SAAT’S STORIES…
As our eldest employed fishermen, Saat has so much to teach us, check out the notes from our time with him…
In 1970 Saat started to fish sharks when he was ten years old
When he started to fish sharks he used a small paddle boat without a motor. He would create his own longline from the fibres that are used to make a broom and using scrap metal to create hooks.
A 4m tiger sharks could be caught at Gili Petelu (where we now run snorkel trips)
The transition from small paddle boats to bigger powerboats and the change in the longline gear was the only transition throughout the community’s history of fishing sharks, so there was no older method than what Saat did, this was the original.
Their community has been fishing sharks for six generations and in the past they would eat the meat from the shark
It was their grandfathers generation who started to become involved with the fin trade, and so sell sharks for their fins
In 1970 the shark fins were work 1,500 idr, thats about 14 Australian cents
The waters around Lombok used to be full of tiger sharks, now it is not possible to catch them here/ very rare.
They used to see great whites, always more sporadically then tiger sharks so not in any particular place but more common than now.
Their ancestors came to the island by sailboat from Flores
They have stories about a giant octopus who is the size of an island and will sink boats. If it appears they must turn of their lights and return to shore.
Saat, crew of 03
