- Panglima Laot is a traditional authority which has helped govern the fishing industry in Aceh for over four centuries. The term "Panglima Laot" is both the name of the institution as well as the formal title of the elder fishermen who leads the fishing community in a particular area. The Panglima Laot is elected (usually an elder captain) by the boat captains to represent the fishermen in governmental meetings and maintain order in the estuary. The responsibilities of the Panglima Laot include assigning fishing areas, arbitrating disputes, determining damages should one fishermen’s boat damage another, communicating changes in fishing regulations, organizing rescues as well as just maintaining general order. Should a fisherman violate the strict code of conduct, the Panglima Laot has the authority to "ground" the boat for a week at a time; if the fisherman were to continue to disobey the rules the Panglima Laot can banish the boat from the area.

There are currently one hundred and ninety-three (193) Panglima Laot in Aceh, typically based around an estuary or natural harbor. Each one is independent, however in an effort to be consistent they they pass around a loose-leaf notebook containing the minutes of meetings and rulings from various parts of Aceh. Looking at these pages I found many were copies of copies of copies, some in Bahasa Acehnese, other pages the print so faint they were almost unreadable.

In discussions with the Panglima Laots, in an effort to look towards the future and coming together as a network, they decided to digitize the contents of the notebook and distribute a copy to all Panglima Laots across Aceh.

Below are links to the documents, the notebook translated in Bahasa Indonesian and English. As well as a several of the Qanuns (laws) related to the governance of the fishing industry in Aceh.

QANUN-ACEH-No.9-Tahun-2008.pdf
QANUN-ACEH-No.10-Tahun-2008.pdf
UU-PA Bahasa Indonesian.pdf
UU2004-31-ttg-Perikanan.pdf