In the far reaches of Maluku, Dobo stands as a gateway to the Arafura Sea and the everyday challenges faced by coastal communities.In June 2025, the ATSEA regional secretariat team travelled to Dobo, the capital of the Aru Islands District in Maluku Province, to understand the fishing dynamics and learn more about the management of fishing gear and waste in general. These insights will help inform future efforts that can respond effectively to local needs and challenges.
The visit was supported by the Southeast Aru Tenggara Marine Protected Area, who connected the team with key, relevant stakeholders across government institutions, private companies, academics, and coastal communities. Within a two-day timeframe, in-depth discussions were held with 26 people from 13 institutions.
Dobo is a relatively small, laid-back town where people seem to know each other. Not much happens in the town itself, but the waters surrounding Dobo and its other islands, which are part of the Arafura Sea, have been rich with marine natural resources, especially finfish like red snappers, prawns, and squids.
The waters around Aru may appear slightly murky and green, but they are rich in marine life, drawing large fishing vessels from Java and Bali. These vessels often remain offshore in the Arafura Sea for months at a time, transferring their catch to carrier ships that return to their home ports. Many of these boats rarely enter Dobo Port unless required by emergencies, such as mechanical failures, crew illness, or expiring permits.
Generally, these large fishing vessels use high-quality fishing gear that can last up to five years. Due to the high cost, fishers tend to take better care of their nets. Fishers who use drift bottom gillnets will use AIS-equipped nets to minimise the chance of losing them during fishing operations. They will also try to repair their nets if there are signs of damage. These broken nets are usually brought back to land to be stored, sold to other fishers, or burned.
In contrast, the majority of Aru’s coastal communities rely on small-scale fishing. Local fishers typically use boats under 5 GT or traditional kole-kole (hand-rowed boats) for single-day fishing trips targeting species like halfbeak and flying fish. Their nets are usually of lower quality and often damaged by predators like dolphins or barracudas. These nets might last only a year, making replacement more frequent and disposal more pressing.
Waste management emerged as a shared concern during the visit. With many coastal communities living in very close proximity to the sea in stilt houses, household waste is frequently discarded directly into the sea. If the garbage is not seen, it is no longer their problem. Meanwhile, with budget cuts, the local government finds it hard to manage waste, which can reach up to five tonnes daily in Dobo alone.
The team’s visit to Dobo offered a glimpse into the complexity of fisheries operating in the Arafura Sea, where local small-scale fishers may interact with national large-scale fishers. Meanwhile, waste management remains a growing challenge due to the remoteness of the location and limited infrastructure.
As with other remote coastal regions, sustainable fisheries management in Aru must be considered alongside broader issues such as waste management, community awareness, and governance capacity. While there is still much to learn, grounded, site-specific understanding remains essential for developing realistic and relevant regional strategies.
By Casandra Tania