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Image: High tides and waves at Double Six Beach. Credit: Pak Nickolous S.  

Surf’s up on the west coast of Bali today and with the combination of the high tides and large waves, the surf is back with force. To make matters worse for the now dormant warungs lining the beaches, which have all been closed for weeks due to the Covid-19 controls, many are now being smashed by the waves, with their owners scurrying to save what they can.

Eye witness, Pak Nick, from Seminyak’s 66 Beach told Seminyak Times this morning that conditions were getting wild along the coast and he was feeling it for the warungs saying, “The owners of the beach bars have come down to secure their source of income.” Bless them and we asked, it must be kind of eerie down the beach without anyone around. “Ohh yeah. Most days there’s no one on the beach after 9am. Today is exceptional with many local Indonesians doing what they can to save their businesses.”

Fishermen in Tabanan and other parts of the coast have been forced to stop work and pull their boats high onto the beach, protecting themselves from the four metre plus waves crashing onto the shore.

The Chairperson of the Tabanan sector of the Indonesia Fishermen Association (HNSI), Ketut Arsana Yasa told Bali Post that the weather conditions have certainly forced the fishermen to stop fishing, for their own safety.

“We need to careful with the high waves together with the peak of the tides at noon today (Wednesday). The height of the waves can reach 4.2 meters plus,” he explained.

He said that with the current wave conditions, fishermen prefer to secure their fishing gear. “Then making lobster pots to be installed when the weather improves again,” he said.

Arsana Yasa, who is also a member of the Tabanan DPRD, said that during the COVID-19 pandemic the fishermen have remained at sea. Because in the midst of this pandemic the good news came from the Minister of Maritime Affairs that lobsters can exported with a minimum size of 150 grams, and those under 150 grams may be sold for cultivation seeds.

“Since domestic flights opened, exports have started, and all fishermen are back to sea to make a living,” he said.