GAIA Deep Dives into the Lives of Fishers in Brunei
by Nafisa Halim
With the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19 in Brunei on August 7, 2021, individuals from all walks of life have been directly impacted, particularly fishers residing in Kampong Ayer. In September, Global Awareness & Impact Alliance (GAIA) held a Virtual Launch of the Paper on Exploratory Insights into IUU fishing in Borneo alongside the closing ceremony of the virtual art showcase on IUU fishing. In line with the latter, a portion of the proceeds from the auction are to be donated to the fishing community in Brunei.
In keeping with our mission, GAIA set out to virtually interview several fishers around Brunei. Based on our findings, GAIA was able to develop three key pressing themes on the impact of COVID-19 to our local fishing community. That is, the effects of drastic price reduction on livelihoods and daily necessities, the fishers’ different strategies to continuing to stay afloat, and struggles with managing the marked digital gap.
As a result of the closures of markets and tighter movement restrictions, many fishers have encountered a sudden drop in sales. This has resulted in them having to compromise and lower the prices of their catch merely to get sales and buyers, in order to safeguard living security, such as earning just enough to provide for their families.
Furthermore, fishers have had to resort to different strategies to cope during the strict COVID-19 regulations. For example, during the movement restrictions, fishers rely on customer ‘booking’ basis. This indicates that, if there are no bookings or orders secured from the fishers’ pre-existing customer base, the fishers will not go out to fish to ensure there are no wastages. In hindsight, the impact of COVID-19 closures on markets has impacted fishers especially in terms of selling their catch to a wider traffic.
Distinct from pre-COVID conditions, fishers are now improvising methods to showcase their daily catch to stay afloat amidst the current situation. This includes broadcasting to WhatsApp groups in order to maximise their customer outreach, where in return people are able to ‘forward’ their messages. This method, although limited, has exposed fishers beyond the parameters of the markets in which they originally gather to sell their catch-of-the-day. However, some fishers have expressed their lack of skills which have prevented them from fully participating in today’s market. Some of these fishers have voiced out their interests in joining courses to improve their skill-sets such as running a business, digital marketing strategies and financial management.