Estimated Catch Per Unit Fishing Effort of Small Pelagic, Reef and Mangrove Crab Fisheries in Fisheries Management Area 715

The Ministerial Decrees no. 47/KEPMEN-KP/2016 and 50/KEPMEN-KP/2017 highlight the need for strict fisheries management to rebuild stock abundance and restore sustainable productivity. An Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) is adopted by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) to plan, develop, and manage fisheries in a manner that addresses multiple needs and desires of societies without jeopardizing the options for future generations. The USAID SEA Project has implemented activities in three provinces, West Papua, North Maluku, and Maluku Provinces, to support the Government of Indonesia in conserving biological diversity and improving the governance of marine resources. The project aims to enhance conservation and sustainable use of marine resources by reforming fisheries management and promoting Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Capacity development was conducted through training workshops for researchers, technical staff of MMAF and DKP, and local university lecturers, as well as dissemination to fishery business, fishers, and relevant community members. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) is a common indicator used in fisheries to evaluate the abundance of fish stocks and vessel productivity. The CPUE of small pelagic fishery in FMA 715 is indicated by the weight of small pelagic fishes caught in a day by a 21-meter LOA vessel operating a purse-seine. The CPUE of reef fishery in Maluku and North Maluku is indicated by the weight and number of reef fishes, respectively, caught by a 6 to 7-meter LOA vessel operating a handline. Small pelagic species targeted by the fishery in FMA 715 are distributed in several major seas, bays, and straits among hundreds of small islands. Six provinces bordering the region of FMA 715 and the marine waters are traditionally fishing grounds, although the magnitude of fishing effort varies from one to the other. The main fishing gear used by small pelagic fishery is purse-seine, which contributed about 72% and 74% of the small pelagic fishery production landed in North Sulawesi and North Maluku Provinces, respectively. The estimated productivity and the estimated CPUE of the small pelagic fishery in FMA 715 are presented using the average catch per day of purse-seiners, standardized into the catch of the 21 meters length overall (LOA) vessels operating purse seine. The range of vessels used by fishers operating in Tobelo was 17-23 meters LOA, with about 66% of the catch landed by purse-seine vessels of 21-22 meters LOA during 2018-2019. Data used for the analysis resulted from fisheries monitoring, collected by USAID SEA Partner (WWF) in Tobelo Fishing Port, and in Galala and Weda Fishing village, and by MMAF Oceanic Fishing Port in Bitung. The CPUE of reef fishery was collected by USAID SEA Partner (WWF) in East and West Seram and Central Maluku Districts, and by USAID SEA Partner (WCS) in Obi, Bacan, Kayoa, Tidore, Sofifi, and Morotai.