Friday, May 23rd, 2025, at 05.45 WIB.
Dadap, Kosambi District, Tangerang Regency, Banten.
That morning, the sky looked grayish blue. Rain continues to drizzle, wetting the large embankment wall. The left side of the embankment was filled with dense settlements, while on the right, fishermen’s boats were neatly arranged.
The residential road was filled with shells. Every step made a crunching sound as if stepping on a pile of soft glass. Under the embankment wall, a mountain of shells was piled up. The mountain became a foothold to climb up the embankment wall.
Daeng was ready. That morning he brought a bag of fried food and several bottles of Good Day coffee to take to the boat. Surya and Karyo were already waiting on the bright blue boat while tidying up the hose.
“What did you buy?” Surya asked Daeng while looking at the bag of fried food he was carrying. “Bananas, tempeh, tofu, fritters,” Daeng replied as he put the bag on the boat. “Let’s go!”
06.28 WIB, the boat engine was turned on and they started sailing. Daeng sat in front of the controls. He steered the boat while a cigarette was parked on his index and middle finger of his left hand.
The sky darkened again. Raindrops began to fall harder.
Daeng covered his head with the hood of his jacket. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, at the empty expanse ofwater. The engine’s loud noise made this drive noisy. Let alone chatting, even talking would be interrupted.
After 10 minutes, the sea surface began to be filled with floating jerrycans and plastic bottles. This was a sign that they had arrived at the green mussel farm. Surya, who was sitting at the front of the boat, raised his right hand. His index finger pointed forward, towards the water surface. Daeng understood the signal and followed Surya’s command.
After they arrived at the location, the boat engine was turned off. Karyo attached an anchor to a piece of rope that was under the jerry can. Like a handbrake on a car, this anchor will park the boat so it won’t get carried away.
Without any further chat, the three of them began to get ready. They wore head covers and long-sleeved jackets. Not only that, they also prepared the boat and equipment that would be used. Karyo lined the back of the boat with a tarpaulin, Surya threw three rolls of hose into the sea, and Daeng turned on the compressor engine. All of this was done without any discussion or chatter, like a robot carrying out orders carefully.
Daeng wore a fishing net around his neck. The net was woven to resemble a sack, closed at the bottom and open atthe top. A rope was tied to both sides of the lip of the net, resembling a sling bag that fishermen would wear.
After that, Daeng took one of the hoses that he threw into the sea. At the end of the hose, a small bowl resembling a diving regulator was attached. The other end was attached to a compressor on the ship as an air source. The hose was tied to his stomach and the regulator part was attached to cover his nose and mouth.
Now, everything is ready. Daeng wears swimming goggles, with a fishing net and hose attached to his body, he begins to dive. Surya and Karyo followed him, leaving the blue boat on the surface of the sea with the compressor engine running.
***
“Don’t forget, today’s Friday,” said Runtiwi to her friends, reminding them to wear their Friday uniforms.
As displayed on the “Jadwal Baju Netrek Lapak Bos Dewa” banner, today they’ll wear black shirts with bright yellow accents on the collar and sleeves, and a picture of Doraemon in the middle of the shirt. They wear different uniforms each day, following the specified color.
Along the residential road, there are many stalls to boil and clean green mussels. Each stall is owned by a different boss. However, Lapak Bos Dewa is one of the biggest stalls on that road.
A black pickup truck filled with sacks approached the stall and began to park. The truck was carrying dozens of white sacks filled with green mussels. After it was parked, the two men who were sitting in the front began to open the back to move the sacks.
The arrival of the black car signified the arrival of work. The mussel workers began to take their positions and prepare. The sacks were divided into two groups. The sacks containing large green mussels would be tetrek and washed.
“Tetrek means cleaning the mussels. To separate them, we have to cut the gills, because all of this mussel clumps together,” explained Runtiwi. “After that, the mussels will be washed and washed and weighed.”
“The mussels could be sold per kilogram. Large green mussels are usually sold outside of the city. Some go to Bandung, some to Bogor,” Runtiwi added.
Meanwhile, sacks containing small green mussels will be boiled to take out the meat. They boiled the mussels in a large drum, over a firewood fire. Then, the shells and the mussel meat will be separated.
“Later the meat will be taken. This meat is sold per gram,” said Runtiwi. “Usually the mussels arrive here (at the stall) at 9 am, so we’ll have to get ready at that time as well.”
Although the roof stall blocks the sun, the heat from the fire makes the stall was filled with hot air. Each shellfish worker is assigned to their respective section. The women will peel and tetrek the mussels. Meanwhile, the men, who are not fishermen, will boil the clams. With just cloth gloves, the men were able to move and lift the shellfish boiling drums.
***
30 minutes passed and air bubbles began to appear. Daeng was the first to surface. He swam towards the boat,opened his breathing regulator, and climbed onto the boat. Then, he lifted the fishing net that he had been wearing earlier.
The net was filled to the top with green mussels. He pulled the heavy net. It was so heavy that the boat swayed when the net was lifted. Daeng turned the net over and poured all the green mussels onto the tarpaulin-covered part of the boat.
Soon, Surya and Karyo surfaced. The three of them did the same thing. Climbed onto the boat, lifted the net, and dumped all their catch on the tarpaulin. Standing on the boat, they took a breath and drank some Good Day coffee. After that, they put their regulators back on and went back to diving.
They did this series of activities more than 4 times in one mussel farm. Appear to the surface, pour out the catch, drink Good Day coffee, hang the net, and dive again. That day, the three of them stopped at three different mussel farms.
“Today is longer. Usually, we would arrive back home at 8 (in the morning),” Daeng explained while smoking a cigarette. After five hours of catching green mussels, at 11.30 am, they returned to the white embankment to deposit their catch.
“I learned how to dive from him, captain,” Daeng pointed at Surya, who was sitting at the controls of the boat.
“Yes, it was difficult at first. Water would enter the regulator, but over time, I got used to it,” Daeng continued.
“If the mussels are in good condition, in a short time (diving) you can get 10 sacks. But right now, the situation’s a bit difficult so we have to go around (the farm). When they (the mussels) are in good condition, suddenly waste comesand contaminates them, so the mussel dies again. As a result, we have to wait 7 or 6 months before they (the mussels) are ready for harvest,” added Daeng
The sky is clear again. The rain has stopped.
The blue boat with a star pattern sailed back towards the settlement. On one part of the boat, which was covered with a tarpaulin, green mussels are stacked to form a small mountain. This is nothing. Usually, the catch is enough to fill two parts of the boat, leaving little room to sit without having to rest on a pile of mussels.
***
Next to Lapak Bos Dewa, there is a small stall where more than 10 residents gathered to tetrek green mussels. A bluetarpaulin was stretched and placed over their heads, providing a cover to protect them from the heat of the sun.
Jerry, one of the green mussel fishermen, stood near the stall. While watching the mussel workers, he wrote something on a piece of paper in his left hand. He was recording the attendance of the mussel workers that day. Just like Daeng, Jerry sailed and caught mussels every day at dawn.
Idle. That was Jerry’s answer when he was asked about the conditions he would face if there were no sea in Dadap.
Nini, a shellfish worker at the stall, tetrek the mussels with agility. I’m used to it. Every day, after the fishermen return, Nini and the other women will gather around the stalls. They spend most of their day there, filled with jokes and laughter.
***
“When there are lots of orders, we can fill 10 sacks a day. The income is okay. But when the orders are quiet, we only get this much,” Daeng replied.
“It (the salary) gives many benefits, it can support the children’s school fees. The salary is okay for us, women,” explained Runtiwi.
“If this sea is evicted, all these fishermen will be unemployed,” said Jerry. “Later, all these fishermen will starve. Even though the income is small, because the price of green mussels has never gone up.”
“The salary is not much. We only get paid 6 thousand rupiahs per bucket that we tetrek, ‘dear. Well, it’s enough as an additional income,” said Nini.
* * *
Green mussel. A small sea mollusk with a green shell on the outside and orange flesh on the inside. Unexpectedly, this animal is able to become the backbone of hundreds of families in Dadap. Although it is not highly valued, this mussel is enough to support the local community.
Beyond their economic impact, green mussels are also part of daily life for Dadap residents. In stalls, green mussel dishes are displayed on food shelves. At home, they are served on the dining table. In the market, mussels are sold per kilogram in plastic bags. Even the mussel shells are used as their road surface.
This highlights the importance of green mussels for the people of Dadap. It shows that both of the mussels and residents are inseparable and support each other.
