The Bajau Laut

Destructive fishing techniques are common practice amongst the coastal populations of the Coral Triangle. The favoured methods are homemade fertiliser bombs and potassium cyanide, which have not only decimated reefs in the largest and most diverse marine bio-region in the world but have destroyed countless human lives as well.

Of all these communities, the Bajau Laut have perhaps suffered the most. The Bajau Laut are some of the last true marine nomads. An ethnic group of Malay origin, they have for centuries lived out their lives almost entirely at sea, plying a tract of ocean between Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. In the last few decades, many have been forced to settle permanently on land, but a dwindling number still call the ocean home, living on long boats known as lepa lepa. Traditionally, they fish with nets and lines and are expert free divers, going to improbable depths in search of pearls and sea cucumbers or to hunt with handmade spear guns.

But these traditional techniques have been largely replaced by cyanide and dynamite fishing, practices that are being driven predominantly by the live fish trade – an industry whose global worth is estimated at US $1 billion. The trade’s epicentre is Hong Kong, while Indonesia supplies most of the fish, accounting for nearly 50% of all imports. Target species are grouper and Napoleon wrasse, reef species that are a key to the preservation of coral ecosystems.

Traditional Bajau cosmology – a syncretism of animism and Islam – reveals a complex relationship with the ocean, which for them is a multifarious and living entity. There are spirits in currents and tides, in coral reefs and mangroves. My point of interest is the potential for dovetailing the Bajau’s uniquely intimate understanding of the ocean with wider marine conservation strategies in order to facilitate them in conserving rather than destroying their culture and the spectacular marine environments they have called home for centuries. (James Morgan)

James Morgan is an award winning documentary photographer. He is currently traveling the world completing commissioned assignments and working on long term projects for international editorial and NGO clients such as The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, WWF etc.

About 1000kata

1000kata adalah portal yang dikelola oleh 10 fotografer Indonesia, sebagai media alternatif untuk menampilkan karya, cerita, ide, opini, gagasan serta yang lainnya berkaitan dengan dunia fotografi. Mari berbagi.

Check Also

Pemenang Regional World Press Photo Contest 2024 

World Press Photo hari ini (3/4/2024) mengumumkan para pemenang regional Kontes 2024, yang menampilkan pilihan …

12 comments

  1. What’s up every one, here every one is sharing such familiarity, so it’s pleasant to read this website, and I used to go to see this blog everyday.

  2. Hi my loved one! I wish to say that this article is amazing, great written and come with almost all important infos. I would like to see extra posts like this .

  3. Hi there this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding know-how so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!

  4. I’m really enjoying the theme/design of your weblog. Do you
    ever run into any web browser compatibility issues? A
    few of my blog audience have complained about my site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks
    great in Safari. Do you have any solutions to help fix this problem?

  5. I’m no longer sure the place you’re getting your information,
    however good topic. I must spend some time studying much more or working out more.
    Thanks for great information I was looking for this info for
    my mission.

  6. Nice post. I’d been looking at continually your blog and I am pleased! Extremely helpful information and facts especially the remainder of the segment 🙂 I personally cope with these kinds of information and facts considerably. I became in search of that facts for any quite prolonged occasion. Thank you as well as connected with fortune.

  7. Be sure that you are interacting with. There are cool

    folding patio doors that are separable. folding patio doors with stairs can change a room making a space that is distinctive and magical.

    They are reasonably priced too and you will get your

    money’s worth. Boys always love to explore their imaginations with these beds. Additionally, a change in style requires nothing more than a twin over full folding patio doors, twin over full folding patio doors or twin over futon folding patio doors.

  8. great photos and stunning videos… awesome….

  9. gendeng ki fotografer dah beranjak jauh ke depan,…full multimedia,..great works

  10. cool pics, strong story!

  11. Super fantastic multimedia works and full of information.

  12. is an amazing story ….

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.