Sustainability of fish stocks is one of the principles in the Marine Stewarship Council (MSC) fisheries ecolabel standard. This is important so that the utilization of fish resources remains well managed. In order to implement the fisheries improvement program, WWF Indonesia Foundation through the Ocean Stewardship Fund MSC Project, supports the implementation of the mangrove crab fisheries improvement program in Hoat Sorbay Bay, Kei Kecil, Maluku.

The annual assessment of the improvement of the mud crab fishery in Hoat Sorbay Bay carried out by the Conformity Assessment Bodies (CAB) in the In Transition to MSC (ITM) verification shows that the score on the Benchmark Monitoring Tools (BMT) has increased, from 0.64 to 0.7 in 2022. This increase occurred after recording production and biological data which was also reviewed for quality by academics and a team of experts. In addition, the participation and activeness of members of the Southeast Maluku Mangrove Crab Working Group (Pokja) has also had a considerable influence.

To date, efforts to improve mangrove crab fisheries have been made through the Pokja in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. In January 2022, a meeting was held to develop a Pokja work plan. Some of the agreed work plans include regular mangrove crab Pokja meetings, training for Pokmaswas Vat Wahan, and discussions on the implementation of the Evu Village Regulation.

Mangrove Crab Working Group Regular Meeting

The first meeting of the Pokja was held on June 20, 2022, which was attended by 32 participants representing the Maluku Province Marine and Fisheries Service (DKP), the Marine and Fisheries Service Branch (CDKP) of Island Cluster VIII, the Southeast Maluku Regency Fisheries Service, the Tual Marine and Fisheries Resources Monitoring Base (PSDKP), Pattimura University, Tual State Fisheries Polytechnic, Wear Manun Joint Business Group (KUB), and WWF Indonesia Foundation. 

In his opening remarks, Erawan Asikin, Chairperson of the Southeast Maluku Mangrove Crab Working Group said, "In order for efforts to improve mangrove crab fisheries to run well as they should, it is important that cooperation between stakeholders, especially those involved in mangrove crab fisheries management, can be more intensively discussed and can be followed up in real steps to improve mangrove crab fisheries in Hoat Sorbay Bay". 

The meeting also discussed the proposed dispute resolution scheme, which adopts the Regulation of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (Permen KP) of the Republic of Indonesia Number 28 of 2020 concerning Procedures for Dispute Resolution in the Management of Coastal Areas and Small Islands. Where, the mangrove crab fishery area in Evu Village is included in the Kei Kecil Small Island Park (TPK) Conservation Area which has been authorized through the Decree of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia Number 6 of 2016. Imran Sangadji, Head of Monitoring Division of DKP Maluku Province said, "Dispute settlement should be resolved in a family manner first to be more specific to local stakeholders."

In addition, it was also agreed on the need for follow-up to involve stakeholders such as Pokmaswas, Village Government, and Customary Stakeholders in reporting dispute resolution before reporting to the KP Service Branch of Island Cluster VIII.   Not only that, this meeting also agreed to make the 2018 Evu Village Regulation as one of the references for enforcing compliance with violations of fisheries utilization in the Hoat Sorbay Bay area, conduct discussions with a team of experts and academics in preparing studies to support fisheries improvement programs, and conduct Pokmaswas training and discussions on the implementation of Evu Village Regulation No. 1 of 2018 concerning the utilization of mangrove crabs in the Hoat Sorbay Bay area.

Vat Wahan Pokmaswas Training

14 members of Pokmaswas Vat Wahan from Evu Village were trained to improve their monitoring capacity in the Kei Kecil Small Island Park area. Community Supervisory Groups or Pokmaswas have an important role in monitoring marine utilization areas to ensure that existing regulations are adhered to. 

The Head of CDKP Cluster Island VIII, Thommy Bella, expressed his gratitude to WWF Indonesia Foundation for providing technical assistance to the Evu community, especially mangrove crab fishermen, for initiating the formation of Pokmaswas.

Through this training, Pokmaswas was given knowledge about laws and regulations, principles of conservation areas and ecosystems, institutionalization, information collection, preparation of simple reports and work plans. In addition, Pokmaswas Vat Wahan also agreed to help implement a dispute resolution scheme with CDKP Island Group VIII. This has also been included in the work plan for the period July 2022 to December 2022.

CDKP Cluster Island VIII and the Group Facilitator from the Southeast Maluku Regency Fisheries Service were also active in discussions regarding the Pokmaswas Vat Wahan work plan. The discussion is expected to be reported through the monitoring logbook and simple monthly reports to the Southeast Maluku Mangrove Crab Working Group.

Evu Village Regulation Implementation Plan

In 2018, Evu Village issued a regulation through Evu Village Regulation (Perdes) No. 1/2018 on the utilization of mud crabs in the Hoat Sorbay Bay area. This regulation covers the utilization of mangrove crabs, sanctions for violations, and reporting mechanisms in Hoat Sorbay Bay. 

This regulation was made based on the discovery of some evidence that there are still fishermen from outside the village outside the group who still catch crabs below the size (carapace width of 15 cm or weight of 250 grams). In general, fishers from the Wear Manun Joint Business Cooperative (KUB) in Evu Village have complied with the regulation. This is evidenced by production data from October 2020 to date. 

To support the implementation of Evu Village Regulation No. 1 2018 on the utilization of mangrove crabs in Hoat Sorbay Bay, Pokmaswas Vat Wahan, KUB Wear Manun, group facilitators, CDKP Gugus Pulau VII, and the Ohoi Government will conduct socialization related to the regulation to villages that intersect with Hoat Sorbay Bay. This is intended to synergize the mangrove crab utilization program with the users in this area so that it remains sustainable.

There is an agreement that fishermen from outside the Wear Manun KUB must also follow the rules of Perdes Evu. In addition, the Pokja must also ensure that production and biological data will be the basis for consideration of determining the allowable catch limit in this area, where this data will be analyzed by a team of experts and academics.