LINI is helping the coastal communities of Yeh Biu village in Patas, Buleleng North Bali to rehabilitate their reefs by establishing artificial reefs in their damaged areas. In order to accelerate the regrowth of coral cover, transplanted corals are attached to meter-long artificial substrates.

Another initiative is to install “hexadomes”. The hexadome has been developed by the Scientific Diving School(ADS International) and is currently being tested in a few locations around Bali.

So what causes divers to use compressors, to take what to many people would seem to be reckless and irresponsible risks with their lives? Over time many factors on land and in the sea have contributed to the shallow fringing reefs near the coastal villages being destroyed. But bills need to be paid, and the collectors know that somewhere out there beyond the reef crest, down the drop off, the fish are still there.

The use of car tyre compressors for fish collecting has a long and chequered history in Indonesia and other developing countries that supply marine ornamental fish to the trade. About 20 years ago, someone must have thought about using these compressors for diving.
They are used for dives of up to 50m, and provide a cheap alternative to SCUBA gear, which is beyond the financial means of most collectors. Although the use of compressors for diving is now prohibited in some areas in Indonesia, their use is still widespread throughout the archipelago. Compressors are also used when diving for lobsters, pearls, abalones and many food fish species.

According to one source (1) marine aquariums may have first been established in Indonesia in 1922, when one was built in the fish market in Sunda Kelapa, north Jakarta during the Dutch era. However, the export trade in marine aquarium organisms has been going on in Indonesia for about 25 years. At least, this is what we know from speaking to the older fish collectors and exporters. Unfortunately, few trade records are available from before 2000, and the Indonesian Department of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (established in 1999) never required the traders to submit any trade data.