The role of tourism in addressing illegal fishing: the case of a dive operator in Indonesia.

• Author: Steenbergen, Dirk J.

Over the last decade, the crisis in global fisheries has become a prominent environmental concern. The immense global demand for marine products has driven fish stocks in some parts of the world to complete depletion, (1) and has left many subsistence fishing communities in the developing world with diminishing food sources. (2) The maritime environment of Southeast Asia hosts some of the world's most fish-abundant waters, (3) but illegal fishing and overfishing are becoming ever more of a concern in the region, particularly because national economies depend heavily on marine resources. (4) The sheer vastness of territorial waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZs), often coupled with a lack of capacity to enforce coastal states' sovereign economic rights, means that effectively controlling fishing activities remains a critical challenge for state agencies.

This article focuses on the involvement of a new for-profit actor--a dive operator--in combating illegal fishing in Raja Ampat, eastern Indonesia. The case study illustrates how a private dive tourism operator has taken on a significant role in addressing illegal fishing practices, and in doing so has joined existing conservation governance actors including civil society groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the state. Examining the role of the dive operator provides insights into alternative approaches to addressing contemporary environmental security threats such as illegal fishing, and contributes to the debate on emerging (hybrid) forms of maritime security governance, or more precisely the role of private actors in providing security. This study follows in the wake of broader security studies that note the increasing involvement of, for example, Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) in military training and the protection of assets around the world, particularly in conflict zones. These studies have raised a number of concerns regarding the nature of services provided by private actors, mostly centred on their modus operandi, the lack of transparency and the dearth of public oversight of PMSC operations. (5) Negative reporting concerning the work conducted by a number of PMSCs have further fuelled criticism concerning their role in security provision. The question of whether or not the protection of national security and the provision of military services should remain the domain of governments, rather than the profit motivated private sector, remains a key point of contention. (6)

The author conducted the fieldwork for this article during two visits to eastern Indonesia between 2010 and 2011. The first period focused on ascertaining the perspectives of the local community on dive tourism development and their responses to more recent initiatives against illegal fishing. By residing in two communities during the fieldwork, the author was able to gain through interviews perspectives from community leaders, fishing groups, elders and local groups involved in tourism ventures. During the second visit in 2011, the author focused on the role of the dive operator, the state and other actors involved specifically in the illegal fishing policy arena. Secondary resources in the form of NGO and government reports, and on-going correspondence with informants, further informed the research at later stages following fieldwork in 2010 and 2011.

The first part of this paper places environmental stability and security within the larger framework of maritime security. The case study is presented in the second part, which introduces the dive operator and discusses his efforts to combat illegal fishing. It also provides an overview of the other state and non-state actors involved in maritime security and marine conservation governance active in the area, namely the district government, an international conservation NGO and local community groups. The discussion that follows explores the relationships that the dive operator maintains with each of the three actors. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the dive operator and the state, in order to gain insights into how the role of the state, as the principal security provider, has changed and how that has affected the way in which illegal fishing is addressed. Finally, the paper reflects on how the roles assumed by new private actors can change pre-existing structures, perceptions and partnerships, ultimately forming new political landscapes that host new alliances and address specific negative pressures more acutely. In doing so, the analysis refrains from making normative judgements of the role and relations that have emerged within the political arena concerning illegal fishing. Rather it seeks to use the case study to inform our broader understanding of private sector involvement in security provision, albeit in the context of environmental management.

Maritime Security and the Environment

The concept of maritime security encompasses a vast set of issues, ranging from territorial and boundary disputes, to illegal migration, trafficking and terrorism, to food security. (7) The environmental dimension of maritime security refers to the need to maintain and/or enhance the health and function of an ecosystem, to both support local human communities and benefit the wider ecological system of which it is a part. (8) For resource-dependent communities, the marine environment is not only their direct living environment but also a source of nutrition, income and cultural identity. Similarly, coastal areas also often support an array of competitive industries that range from primary industries, including aqua farming (for example, seaweed or pearl farming), mineral mining, and oil and gas extraction, to tertiary industries like tourism. These areas are therefore usually subject to highly charged political debates and negotiations, where often multiple contesting claims over complex marine and land tenure rights exist. Environmental security clearly does not depend only on ecological shifts per se, but is also affected by economic competition over resources, and shifting political conditions.

A key concern within the maritime environmental security debate is illegal fishing. Illegal fishing can be defined in terms of overfishing by foreign or local fishers on a large or small scale, (9) the capture and trade of protected marine species, (10) and the application of destructive fishing techniques, including the use of explosives, poisonous substances such as potassium cyanide or under-limit mesh size gill nets. (11) As an activity causing environmental and social distress to coastal systems, illegal fishing puts pressure on environmental stability and security. Considering the paradox that fishing is both a vital economic interest--and potentially a major disturbance to an ecosystem's health and capacity to function--fisheries management is a central concern within both marine conservation and social development debates. (12)

All of these illegal fishing activities are prevalent in Indonesia. (13) Yet, even though fish-catch estimates provide some idea of how much is being caught and where, determining the true scale of illegal fishing is problematic. Formal data adhered to by government agencies often underestimate the actual catchment, (14) since these are based on records of catchment by registered fisheries or trade via regulated markets only. Without effective access to informal on-the-ground networks, these formal estimates of the impact of fisheries on marine areas do not always accurately reflect the health of a marine environment or the state of environmental security of a system.

Since environmental maritime security issues span economic, political and social networks and boundaries, addressing challenges such as illegal fishing involves complex negotiations among a multitude of actors operating on different scales. While state actors are clearly present, the involvement of the private "not-for-profit" sector in conservation, where public-private partnerships exercise collaborative management structures over resources, has also become common practice. (15)

International conservation NGOs play an important role in driving forward and implementing conservation projects across the world's biodiversity hotspots. Although international NGOs do not have the legislative tools of governments to pass laws, their power to influence decision-making and to set certain agendas through lobbying is well established. (16) In Indonesia, a range of diverse international, national and local actors, both public and private, are involved in marine conservation and fisheries management. Among them are NGOs that are increasingly engaged in the management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and other fisheries management projects.

Following the significant involvement of the NGO sector in conservation efforts, private "profit-seeking" actors have also entered the scene. For example, some private tourism operators are increasingly expanding their business management oriented engagement to assume roles as stewards of conservation movements. (17) These businesses depend on, and operate in, healthy ecosystems and have high stakes in promoting biodiversity conservation initiatives. Since their pursuits are in line with many bio-centric objectives of the international conservation movement, their collaboration with NGOs have evolved rapidly. In many cases, partnerships are being established among government agencies, international NGOs and private investors to manage protected areas, where these profit seeking enterprises also become active in monitoring and enforcing laws.

Similar trends are under way in maritime conservation efforts in Southeast Asia. Evidence of this is the rise of management models such as Marine Conservation Agreements (MCA) which are designed to facilitate concession leasing by local communities to private investors over land and sea areas that fall under their traditional...