Journal of Coastal Zone Management

Abstract

Land Use, Tambak Ownership, And Tambak Cultivation A Case Study Of ?Sumbersari? In North Central Java

Nurdien H. Kistanto

The establishment of the plywood factory in “Sumbersari” has changed the pattern of land
use. As in many other north coast villages along the Java Sea, agricultural land can be divided into two
major categories, namely tambak (brackishwater ponds used for aquaculture) and sawah (irrigated
land used for wet-rice cultivation). Landholders may thus own tambak and/or sawah. Tambak can be
further divided into tambak bandeng (milkfish brackishwater pond) and tambak udang bago (giant-tiger
shrimp brackishwater pond). Both can be farmed alone or they can be combined, which is locally called
tambak campuran (mixed brackishwater pond). Tambak bandeng are sometimes further differentiated
from tambak ipukan (fry pond), a smaller type of tambak designed for nursing milkfish fry to fingerlings.
Still another type of tambak, which is only a portion of an irrigation stream or canal where landless
peasants trap fish and shrimp with a bamboo fence, locally called tambak kali (canal pond).