Cultural and socio-economic changes and challenges of the Palola viridis fishery in East Timor: local knowledge and sustainable perspectives from the Fataluku community

Palola viridis is an edible sea worm with high economic, cultural and nutritional value fished throughout all the Asia Pacific region. In East Timor, this sea worm is called meci by the Fataluku indigenous community living in the Lautem municipality. The meci fishery is a collective fishery that occurs once or twice a year during the spawning of Palola viridis. Local knowledge can predict the spawning by assessing the position of the stars, the phase of the moon, and the dynamics of the tides. This fishery implies high social interaction and deploys different cultural relationships with the sea. The meci is highly valued not only for its taste, but also because it is considered a medicine to relieve disease and suffering. Traditionally, meci ceremonies and rituals take place before the fishery starts: the chief of the clan who owns the meci talks to the nature and requests access, authorization and protection for all the people who will enter the ocean to fish. When the clan chief authorization is given, the fishery can start,  the people are allowed to enter the ocean, and they divide themselves into few different groups and stand in a circle side by side while singing and calling for the meci to come “Meci ohhhhhh, meci ohhhhh”. We carried an ethnoecological research in the Lautem Municipality to comprehend the dynamics of the meci fishery from a cultural, social, ecological and economic perspective. Interviews, participatory observation and assessment of meci landings were deployed. We found that this fishery is a major cultural event for the Fataluku people, especially for those living in Com, Tutuala and Lore. It mobilizes more than 5000 people including women, men and children who come not only from coastal areas but also from the mountains. Meci fishing landings were approximately of 300 grams per person and 100% of these landings were used for household consumption. Indeed, people who collect larger quantities informed that they can also sell a small water bottle filled of meci for 10 dollars. The meci can be consumed up to six to twelve months after collection if it is stored in a dry bamboo. Today, the rituals, traditional ceremonies and taboos related to this collective fishery are changing with the coming of new fishing equipments and electronic items. While the older people want to keep the traditional practices alive such as the use of fire leaves torches, the use of hands for meci collection, the singing of traditional songs and the use of taboos and social restrictions, the new generations come with rechargeable lamps, alcohol, fishing nets and speakers.  These differents interactions with the ocean create social tensions between groups of peoples and between generations. In order to enhance the understanding and the sustainability of this fishery for the Fataluku community, we call for a better transmission of local knowledge and practices between generations, and for the local government to recognize the unique cultural value of meci and to provide spaces of dialogue and exchange of ideas between community members during the year and before the fishery starts.