishermen return and bring nothing. In Brebes Regency, almost 2,000 small vessels in Losari District, Bulakamba, Tanjung, Wanasari, and Brebes are not operated by their owners due to bad weather.

Fishermen are urged to seekother jobs. According to Brebes Regency Indonesian Fisherman Association (HNSI) Chairman, Rudi Hartono, some of fishermen work as farmer and construction labors so they keep earning income.

To assist fishermen, Brebes Regency KP Department Head, Tandi, said the regency government will immediately distribute 60 tons rice to around 13,000 fisherman families. The distribution is conducted through fisherman associations.

In Central Kalimantan, high wave and strong wind cause coast abrasion. It damages two houses in Ujung Pandaran Village, Teluk Sampit District, East Kotawaringin. “Abrasion width reaches 12 meters from coastal line with 112-meter length,” said East Kotawaringin Disaster Mitigation Agency’s Head of Emergency Section, Agus Mulyadi, on Sunday (2/1). (Kompas)