Indonesia has a wide sea and many islands with sea coasts. Many people do not live near the coast, so they do not know the coast life, and they think that the sea is not so important, even though human life cannot be separated from the sea. I am Mensiana Pengu Baya from East Nusa Tenggara, East Sumba Regency, together with some students from various campuses in Yogyakarta, led by Trustha Rembaka, S.Th as the coordinator, visited Sadeng Beach Fishing Port (PPP). We had an exposure held by the Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta (4/2/2023).

The sea as an ecosystem needs to be preserved and to be managed to meet human’s daily needs, as the Sadeng port in Songbanyu Village, Gunungkidul Regency, which has been optimized its potencies since its establishment in 1990. At Sadeng port, we met Agus Santoso S.P., Director of Port Operations and Port Operations Department, and Sarina S.P., M.M., Director of Administration and Corporate Services.

During the exposure, we were divided into several groups and I joined a group having dialogue with the ship's captain. Our group discussed with Cimeng, the nickname of a ship captain. In the conversation, I learned about many things, including the ups and downs of being the captain of a fishing boat. He shared how to communicate on board or between boats by using HT (Handy Talkie) while to find out the directions, fishermen use a compass. When problems occur such as bad weather and the HT network cannot be used, the compass plays a crucial role in keeping the ship's direction.

Cimeng said that the Purse Seine ship or Slerek boat can carry more than 15 people consisting of captains, crew members, and other boat equipment, and the fish load may be up to 5 tons. Some of the boats used by the fishermen are not their own, but chartered boats. Most caught fish are marketed in Sadeng and some are sent to Jakarta and Surabaya. The most common type of fish found in Sadeng is Tuna. The profit sharing among the captain, crew, or ship owner, depended on the level and each responsibility.

When the catch does not match the target, the fishermen cannot afford the rent of the boat and pay for the fuel. These are many obstacles and challenges for the fishermen, but it does not reduce their desire and enthusiasm to go fishing. Finding out the persistence of fishermen in their work, it cannot be denied how important is government assistance for fishermen, especially monitoring sea conditions and surveillance during navigation, to ensure the safety of fishermen. The development of marine technology and the certainty of the completeness of sea facilities plus good infrastructure are the joint motivation to bring Sadeng into a modern and comfortable coastal fishing port. ***