Bali's Traditional Fishing Canoes Are Disappearing as Tourism Reshapes the Coast

Along the beaches of Benoa, Nusa Dua and Sanur in southern Bali, colourfully carved traditional wooden double-outrigger sailing canoes known as jukung pelasan once lined the shore. Featuring prows carved with gajah mina, a mythical elephant-fish creature from Balinese Hindu tradition, these boats were central to the spiritual, economic and social life of coastal fishing communities.

A study by a researcher at the Australian National University, published in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, found that only six intact timber jukung pelasan remain on surveyed beaches. Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, as Bali's tourism industry expanded, hotels and resorts replaced beachfront areas once occupied by fishing villages, prompting many fishers to move into tourism work. The trees once used for boat hulls were felled to make way for resorts, and the bamboo needed for spars and outriggers has become scarce and expensive, making traditional boat repair and construction increasingly unviable.

A retired boat builder in Sanur told researchers there is 'simply no demand left for timber fishing boats, as nobody fishes anymore.' A former fisher now takes tourists on fiberglass replica boats for sunrise breakfast sails instead.

Some of the vanished timber boats were sold to overseas collectors and are now preserved in museums in Darwin, Seattle and Ningbo, China — physically intact but removed from the communities that gave them meaning.

In 2025, Bali generated 55% of Indonesia's national tourism revenue, with tourism accounting for roughly 60% of the island's GDP. Yet researchers note that this economic prosperity has come with pressures on the few remaining fishing communities and their maritime traditions. They emphasize that preserving not just the boats but the associated knowledge — timber selection, hull shaping, and seafaring skills — is equally important for sustaining this living heritage.