Dedi Supriadi Adhuri – Three Centuries of the Shared Trepang Heritage of Indonesia and Australia

2023 Global Encounters Network Seminar Series Thursday 18 May 2023 Topic – Three Centuries of the Shared Trepang Heritage of Indonesia and Australia: Perspectives from the Field Speaker – Dr Dedi Supriadi Adhuri, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesia Indonesian fishers have been fishing in what is currently considered the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ) for three centuries or more. Noting this 300-year span of time, the practice is worth considering as a heritage – and we should emphasise that this is very much a living heritage. Although the Indonesian and Australian governments look at the practice as illegal transboundary fishing, my observations through talking to fishers on the ground and in the sea reveal that, for them, this is more than the act of fishing – it is their socio-cultural life and livelihood. For some, fishing in the AFZ is the story of their ancestors who established close relations with the territory, long before the existence of both the Australian and Indonesian modern states. For them, sailing and fishing to the south is the act of following in their ancestors’ paths. In addition to this, sailing and fishing in the AFZ is an important way for the fishers to sustain their family’s livelihood. Due to the fact that their fishing targets are always exported commodities, the international demand for these commodities plays a driving role. With this understanding and context, fishers have continued their activities up until the present time, despite the policies of both governments to discourage them from the practice. They always find ways to sail south, adapting to the policies of both governments or crossing the border illegally. This paper will discuss the dynamics of this practice after 1907, when the Australian government prohibited Indonesian boats to dock in Australian ports, as well as its socio-cultural implications. Using a literature review and field studies, the paper will look first at the fishers’ response to government policies and the international market for sea products and services, and second, the socio-cultural implications of this practice. The first part will cover the strategies of shifting fishing gear, target and fishing grounds, while the second part will examine the ethno-networks, shared culture, diaspora and hybrid communities of those Indonesian maritime ethnic groups involved in the practice.