©Fahrul/Bal
This article was originally published in Indonesian on November 16, 2023.
Those ships are sailing soon. The nets are being cast; however, “The phantom” of the sea is currently waiting in the middle of the ocean. There is no choice but to anchor or grumble.
The sea atmosphere in Lasem Subdistrict, Rembang Regency, was scorching at that time. In spite of the fierce heat of the blazing sun, which seems eternal in Pantura, Kurnadi’s emotions were also running high. Not once nor twice did coal-carrying barges crash his fish nets. In fact, he had set a ‘net buoy’ as a signal to prevent the net from being struck. Not only did he fail to catch any fish, the nets were torn, and he was forced to buy a new one.
That day, Kurnadi’s net was struck by a barge for the umpteenth time. He had made up his mind. At all cost, he must meet face-to-face with the barge’s captain. “That day, I attempted to ask for ransom money in the middle of the sea,” said Kurnadi.
Without further ado, Kurnadi immediately stopped the fast-moving barge by ramming his ship. Those two sailors then exchanged glances. The atmosphere was intense, leaving only the creaking of the ship’s bodies breaking the stillness.
The barge’s captain asked for evidence of Kurnadi’s claim. “Wait, let me pull the nets first,” Kurnadi replied. After an hour, he successfully managed to prove his claim. The captain saw with his own eyes the damaged nets he had caused.
Kurnadi then requested compensation of five hundred thousand rupiahs. The barge’s crew outright flatly rejected this amount. After negotiating tooth and nail, he was only able to secure half of the compensation. Kurnadi went home disappointed, carrying losses without any fish. “If you think about it, it was us first; we were the ones who cast the nets before the barge even set out. But, if they’re blamed, they refuse to take responsibility,” he complained.
Under the Grip of the Barge
After the Sluke Steam Power Plant (PLTU) operated on the coast of Lasem, Rembang Regency in 2010, fishing activities changed significantly for the fishermen. As much as possible, Kurnadi and the other fishermen always prefer to avoid fishing near the PLTU. “Near the PLTU, there’s actually plenty of fish, but we just avoid it. We’re afraid the net will get tangled, it’s wasting money,” said Kurnadi.
When the season of barges arriving begins, Kurnadi usually can only take fish in farther areas. He believes it is better to use up more fuel rather than dealing with the extremely troublesome barges. “Enemies such as that are difficult to deal with; if you don’t have ‘insiders’, it’s tough,” he realized.
The troubles with the barges did not end with the collision with the net. The sea’s rolling waves set the barges swaying, spilling the coal they carry into the water repeatedly. “Well, coal has sharp flakes; if it falls into the sea, it will shatter all the nets,” said Kurnadi. The coal also has the potential to threaten the marine ecosystem with its heavy metal compounds.
Other than sharing the same trajectory, the barges’ operational time also coincides with the fishing activities of the fisherman. “The problem is, the barges often arrive at night, whereas most of the fishermen here work at night. They should arrive in the morning, coming at night is inconsiderate,” said Ngatmin. As the leader of the Pandangan fisherman community, the fisherman’s complaints regarding the Steam Power Plant are loud and clear to him.
Ngatmin even went directly to the PLTU to demand compensation for the damaged nets. Not only one, he has dealt with a total of seven fishermen’s nets, including his own. His experience was similar to Kurnadi’s, the compensation does not match the actual loss. “Those nets. One of them is worth five million rupiah. The compensation is only two million rupiah,” he complained. For the fisherman, the remaining money they have to cover to replace the damaged nets is substantial when measured against their daily earnings.
The depth of the net and the barge hull shared the same depth, making net collision a frequent occurrence. “The depth of the nets is only 9 meters, while the barge is nearly 8 meters deep. It must have been hit, even after being repeatedly hit by a flashlight, they were still desperate to hit it,” complained Ngatmin.
The malfunctioning of the maritime traffic lights is also the reason why the barges keep hitting the fishermen’s nets. These traffic lights serve as indicators for barges to dock. Ngatmin complained that the red and yellow light had been off for months and only the green light was still functioning. “Ideally, if the maritime traffic lights are off for a day, they should be fixed immediately. But this has been going on for one to two months. Only after a report is made do they get fixed,” he bitterly complained.
Yet, amid Ngatmin’s grievances, he lamented the lack of awareness among the community around the Sluke power plant compared to other areas. He feels the people of Rembang Regency are ‘too nice’ in a situation that blatantly strips them of their rights. “The impact of the power plant is substantial, in Jepara, everyone protested. But here, perhaps people are too kind; there are no demonstrations,” Ngatmin remarked.
All Fish Are Dead
Just a few meters from the west side of the PLTU stands a fisherman’s post. It’s a hive of activity, with everyone busy checking the boat engines, filling up with gasoline, or packing ice to keep their fresh catch cold. The setting sun signals it’s time to head out to sea. But not for Turmundi. He sits quietly, staring out at the jetty dock of the power plant.
“Starting from the east side all the way to the base there is a reef. Now, it is covered with rocks, the fish that used to hide in the reef are now gone,” he said while pointing to the dock. Back then, the area around the Sluke power plant was home to mullet fish. Now, the coral reef has been covered with rocks for the construction of the power plant dock. Turmundi estimates that the coral area covered with rocks for the dock by the power plant has a depth of about 8 meters.
Now, Turmundi is no longer sailing. The vast sea is now in the hands of his children. However, he feels that being a fisherman in the past was easier compared to fishermen nowadays. “Before there was the power plant, the catch was still plentiful. Now, it’s barely enough to feed themselves,” he stated.
Turmundi knows perfectly the background of the income stagnation faced by the fishermen around the Sluke power plant. The reason is that the power plant requires a large amount of water to wash the machines and produce steam. What’s unfortunate about this is that the water is taken from the sea through a high-pressure vacuum. Everything gets vacuumed away, including the fish.
“Even during the west monsoon winds, when the machines are active, mashallah, tonss of fish get sucked in,” said Turmundi. The problem is that the waves are at their strongest when the west monsoon winds come. Fishermen take a break from sailing because the waves are so big.
Besides the suction, the waste from the Sluke power plant also greatly harms the fishermen. This experience comes from Sambel, head of the fisherman’s post where Turmundi usually sits. After being collected, the water from the suction will be filtered, and the waste will be thrown away to the sea. “When the waste is dumped, the small fishes die; wes modyar kabeh, all the fishes are dead,” Sambel explained.
Even the live fish, when exposed to waste, the quality would deteriorate. “It’s noticeable, the taste is different,” said Sambel. The problem is that the filtered wastewater is brownish-white and foamy. Often, this waste is carried all the way to the fishing boat docks during high tide.
Even in the past, the Sluke power plant did not have a gate cover for the coal dust. The coal dust freely blew everywhere. “Before the gate was there, houses, feet, and even folded clothes were covered in dust,” as Sambel recalled. The gate cover was only installed after residents collectively protested. “They were carrying sickles, Mas,” he said and laughed, reminiscing about the event.
However, the consolidation of the Rembang fishermen fluctuates like the sea tides. For instance, Sambel frequently brings up the issue of coal barges. Coal-carrying barges cannot merely dock at the pier in other coal-fired power plant areas along Java’s northern shore, like Tuban and Jepara. A specific distance from the vicinity of the power plant is mandated by regulation. “The barge captain himself stated that it is the most convenient here. They can dock near the power plant,” explained Sambel.
Power Plant’s Early Retirement as The Fake Solutions
Parid, as a Coastal Community Advocacy Manager at Walhi, is very familiar with the complaints of Kurnadi, Sambel, and other fishermen dealing with the power plant. Under his supervision, coal is bound to cause harm from upstream and downstream. “Its mining has already destroyed the surrounding environment. From the river to the sea, the distribution process destroyed ecosystems and the fishermen’s income,” stated the man whose full name is Parid Ridwanuddin.
When it comes to the sea, Parid emphasized the need to prioritize the rights of traditional fishermen over exploitative projects like those of steam power plants. “Fishing grounds should remain distinct and separate from other zones, such as areas used for loading and unloading coals,” he pointed out. He also emphasizes that fishing grounds are designated areas that always and must be protected.
“The sea should not become a free-for-all space for competition,” Parid added. He highlights that this principle is clearly outlined in Law No.7/2016 on the Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen. All regulations that accommodate the rights of fishermen are stated there. Consequently, the fishermen who are adversely affected should be entitled to compensation from the government.
This occurrence does not happen solely at the Sluke power plant, the pattern of creating vulnerable surrounding communities always occurs in other areas. Take Paiton power plant, for instance, which protested about the impact of the decline in fish population. Another one is in Sumarejo Village, which is also in conflict with the coal barge supplier of the Pacitan power plant.
Aside from the vulnerability of life of the surrounding communities, fossil fuel-based power plant activities such as coal-fired power plants are also the main culprits of the extreme acceleration of global warming. Fossil-based fuels such as coal and oil, are the main contributors of more than 75% of the global greenhouse gas emissions and almost 90% of the whole carbon emissions. Hence, Amalya Oktaviani, as the Campaign Manager at Trend Asia, believes that governments must promptly retire the coal-fired power plants, whether through natural or early retirement. “Sluke power plant is among the candidates for early retirement, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources,” Amalya explained.
The prolonged drought has become personal grief for the fishermen. In his eight years as a fisherman, Kurnadi felt something was off. “Wayah ngene [these seasons-ed] usually there are strong winds and big waves,” he said. However, he noticed in the seat that the waves were too small. The small waves decreased Kurnadi’s fish catch.
The same feeling of restlessness is also felt by Turmundi. According to him, marine wealth these days is already diminished. He pointed to the deserted shrimp storage house, tightly shut with no catch to show for it. Turmundi stands confused, owing to the fact that there’s no shrimp anymore. “Typically during this season, shrimps are abundant, however, now there’s nothing,” he explained.
Kurnadi and Turmundi’s concerns stem from a larger, growing issue: the climate crisis. Amalya believes that challenges like these are driven by the widespread exploitation of extractive industries and the emissions produced by energy sectors, such as coal-fired power plants. She points out that the climate crisis will not only lead to extreme weather events but will also cause additional environmental problems like droughts and hydrological disasters. “Ultimately, it will be the communities that bear the brunt,” Amalya concluded.
However, Amalya has yet to see any concrete action from the government to retire coal-fired power plants and shift toward alternative energy. “These power plants should already be on the path to retirement, but instead, they are adopting co-firing,” said Amalya. Co-firing, as she explains, is a method of replacing 5-10 percent of the coal with biomass plants at coal-fired power plants.
Indonesia State Electricity Company (PT. PLN) claims that this method is one of the efforts in transitioning to renewable energy. Sluke Power plant began implementing the co-firing method in 2021. “Coal-fired power plants should have been retired by now. Implementing the co-firing method only extends their lifespan. This is a fake solution that we must resist,” said Amalya.
Amalya continues to argue that the co-firing strategy is just an alibi to protect oligarch’s coal businesses. In the end, the extended lifespan of coal-fired power plants through co-firing continues to prolong the dispossession of the livelihood of nearby fishermen and farmers. “This hinders the real renewable energy transition. It’s greenwashing,” Amalya added.
Author: M. Fahrul Muharman
Editor: Ilham Maulana
Photographer: M. Fahrul Muharman
Translator: Adrian Firmansyah
*This article is a product from the fellowship of: “Energi vs Pangan” with Trend Asia.