The Sangihe Island is part of the maritime region of the Sangihe and Talaud Islands, sandwiched between three seas and an ocean, which also serves as a trade route in the northern waters of Sulawesi. This is my second visit to Sangihe Island; from my last visit to island in 2022.
One of ,y goals in visiting Sangihe Island is not only to satisfy my longing for the beauty of nature and the warmth of the Sanger tribe, but also to meet and learn about tuna directly from the tuna fishermen there.
Wiliam “Itong” Landeng (50) is one of the tuna fishermen we met. Kak Itong, who has over 20 years of experience as a tuna fisherman, is also an expert in grading techniques or assessing the quality of tuna meat for export purposes, a technical skill that requires time to learn and train.
In 2020, Kak Itong successfully exported tuna directly to the Tsukiji market in Tokyo via the Tahuna-Manado-Tokyo route. This is evidence that the quality of tuna caught and prepared directly as export commodities by fishermen in Sangihe can be accepted by one of the world’s largest international tuna markets.
