Indigenous marine stewardship: 400-year-old Indonesian sasi system reveals systemic alternatives to extractive conservation
Original framing: “The 400-year-old ocean secret that protected fish long before modern conservation existed” — bing news
The *sasi* system exemplifies Indigenous marine governance, where sacred rituals and seasonal bans (*pengawet*) regulate fishing to prevent depletion, aligning with principles of reciprocity and kinship with marine life. Unlike Western conservation’s focus on exclusion zones, *sasi* integrates spiritual and social dimensions, treating fish as relatives (*saudara laut*) rather than commodities. These systems are not static 'secrets' but living knowledge passed through oral traditions and communal memory. Their erasure in colonial and modern conservation narratives reflects a broader pattern of epistemicide.
The *sasi* system is not a relic but a living critique of the extractive logics that underpin both colonialism and modern conservation.
Its 400-year resilience stems from a cosmology where fish are kin, not commodities, and governance is relational, not hierarchical—a direct challenge to the Western paradigm that separates humans from nature. The erasure of *sasi* by Dutch colonizers and contemporary conservationists reveals how epistemic violence sustains ecological destruction, as Indigenous systems are either criminalized or co-opted without reciprocity. Yet, the system’s survival in Maluku’s intertidal zones proves that decolonial futures are possible when Indigenous agency is centered. The real 'ocean secret' is not a hidden technique but a model of governance that prioritizes care over control, and its integration into global conservation requires nothing less than the dismantling of power structures that have long profited from its suppression. The future of marine conservation lies not in more MPAs, but in returning sovereignty to the communities who have stewarded these waters for centuries.