Are Traditional Fishing Tools Still Used in Jakarta?

Back in the 1950s, the northern coast of Jakarta was a region where the majority of the community earned their living as fishermen. During this era, they actively used traditional fishing tools that they crafted themselves and passed down through generations within their families.

One of the communities closely associated with the use of traditional fishing tools is the Kampung Tugu community. Traces of these tools can still be seen today at the Living Museum Roemah Toegoe, a center for cultural preservation and historical education of the Portuguese Mardijker community located near the coast of North Jakarta. This museum houses several collections of traditional fishing tools similar to those owned by Maritime Museum (Museum Bahari).

Other traditional fishing tools that have now become rare are preserved at Bahari Museum, which serves as the home for Jakarta's maritime heritage. Beyond fishing gear, Bahari Museum also stores various other maritime historical objects, such as traditional ship equipment, original boats, miniature boats from Indonesia and abroad, marine life specimens, dioramas, and historical artifacts like cannons, anchors, lighthouses, and telescopes.

Among these collections, there are approximately 23 traditional fishing objects, including scoops (serokan), cast nets (jala), fish traps (lukah), fishing kites (layangan pancing), spears (tombak), creels (kepis), longlines (rawai), fish cages (keramba), tidal weirs (sero), lift nets (bagan), non-return traps (tempirai), and basket traps (bubu). These tools represent the fishing practices of Jakarta’s coastal communities in the past, ranging from household-scale use to larger commercial scales.

As a maritime-themed museum, the collection of fishing tools represents how Jakarta's coastal communities once lived alongside a pristine and clean natural environment. Unfortunately, today, the coast of Jakarta has undergone massive changes due to industrialization, pollution, reclamation, and infrastructure development. These environmental shifts directly affect the marine ecosystem, fish distribution patterns, and how fishermen carry out their daily seafaring activities.

The Condition of Jakarta's Coast: Then vs. Now

Jakarta possesses a vast aquatic landscape, spanning around 110 islands in the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu) and a coastline of approximately 35 kilometers. Since the colonial era, this area has faced sedimentation challenges from the rivers that empty into the Jakarta Bay.

Entering the 20th century, the Sunda Kelapa area developed into an active trade hub with still unobstructed river flows. However, over time, sedimentation, massive development, reclamation projects, and the excessive extraction of groundwater have caused drastic changes to the coastal area today.

In the 1970s, the rivers in Jakarta remained a vital lifeline supporting the lives of local residents. Over time, long-term sedimentation paired with the rapid growth of industrial areas and residential settlements made the coastal area increasingly crowded and heightened the risk of pollution. Furthermore, land subsidence caused by groundwater extraction has worsened the risk of tidal floods (banjir rob) in North Jakarta.

According to a Greenpeace report titled The Projected Economic Impact of Extreme Sea-Level Rise in Seven Asian Cities in 2030, about 17% of Jakarta's land area has the potential to be submerged below sea level if a major flood occurs by 2030. The northern coastal region stands as the most vulnerable area due to its low elevation.

The impact of these environmental changes is reinforced by the findings of #KoleksiKita consultation with Kampung Tugu community in North Jakarta. During this initiative, SEAMS team interviewed Arthur Michiels (manager of Museum Roemah Toegoe) and Gerrard Stefanus Sepang (a relative of Arthur Michiels and the donor of several fishing tool collections to the Museum Roemah Toegoe, who is still an active fisherman).
Gerrard Stefanus explained that many traditional fishing tools are no longer used in daily seafaring activities.

"I don't use these anymore [pointing to several traditional fishing collections from the Maritime Museum, such as sero, bagan, kepis, and bubu]. Now, I use nets like waring [nylon nets]," said Gerrard Stefanus.

According to Gerrard, the people of Kampung Tugu in the past did not need to sail far out to sea because fish were still very easy to find near the shoreline. The coastal area back then was also known to be lush with dense trees, despite the risk of encountering wild animals like snakes.

Today, the altered state of Jakarta's coast forces Gerrard to fish only in shallow waters, with a level of difficulty far different from his youth.

"But it must be admitted, back in the 1980s, we had no trouble finding fish. In the estuary, there were still plenty of all kinds of fish," Gerrard recalled.

Now, to get any catch, Gerrard must travel much farther, even to ponds (empang) outside his residential area in Kampung Tugu.

"Only now, because the river is dirty and there are many dams, the fish are gone. I cast my net now in the ponds in the Marunda area," he added.

In the past, the waters around Kampung Tugu allowed for the meeting of freshwater and brackish water fish, such as barramundi (kakap putih). Today, this ecosystem has changed due to environmental degradation.

"In the past, when we cast nets in the sea, the catch was diverse. There was lunduk fish, which looks like a catfish but smaller. With just one cast of the net, we could get thousands of them," added Arthur Michiels.

Kampung Tugu and Fishing Practices

The people of Kampung Tugu still keep several traditional fishing tools similar to the collections at Bahari Museum, such as cast nets (jala), basket traps (bubu), and creels (kepis). However, their use today is primarily for personal consumption rather than commercial purposes.

Historically, Kampung Tugu was not a pure, traditional fishing village. However, its close proximity to the coast made some of its residents rely on marine resources. Aside from fishing, the people of Kampung Tugu in the past also engaged in other activities, such as hunting, woodworking, and trading.

One of the key historical figures associated with this practice was Opa Benang, who was recognized by the Kampung Tugu community as a highly skilled fisherman.

The people of Tugu generally did not fish out in the open sea. They tended to catch fish around the beaches and rivers when water conditions were still clean and viable. One of the highly sought-after catches was milkfish (bandeng), which was traditionally sold skewered.

According to local residents, this skewered selling method is part of Kampung Tugu's local tradition, while also serving as a way to showcase that the milkfish carries a high market value.

"The favorite food fish here is milkfish. Meanwhile, other wild fish commonly caught are mullet (belanak), tilapia (mujair), and Nile tilapia (nila) because they are highly nutritious," explained Arthur and Gerrard.

Details of Traditional Fishing Tools: Bahari Museum & Kampung Tugu

The collection of traditional fishing tools from the Living Museum Roemah Toegoe and Bahari Museum reflects the ingenuity and skill of Jakarta’s fishermen of yesteryear in understanding their environment. This collection also highlights the cultural influences and assimilation from various regions across the Indonesian archipelago.

Fishing Gear: This is a traditional fishing tool that is now rarely used in Jakarta. It is designed to function like a trap with a one-way entrance, allowing fish to swim inside but making it difficult for them to find their way out. Once the fish enter the trap, they become confined within its structure, which helps fishermen collect them more easily.

Bubu: A fish trap used by the Kampung Tugu community in rivers or channels by anchoring it directly into the water bed. Interestingly, there is a unique type of bubu known as the "dancing bubu" (bubu joget). It is installed to float, allowing it to sway and move along with the water currents, unlike conventional traps that remain static.

Lukah: A traditional fish trap made of woven bamboo in the shape of a cylinder. One side is designed to funnel inward, creating a heart-shaped appearance when viewed from above. This inward-curving side features a small slit that serves as a one-way entrance for fish, trapping them so they cannot escape.

Net: The only traditional fishing tool still actively used by the Kampung Tugu community today. The cast net is used by throwing it so it unfolds wide over the water surface, then sinks to the bottom aided by weights attached to its edges, trapping the fish beneath. This traditional net is made of cotton threads arranged through dangling, neatly knotted ropes.

Today, the coast of Jakarta has undergone a massive transformation that has forced traditional fishing practices to adapt to local environmental realities. Most coastal fishermen in Jakarta currently prefer using modern cast nets or nylon nets due to their flexibility and practicality in navigating changing water conditions.

Nevertheless, the existence of this traditional fishing tool collection serves as vital evidence of eco-friendly fishing practices that have been implemented by Jakarta's coastal communities since ancient times, both to meet daily food needs and as the lifeblood of their livelihoods.

The stories behind other historical objects of the Maritime Museum will be accessible to the public through Koleksi Jakarta (Jakarta Digital Collection) portal, which is scheduled to launch in mid-2026.

Koleksi Jakarta is an initiative by SEAMS through Koleksi Kita, in collaboration with Jakarta Provincial Government's Department of Culture and the 12 museums under its management. This program aims to open public access to museum collections through comprehensive digitization and cataloging.

This initiative is fully supported by the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), an organization committed to supporting the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide, including the restoration of historic buildings, archaeological sites, museum collections, and traditional cultural expressions.